I answered the door. The Ultimate Force's guards stood beside my "guest, " robed and hooded. Who had she been? I'd know soon enough.
"Clarkson?"
"Yes," I answered.
I showed them my ID; they took my fingerprints and scanned my irises. Everything was as it should be. I'd jumped through every hoop to get to this point. The hooded figure was ushered across my threshold. I signed every form and followed every protocol. My door closed with the Ultimate Force's people on the opposite side. The robed figure was mine. Forever!
Even though I had fantasized about this moment, now that it was here my mind went blank for a moment or two. I removed the hood from my "guest." She was blonde and beautiful! Even with everything she and the other superheroes and superheroines had been through I recognized her immediately. I almost spoke her name but remembered that their names and titles had been taken away as part of the Ultimate Force's conditions for not incinerating the known universe. She had no past any longer. No name other than what I would pick out for her. She looked at me warily, fear in her crystal blue eyes. Reflexively she opened the robe and let it flutter to the floor. She was spectacularly naked save for the discipline and control collar around her neck. The final act of the guards had been to hand me the controller. I had complete power over this beguiling figure.
I drank all of her in. A mother twice over but you would never know it judging by that body! Trim, exceptionally fit with firm prominent breasts, a wasp waist, and amazing thighs below a flat tummy and a blonde nest. I'd hit the jackpot! We stared at each other. I stepped over to my couch. From one couch arm, I removed a freshly laundered striped oxford shirt that I had put aside for this very purpose. She nodded and slipped it on. As she fastened the buttons I asked, "Care for a cup of tea?"
"That would be nice," her first words to me. Her voice was soft but sweet.
I took her hand and led her to my kitchen. I pulled out a seat for her and then set the kettle to boil.
"Do you have a preference? I have oolong, green, and some flavored teas including mint."
"Oolong would be fine."
There was a long interval of painful silence. We were both sizing each other up. The kettle wasn't long in coming to a boil and I poured out two cups and placed in the tea bags. I took the cream out of the fridge and placed it next to the sugar. We sat opposite each other and sipped.
"My name is James Clarkson, but everyone calls me Jim."
"Nice to meet you, Jim I'm..." her face froze in a contortion of pain. Her collar short-circuited her introduction. Not only was I forbidden from using her old name so was she!
"I'll pick out something nice for you in a few days. Once we get to know each other."
The pain gone, she smiled and nodded.
"What do you do for a living, Jim?"
"I write game scenarios and programming for several of the major gaming companies. I also freelance with the programming of some of the online betting casinos. I write and debug the codes that keep everything running and in harmony. Sometimes I'm balancing a dozen plotlines at once. I rarely have to venture to the office, as I can do most of my work from home. Today is an off day."
"That's nice," she replied. I could see her mostly feigned interest. She was feeling me out. She'd been assigned to me for perpetuity, and I was a completely unknown entity. She was trying to get a sense as to who I was to discern her future. I completely understood.
I reached across the table and placed my hand on her forearm. "I'm not a hard guy. I know you've dealt with a lot over the last five years and that I am a complete cipher at this point but I'm not into abuse or pain if that is what concerns you. I am a bit lonely and I'm pretty much constantly horny and I think you are phenomenally beautiful. Let's start with that."
"Thank you for your honesty, Jim. I'm yours to do with as you please. It has been very difficult. I had a life I can't refer to. A family I must deny the existence of. It is all so hard."
"The alternative is worse," I pointed out.
She teared up. "It's simple jealousy. The Ultimate Force didn't want anyone manifesting any powers that it claimed for itself! It didn't matter that we were forces for good!"
"Should you be talking about this?" I asked. I knew the collar monitored her conversations.
"That's public knowledge, Jim." She sighed forced the anger from her face and said, "I've always liked the name James and the nickname Jim. I also like that you are pretty good to look at. I was sure I would end up with an obese slob with severe body odor and Cheetos dust on his fingers!"
"Well, I do like Cheetos!" I returned.
She smiled and then emitted a soft chuckle, it was musical.
"Would you like something to eat? I was a short-order chef in college to help cover tuition. What I don't know how to make, I can fudge. Eggs? Toast? Bacon? Something more substantial?"
"Well, Jim, it's been a long time since I've had a traditional English breakfast. I can cook it if you want me to. After all, I am your...slave." The final word came out flat and bitter. I imagine it would to anyone who had been robbed of their freedom. I knew I had to go gently and patiently, or this woman was going to hate me with every fiber of her being. I hadn't enslaved her, but I could potentially represent every evil that had brought her to my front door.
"No need, one traditional English breakfast coming up."
I could tell that some of her animosity towards me had already faded somewhat.
"Jim? Where is your bathroom?"
"The door at the end of that hallway."
"Thank you."