*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.
"You had better be careful, or you won't be one of the final two," Page grumbled, turned about and returned to his seat. Killer sat down next to me.
"Tough luck about your Dad," she said.
"One of the reasons I'm doing this is to see if I can get him out," I confided. "I have no realistic chance on my own, but as one of the Nine, maybe I can convince the others to break him out. Combined we might be able to do it."
"Well," she sighed, "it's that or not seeing him for a millennia. He's at the Waldheim Super Super-Max, isn't he?"
"Yes. He's in a 10'x8' cell under constant dampeners 24/7/365. No visitors. No direct living contact with the outside world of any kind."
"Harsh."
"Yeah, and I'm all he's got left," I looked away.
"So what is it you do?"
"No, ya don't," I chuckled. "We all figure out what we do when they outline (the six established Nobles) what the final interview will be - and not before."
"You can trust me," she play-punched me.
"No - no, I can't," I grinned. "There are two slots and three candidates. I'm not going to fuck you over to get mine, but I don't trust you, or Page, to give me the same consideration."
"Wise move," she nodded.
Dame Deathstroke chose that moment to open the door and step out into the hallway. We all rose.
"Come on," she greeted us in a crisp, condescending British accent. "It is time to begin."
'Oh boy,' I internalized. 'I have a feeling this is really going to suck.'
[AFTER I WASHED OUT: THE NEW ME]
What could I say? I was right. It sucked. The three of us were tasked with breaking into a top secret base run by a rival villain organization - MANTIS ... whose name meant something and who mainly dealt in selling non-Terrestrial (aka alien) technology to various corporations and rogue governments trying to contravene UN restrictions. Oh yeah, and their base was in an 'unfriendly' foreign nation ~ Sudan ... which was friendly with MANTIS.
We had to go steal something and we had twelve hours to formulate a plan and go retrieve the item. It was a Clusterfuck of epic proportions. We didn't get the item. We barely escaped with our lives. In the midst of our mission, Freedom Force, a premier hero group - from my hometown - raided the facility too.
Because Killer Knight damn near died, I elected to play rearguard while Page took her to the extraction zone. Only by the time I got to the spot ... they had already left. Instead, there I was jumped by a member of Freedom Force and had to fight my way free. I had to go toe-to-toe with Angelheart - America's (current) Sweetheart/Good Girl.
Something bizarre happened as we grappled. I felt a flood of energy take hold. I had a surge of power and alien memories come over me. I felt like I was about to pass out, the energy was simply too much. I damn near died. When I came to my senses, Angelheart was down - stunned and groggy - and I was able to stagger away under my own power.
Afterwards, I was finally able to evade the MANTIS patrols, escape the area and then drag my sorry ass back to a 9 Nobles safe house where I learned the other two had already been sworn in as members. Page had insisted I had been blown away while running for my life like the 'coward I was'. The problem was I wasn't dead, hadn't been running away, and hadn't been the cowardly one. Killer Knight was of no help because she had been unconscious for the last portion of the mission.
