*Editing magic performed by Shyqash, plus contributions by the regular gang of brigands and neer-do-wells*
*This tale is a bit tongue and cheek as well as kinky, so be warned.*
*I lash your flesh as well as your passions. I am Eros*
Premise: A young would-be super-villain discovers he has as secret super-power - the ability to become the perfect lover to any person he touches. This includes being able to breach the defenses of any super-powered being he encounters.
[PRELUDE]
"So you are Baron Bedlam's son?" this costumed young guy came over to me while we were waiting for our final interview. We three had all been sitting down in the high ceilinged, Victorian-era hallway.
"Yes. I'm called the Squire Sanguine. You?"
"Puissant Page," he smirked. "I'll get something else soon enough."
"Like?"
"I'm going for Viscount of Villainy," he gave me a smug look.
"Oh ... my Mom was the Viscountess Venom," I was less than thrilled this punk was stepping into my family's business.
"Yeah, but she's dead now," he joked, "So she's not likely to mind."
"So ... it is going to be like that," I stood up.
"Yeah," he snorted. "I hear you are not all that tough."
"Let's not start something the elders don't want us to finish," the young woman with us jumped in. "Hi, I'm Killer Knight."
"King Kaos' daughter," the punk looked her way.
"Yes and you are the Marquis of Mayhem's son," she let him know she had some recent history lessons as well. Sadly, my Mother had been dead most of my life and my Father was currently serving Life plus 199 years for crimes too numerous to list, so I had no one 'in my corner' while King Kaos was recreating the Nine Nobles Nefarious.
My parents had helped make the 9N's infamous two decades ago, but infighting and a full court press by the World's hero groups had destroyed them. Only three of the original nine were left at large and intact. Of the rest, four were dead, one was maimed for life, and then there was my Dad - serving an incredibly long prison sentence in an UN prison facility in Antarctica.
[~]
Personally I had been living my own life free of my parents' criminal influence when King Kaos had appeared and given me this 'invitation' ... which I had a feeling I would be foolish to outright refuse. I had shown up and gone through some basic solo training for the established nobles to see what I could do and to determine if I was worthy to be part of their organization.
I was conflicted about this whole villainous enterprise. At some level I wanted to avenge my mother - murdered at a hero's hands - and to free my Father - who I despised, but come on now - he was still my Dad. Dad had been an ogre of a disciplinarian and rather derogatory toward me my entire life. He considered me a failure ... both because of my unimpressive power suite and my desire to live a crime-free life.
I was super-strong, but not especially so - touch telekinesis. I could fly - telekinesis again - though not all that fast. My resistances were more impressive, but who wanted to be famous, or infamous, for being a successful punching bag? My only 'special' special ability was a rather impervious set of mental defenses. Not only was it nearly impossible to read my mind, I was incredibly difficult to psychically locate. Oh yeah ~ I regenerated ... rather slowly.
Yep ... whoop-dee-do ...
I did have a rather impressive set of criminal and martial skills, thanks to my Dad's tyrannical upbringing. None of those skills would actually help me get, or hold down, a real job. I suppose I should be grateful I also was 'home schooled' in a regular course load as well.
See, Baron Bedlam was both a gifted psychic and a genius inventor. I was neither thus his disappointment in me. My Mother had been an alien outlaw and renegade princess who was hiding out on Earth. She had been capable of space flight as well as possessing a mastery of cosmic energy which allowed her to blast foes to smithereens and create extraordinary force fields. Yep ... I couldn't do any of that either.
[~]
As a side note: most superhero institutions didn't pay their members. If you wanted some spending cash you needed a day job, or something similar. Instead, they got plenty of wonderful perks plus a generous pension should they make it five, or more, years then retired. As for those 'wonderful perks' ~ how does free higher education sound? Free health care, room & board, free equipment, use of their high tech labs, research facilities, libraries and mystic sites? You got all that and more.
Me? My financial situation was growing dire. The upkeep and taxes on my Dad's legal properties was astronomical. College tuition at Megalopolis Crown International University (MCIU) was equal to its status as one of the premier educational Meccas on the planet - extreme. Tuition, e-books and other fees pushed it up passed $90,000 a year ... and I owned too much property to get most scholarships, or low-interest student loans.
My Father had pursued a life of crime because he refused to get a legitimate job in any number of laboratories as a research scientist. I might have to turn to crime just to pay the bills. It wasn't as if I was qualified to get any job which would meet my financial needs. I knew if I sold anything off Father had left me when he went behind bars he would make me pay ... and pay ... once he got out again.
That and too many of his properties had secret labs hidden about which could easily maim, or even kill, the unwary. I certainly didn't want to get anyone killed and explaining those hidden facilities to the authorities would require more time and effort - plus the threat of jail time - than I was willing to accept.
[~]
And now my 'criminal cohorts' knew about my unspectacular super-powered talents it seemed. I doubted Mr. Page would have had the balls to confront me unless he knew things about me and was sure I didn't know things about him. He was that kind of bully.
I still rose to the challenge. I really hated bullies. Blame my Old Man. I was 6'2" to his 5'10" and my 235 lbs. powered a much more impressive physique than his 160 lbs. or so. I didn't just tower over him in height, I shown over him with confidence and charisma. He stepped back, caught himself and was then embarrassed that he'd given me that back-step.
"You may want to consider the Nine are a TEAM," I reminded him. "And a team led by the King ... not the Marquis."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he glared.
"It means you are cheating, it's obvious that you are cheating and the only one who could have helped you cheat is your Dad, Page."
"Are you sure about that?" Killer regarded me. Though we were all wearing costumes and masks, she had the most gorgeous sapphire eyes. I was also beginning to think her name was a play on words - not Killer Knight, but Killer Night - as in she could give you one 'killer night', if you know what I mean. All that was conjecture, of course. I really didn't know the girl.
"I mean Page here is only getting in my face because he thinks he knows what I can do and that I don't know what he can do," I explained. "What he hasn't taken into account my Father was a master craftsman and inventor and I've been able to bring along a few of his final gifts with me to our final interview. I think it would be a waste of our team's effort if I have to use a few of them here and now."
"That's ... that's against the rules," he gobbled ... and backed up a few more steps.
"Not really," I shrugged. "I was told to only bring things I considered part of my usual kit ... and since I plan to continually raid my Father's stockpile of trinkets, gadgets and gizmos, I think I'm playing ... rather loosely ... within the rules."
"I think that's rather clever," Killer grinned my way. "I hope you make it."
"That makes two of us," I chuckled.
