Chapter Fourteen
Dr. Kelvin had already stepped back to the table and resumed his work.
Miranda remained on her knees, pointlessly fidgeting with her cuffs. She gave the table leg itself a cursory once over to make sure there weren't any gaps or chinks that would allow her to get loose. There were not.
"I suppose you're going to give me more of your pain serum?" Miranda tried to sound derisive and defiant, but that was undercut by the tremor in her voice...either from the chill still gripping her, or the memory of the spanking he had given her that first night. Not to mention the subsequent hours of over-sensitivity it had taken that pain-enhancing toxin to wear off.
"Close, but not exactly, no," he said without looking over.
There was a commotion coming from the stairwell, and Miranda glanced over to see Tuck storming through the doorway.
"Goddam, superheroine bitch!" the powerlifter seethed, clutching and rubbing his jaw. "Did you get her?"
"I told you to take the enhancement over an hour ago," Kelvin said without looking up from his work.
"You didn't know when she was coming! And I didn't want the shit to wear off before she showed."
"We'd have given you another dose," the chemist said. "You just wanted to be dramatic and take it in front of her."
Miranda was watching the powerlifter warily. His eyes fell on her with such a rage in them, it sent a cold ache down her spine.
"Yeah, well I'm juiced up and ready to snap the bitch in half now!" He stormed towards her, big hands reaching out.
Miranda pulled back on the cuffs, her heart racing immediately knowing she was completely defenseless.
"You'll do no such thing!" Dr. Kelvin snapped so sharply the big man stopped in his tracks. "She's perfectly harmless now, and I've got use for her, so I won't have my test results compromised by any injury you may cause."
Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better, she thought, looking from the hulking dealer to her captor.
"Tests?" balked the disappointed Tuck. "What tests?"
Kelvin sighed. "This is the serum I've been developing for them Russkies," he explained after a moment. "Once I get the mixture right, my days of cooking nickel-and-dime kiddy drugs for thugs like you will be over," he did little to hide his disdain. "I'll have the resources to return to my real work."
"And what does this serum do?" Miranda asked meekly.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "You'll find out soon enough."
"And what am I supposed to do?" Tuck asked. "I'm all juiced up and-"
"Sit down and observe," Dr. Kelvin replied. "I might have use for you shortly."
The big man glared at the aging chemist for a moment, but then did as he was told. He searched around for a steel folding chair, then flopped down in it with a huff.
"At least I'll enjoy the view," he grunted.
His eyes fixed on the nearly naked blonde. Miranda squirmed under that gaze, she tried to reposition, to conceal her body but it did little good. Tuck just grinned and leered.
Miranda swallowed and tried to take her mind off him. "So, what exactly is your 'real work'?"
"Let's just say that I have my own research to conduct," Dr. Kelvin was carefully pouring one beaker into another. "However, finding the funding and resources outside of Synodyne has proven...difficult."
"Outside of-" Miranda echoed, glancing around the lab. "You worked here? That's how you knew about this place."
"Well, not here exactly," he said absently, focused on his mixing. "I ran Synodyne's Bay City lab for a number of years."
"You ran the whole lab?" Miranda's brow furrowed. "Then how did you end up making roofies for frat boys?"
"When the Ashton's bought Synodyne they didn't seem to have much interest in the company's human assets," Kelvin looked at her now, a cloud gathering over his face. "Chased us off in a hurry, most of us didn't even get the chance to clean out our inventory, much less complete any projects we had in progress."
"Wait," Miranda said, shaking her head. "Are you telling me that Ashtoncorp owns this building?"
"Ain't corporate synergy grand," Dr. Kelvin sighed, crossing to another of the tables.
"It figures," she murmured. I'm actually kinda surprised they let an amoral creep like this slip through their fingers.
She squirmed on her knees, her flesh was beginning to prickle as the warmth returned. With it came the reminders that she was naked, save for the plain white thong. She tried to position her arms to at least cover her boobs, but with them bound as they were that was difficult. As embarrassment seeped into the edges of her mind, she glanced back at Tuck.
He was still looking at her but less intently. His arms were crossed, and he was muttering to himself like a kid waiting to see the principal. She wondered if either of them had made the connection that she was the girl from earlier, now that they could see her tattoo clearly. And even more so if either him or the chemist realized she was Miranda Ashton. She tried not to advertise her last name or family connections in Riverside. At least, they'd left her mask on.
"So why didn't you just get another real job," she asked the chemist. "Like a normal person."
"Normal!" Kelvin scoffed. "There's nothing normal about me or the work I do."
"Spoken like a true mad scientist." This time she was able to manifest the intended amount of sarcasm. "Do you all have god-complexes or is it-"
"Mad?" he cut her off. "God," he balked. "I suppose the work I do must seem equal parts insane and divine to someone like you: a paltry weak-minded female with delusions of...heroism." He turned to her, a glare in his eye and a full syringe in his hands. "Let's see if we can't do something about that attitude. Now hold still."
"Stay away from me," Miranda protested as he reached down for her. She pulled back on the cuffs but could only escape to arms' length.
"Tuck, hold her still."
The powerlifter practically pounced on the helpless heroine. The strength in his hands, still augmented by the chemist's steroids, almost took her breath away. With one hand on her shoulder, he snagged a handful of blonde hair and jerked her head to the side.
"Wait! Please don't!"
Dr. Klevin didn't hesitate, stabbing the needle into her neck. She gasped feeling it pierce her skin.
"Fuck yeah," Tuck snarled. "Take that, you bitch!"
"No no, please stop," Miranda whimpered, even as Kelvin thumbed down the hammer, flooding her with unknown chemicals.
"Must you always whine like a child?" he chided her, pulling the needle out and stepping back.
Tuck released her as well, chuckling with satisfaction. "I like hearing the cunt beg."
Miranda gulped, flexing her neck around the ache of the injection point. "What did you do to me?" she demanded, glaring up at the chemist.
He didn't respond, just set down the syringe and watched her intently. There was another folding chair nearby, and Dr. Kelvin pulled it close then sat down without taking his eyes off her.
Miranda could sense the toxin spreading through her veins, it felt warm and thick. Unlike the pain-serum, this was almost pleasant. Heat rose up her neck and into her cheeks, filling her head with a soft soothing buzz. Anxiety and dread melted away.
As the substance flowed through her chest, her breasts began to tingle. Between them her heartbeat became an insistent pulse. Taking in a luxuriantly deep breath her ribcage expanded, and the tension drained out of her shoulders and back. An almost glowing sensation spread over her skin, rolling down every curve.
Her spine was tingling, from the back of her skull all the way down her tailbone. A sensation she could only describe as urgent and needy bloomed through of her hips. They squirmed, her bent legs shifting anxiously beneath them. Warmth flushed between her thighs and a gentle tingle was creeping along her slit.
"Oh gawd," Miranda sighed, looking up at the chemist with round green eyes. "What is this stuff?"
"Delicious little cocktail, isn't it?" he chuckled. "If you could describe what you're feeling in detail, that would be very helpful for my research."
"Warm, tingly, sort of... glowy," she replied without thinking. "Like getting out of the shower, soft and clear."
"And are you getting horny?"
"Fuck yes." She blinked and went to cover her mouth, but the cuffs stopped her. Under the mask her cheeks were bright pink. "Why am I being so honest? What was in that syringe?" It wasn't accusation or ire now, just genuine curiosity.
"Oh so many things!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Sodium pentathol to make you suggestive, MDMA and PmV extract for sensitivity, a dash of methamphetamine to stimulate dopamine production, several synthetic hormones for libido, let's see a dash of chloroform to inhibit brain function, with a pinch of norepinephrine to energize the body...well perhaps I shouldn't bore you with the recipe..."
Her green eyes were glazing over quickly as the toxin took more of a hold over the heroine. "Why?" she asked.
"Those Russkis want something to make their livestock more compliant during training," he replied. "Guess they're tired of the turnaround of having to break a bitch before selling her."
