*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.*

*One for the Money, two for the road. Three to get ready and four ... you're screwed!*

[Finally, some sex!]

[THAT FRIDAY NIGHT WE WON'T SOON FORGET]

Here we were at the end of the worst week for me in a long time and I felt truly boned. I had, despite some herculean efforts on my part, won the Most Eligible Bachelor of Megalopolis (under 30) Contest. Bonny aka Ultima had definitely screwed me over. Not only had she upped my profile, she had looked super-hot doing so. Worse, I had defeated the person who I thought deserved it much, much more - India Figueroa.

"Sorry," I whispered to her. "You deserve this more than I." We were standing on the stage with a crowd in the auditorium standing and clapping as the results were read off. We had peeked at the results earlier, praying it was India.

"No worries," India squeezed my hand. "I'm used to it."

See, even in defeat, she was kind about it. She was cute, brave and a great team player were as I was a rather curmudgeony supervillain (in disguise).

"Well, I think I will decline this honor," I breathed out the side of my mouth.

"Don't you dare," she squeezed my hand harder. "That will only embarrass everyone involved - you included."

"Fine, but I'm going to be a bad sport about it," I conceded.

"Oh poo," she grinned.

"And the winner is ... let's see the final results as of six o'clock this evening ... Reynard Haven!" the announcer sang out.

"Go get them, Tiger," India said as she kissed me on the cheek. To do so she had to stand up on her tippy-toes even with her heels.

"Here goes nothing ..." and up I went.

"Thank you, Megalopolis," I shouted out as I held up the brass, gold and glass trophy in one hand. "I would just like to say ... I think that I've met some wonderful people while participating in this contest ... namely Kyle Rodney and India Figueroa ...who each would have made excellent choices beside myself. I will miss their companionship and wit."

"I would also be remiss in not thanking Boniface Franklin aka Ultima, who pumped a great deal of money into the charities this contest championed and opened my eyes about a whole bunch of things. I would also like to thank the contest organizers, promoters and staff who made all of this less than a traumatic experience for us participants."

"Go Stars!" I twisted and toasted India and the women's Soccer League team she was a midfielder on. "Go Champions!" I added Kyle's NFL team as well.

The audience seemed to appreciate my efforts. Some women threw their underwear at me before I could exit the stage as well. What I was supposed to do about it - I had no idea.

Once backstage I was gifted with two surprises. Okay, something I was pleased about and Bonny. Kyle had shown up without my knowledge and been sneaked backstage.

"Good job, Sport," he clasped my hand and patted my shoulder. "I'm sure the Front Office (of his sport's franchise) will appreciate it."

"Mine as well," India crowded in to congratulate me. "You even said ours first," she then raspberried Kyle. We all laughed.

"You did just fine," Bonny joined our huddle. "You didn't need to mention me though. I didn't contribute what I did for the accolades."

"Still ... if someone nominates me for this madness next year, I'm saying 'no'."

"Me too," Kyle agreed.

"Me three," India concurred. "They can pick someone else to be the 'cute' sidekick."

"Who said you were the 'cute' sidekick?" I teased her.

"Well, you were the hero which made me the sidekick," she beamed widely.

"Wait now - she's the hero ... heroine," I poked a thumb in Bonny's direction. "I'm just 'that other guy'."

"Who saved Barry and Louise," Kyle pointed out.

"Yeah and took out three members of the Uptown Crew," India pilled on the unhappiness. I was no one's hero, damn it!

"Listen up, you two," I shook my head. "I am not the good guy. I have a secret ID for a reason and that reason is rather villainous."

"Yet you are helping well known vigilantes," India countered. "You are one loyal, brave and truthful villain, if you really are a villain after all."

"One can be loyal, brave and true without being a 'good guy'."

"Oh, just stop, Reynard. They appear to know you better than you know yourself," Bonny intervened. "You may not be a classical hero, but you sport some finer qualities which put you heads and shoulders above most villains."

"Why don't we talk about something else?" I evaded the discussion.

"Ramone's on 64th?" Kyle suggested.

"I'm in if someone else is covering the tab," India snickered.

"I've got this," Kyle regally declared. "Dinner and drinks are on me."

"Why don't you go," Bonny dragged me along. I suspected they had forgotten that since I was under the legal age of 21, I wouldn't be doing any drinking. "Come on, Reynard. You will have fun."

"I'm coming. I'm coming," I conceded.

"Besides, you get to meet my girlfriend, who has been rather anxious to meet you all," Kyle informed us. I bet she was ... and for a bit of interrogating too.

At the exit, Bonny stopped and kissed me on the cheek goodbye. She was still and important lady with truly important things to do.

[~]

Kyle's girlfriend turned out to be one Kimberly Mann and a rather enjoyable russet-haired, mocha-skinned beauty. Kyle was one lucky guy. She didn't bust our chops much about Kyle doing dangerous stuff, and she only chided me once for saving Louise Dresser just so she could ruin poor Lao Ping's life. I claimed not to be a firm believer in Buddhist karma - if I saved someone's life, they owed me - I wasn't responsible for them ... especially not for their whole life.

In fact it was all going along famously until I went up to drink from an ice sculpture Ramone's had on display. We were the final table in the joint with everyone else gone home for the night. We filled the restaurant with our laughter and talk. That ice sculpture was rather cleverly done ... and I made a mess of it, but it wasn't my fault.

See, I picked up a cup then something powerful smacked me in the back of the head, propelling me bodily into the ice sculpture, shattering it. Then the bomb went off. Yeah. Someone was trying to assassinate me and I had an inkling who ... but first I had to deal with the gyro-jet round which had been fired into the back of my skull. Recall when I said way back at the start of this journey I was tough to kill - I meant it.

Even the average metahuman would have been decapitated by the penetration and resulting explosion. Me? It made a ruin of the entire restaurant around me ... and I had a killer headache. Unfortunately for my assassin though, my head was both intact and still attached. Oh, and I was getting back up and was terribly pissed. Much more unfortunately, they'd blown out only one window - the one the gyro-jet had come in by. It led straight back across the street to their sniper's perch.

On the downside, I had two - now three people I had to get out of this killing zone before their human bodies became so much shredded bone, blood and tissue.

"Kyle, get the ladies and go out the back," I hollered. I ran diagonally away from them, trying to draw the sniper's fire off.

"On it," Kyle responded. My three dinner companions had been knocked over, but the table was intact and provided some shelter while they crouched around it.

Sure enough, another gyro-jet impacted the support pillar I was sheltering behind. While they might have been trying to drive me back into the open, I suspected a more sinister agenda. They were going to knock out the build's supports and drop the entire structure on me. I had to get out of this building fast. I picked myself back up and sprinted toward the closest window, shattering it as I blew through.

Now I was out in the street with more options. It also gave my opponents more opportunities to get at me ... without those annoying civilian casualties. I rolled behind a taxi parked out front only to have them open a portal of some kind in the road perhaps ten feet from me. Three people came storming out. Oh look ... it was three members of the Masquerade of Mystery ... total numbers: TEN.

Well, I'd been looking for them anyway. Despite my previous damage, I gleefully entered combat with them (again). I'd had a chance in the Grand Melee several days ago, but lost my opportunity to avenge Liberty Lincoln when it became obvious Arachne and Lucky Dead (my vigilante allies) needed me more. Now was my second chance.

"I've been looking for you," I snarled.

"What?" one of them said. She had the astrological sign for Pluto on her costume - a body stocking in smoky, swirling grey urban camouflage-ish with an eye mask in the same style. The 'Pluto' symbol made her Scout Hades.

"This guy is delusional," Padre Ares snapped in a female Hispanic contralto. "Just kill him."

"On it," Pilot Caelus responded even as she slashed down with this slender-looking glaive. I leapt back so fast I fell on my butt. The glaive tore a huge divot out of the asphalt between my outstretched legs. I didn't like the look of that.

I realized I needed to fall back and get my armored suit before they could get away, or kill me. I hopped up and fled down the street.

Even as I did so, I saw three more members of the MoM rounding the store corner, coming my way. One immediately launched a serpent of flame in my direction. I jumped up high enough for it to pass under me because I was able to grab the base of the awning. I yanked myself higher up the awning even as a lightning bolt tore the awning to shreds with a resounding clap of thunder.

I was being boxed in for a felonious purpose. On top of the awning, I propelled myself upwards over the middle of the street. Right as I felt an invisible fist grab hold of me, I was able to activate my teleportation device. It only had an 86% of success ... and the karmic guardians were still with me.

"Jasper, prepare to teleport me right back from where I came from!" I yelled once I was back at my secret base ... Dad's really.

"Yes sir. May I inquire as to your purpose?"

"Sure," I huffed as my armor flowed over my body, securing itself. "The Masquerade of Mystery just tried to murder me and I'm going back to teach them a lesson."

"As you wish, Sir," he sighed. I guessed he missed 'Dad' aka Baron Bedlam too.

Ten seconds later, I was back on the scene - battered battlesuit on and ready to renew the fight. Lucky me, Arachne had arrived in my absence and was keeping them busy / occupied. I plunged down on the second group of three first. They should have been looking up instead of down the street. I crashed in among them even as they began to respond.

'Venus' aka Specialist Aphrodite aka the Bomb Maker had to be dealt with first. What else she did besides make big explosions I didn't know and didn't want to find out the hard way ... so she got slammed into a brick wall with full force. She was hurt, but not out. I swore she'd regret that.

"You are going to regret that," Ares barked right as she wreathed me in flames.

Despite definite integrity issues, my armor held, so I was only mildly BBQ-ed. Next came me and Ranger Zeus. Even as I pounded Padre Ares with some fire-retardant missiles - at this close range they really had to hurt - Zeus pumped a few mega-joules of nature's fury into my form. That one was going to cost me. My HUD sparked then died, so I was back to relying on my glasses and my left gauntlet failed - so no duel-handed TK.

I went down the street maybe fifteen feet ... so basically to the street corner. Instead of continuing to pummel me, Zeus was helping Specialist Aphrodite and Padre Ares back up. I also, via lip reading, picked up something new from her.

'Unable to reacquire Haven. Dark Son has arrived and is giving us a hard time. Situation Beta.'

What did I get from that?

They had come to kill Reynard Haven independently of what I was doing as an ally of Liberty Lincoln ... and, they didn't want to be fighting me which most likely meant they had heard about my one-villain crusade through the criminal underclass to figure out who bombed Liberty. They also didn't want to fight me and Arachne together ... which was wise on their part.

I pulled myself up from the ground into a crouch then launched myself down the sidewalk at full flight into the group of them once more. This time I bowled them over like ten-pins. The only ones to get up right fast were Zeus and I. She was winding up for another power surge of electricity which I really didn't want to take, so I grabbed hold of her wrist and let my secret power take hold.

I received a rush of memories as did she. Mine were more coherent plus I received some new powers to add to my repertoire. In this case ... I could manipulate weather and electricity, thus able to counter-act all her powers. Weather-related powers were like that. She cut loose with the lightning ... which flowed around me harmlessly. I countered her by using a huge blast of wind to blow all three of them farther down the sidewalk. It was gale force at least.

This time only Zeus got up at all, quickly canceling my gale into a sweet summer breeze.

"I didn't know you could do that," she panted.

"There is a whole lot you don't know about me," I smirked as I let fly with some lightning of my own ... into the back of Scout Hades.

I was already beginning to put some things together about the Masquerade of Mystery. They - as in the nine female members - were all in love with the Orchid. They had no memories of a time before being in their group either ... thus my ability to so quickly interpret her memories. Also ... the Orchid was jealous that Reynard Haven, and not him, had been chosen for the damn honor. Oh crap.

Finally, Specialist Aphrodite was the one I wanted alright. She was definitely the bomber.

"Get lost," I waved Ranger Zeus away. "I've got the one I want."

"We don't leave a teammate behind," she insisted ... so I clocked her hard three times until her eyes fluttered and she fell over.

I then grabbed Aphrodite and fled straight up.

"Arachne, let's get out of here," I loudly called out.

"But there are still so many left," she laughed.

"Yeah, but we got the one who hurt Liberty so ..."

"Okay," she leapt up to the top of a building closest to me ... or the side of the top anyway.

"What do you plan on doing with her?" she questioned.

"Well, it if was just me ... but it's not. Liberty would want me to turn this one over to the authorities so that's what I'm going to do," I related.

"You are a decent guy, Dark Son," she sighed. "Follow me."

So I followed her and ended up at a police precinct close by. I put Aphrodite up against a lamp post and Arachne vomited some webbing to hold her tight. By the time we had accomplished that, four cops were coming at us, hands on their holsters.

"This is the bomber who blew up that block in Brocton," Arachne explained. "Her name is Specialist Aphrodite and she belongs to the Masquerade of Mystery."

"You two are under arrest," one stated half-heartedly.

"Consider us to be fleeing the jurisdiction then," she chuckled. "Let's go, Dark Son." And we left them to their prisoner.

[TWO DAYS LATER]

With the Ultimates keeping an eye on Megalopolis, crime was down and super-powered crime was non-existent. No one wanted to bring that much heat down on themselves. This also allowed a severely banged up Liberty Lincoln to exit the hospital and return to her old stomping grounds. She had us show up at an abandoned bar a few blocks down from her old, destroyed, digs.

This time around, I was the second to arrive - Liberty was always on the premises of this place.

"Thanks Rey," she greeted me - leg in a cast, shoulder in a sling and the right side of her face still looking tenderized. She still looked ... majestic and powerful despite her current infirmity.

"For?"

"For having Freedom Force come by to keep an eye on me. I was sure someone made a run at me only to be warned off at the last second by Sentinel Seven."

"Well, they could do more than I could," I shrugged.

"No Rey, that's what friends do."

"I didn't think we were friends," I studied her.

"We weren't ... until then. Your actions saved my life. I'm pretty sure of that," she continued. "Also, the Night Watchmen and I had a bit of a sit down and he's going to keep an extra eye on Brocton for a while until I'm fully back on my feet."

"Brocton needs looking after," was all I could come up with.

"Damn, you are a hard man," she chuckled. "You know now the Night Watchman feels you owe him and I'm sure that's the last thing you wanted right now."

"I do owe him," I allowed. "He did me a favor and I'll pay him back for that ... someday."

"Well, Rey, I'm still going to figure a way to help you get your Dad out of prison ... if that helps."

That was a bit surprising.

"You got that bit of information from Web Slinger?" I wondered.

"Yes. I asked what I could do for you so she told me ... and I also pay my debts, Rey. I'll give your group cover here in Brocton and as much logistical support I can. I won't break him out directly, but I'll help you do it nonetheless."

"That is definitely more support than I had a moment ago," I couldn't help but smile. While having Liberty Lincoln busting my Dad out of Super-Super Max prison would have been nice, having access to her knowledge of all things super-human was just as good and I'd be a fool to turn her down. I stepped up and shook her good hand.

"You still too young to drink, right?" she teased.

"Yeah ... legally."

"Here. Have a beer. I sincerely doubt it will have much of an effect on you."

As I was opening it up, Lucky Dead and Arachne came in via the stairs to the roof access - my own point of entry.

"What are we celebrating?" Lucky asked.

"Our second big success as a group - putting Specialist Aphrodite behind bars and putting the Masquerade of Mystery on the police's radar," Liberty enlightened us all.

"What is next?" Arachne inquired.

"I figure we go after Lucky Dead's problem next," our nominal leader informed us. Lucky immediately perked up.

"You think we have a chance?" she pleaded.

"I was running down some leads when I was blown the fuck up," Liberty chuckled, "and I believe we can have Dark Son here run them down while I'm indisposed."

"Why him?" Lucky looked my way.

"He is a villain and those scumbags we need to get information out of know he's a villain and will do horrible things to them if he promises to do horrible things to them."

"I can too," Lucky insisted.

"Yes, but you will actually have to maul and mangle people to get those answers. All Dark Son will have to do is threaten ... as he proved by finding the bomber who dropped a whole city block on me ... in one night."

"Oh ... okay."

"Crazy-cakes," I regarded Lucky. "You can always come along."

"What did you call me?"

"It was how I described you to the Night Watchmen," I evaded somewhat. "After using the term, I decided it fit."

"Well ... I'm not crazy. I love someone and that person has been taken away. I'm ... vengeance-oriented."

"I like 'crazy-cakes'," I was unrelenting.

"Well, I don't," she frowned.

"Dark Son," Arachne tapped on my upper arm. "Don't."

"Oh - that reminds me. How do I get in touch with the two of you? I now have a burner phone that I want you to use when you call me and I was thinking we could exchange numbers so we can coordinate better," I said.

"Fine. Here is my number," Arachne provided me with one.

"Here's mine, but if you call me 'crazy-cakes', I'm hanging up," Lucky gave me her own digits.

"Also, I'm about halfway finished with Lucky Dead's combat suit," I informed the team.

"It is a full-body Kevlar fiber weave with fire- and cold-resistant properties in her costume's style. There is also a stiff insert in over the entire torso to give even more protection against high-impact attacks. Vambraces and greaves are included for better protection and combat effectiveness. I've tacked on twin bandoliers so you can keep ammo handy plus a utility belt, twin holsters for pistols and sheaths for your batons."

"Damn ... how much is this going to cost me?" Lucky mumbled.

"Nothing," I grinned. "We are teammates after all, plus I had the material sitting around the lab ... and I wasn't going to do anything with it."

"You are lying to me," she gazed my way with a rare grin on her lips.

"Hey. If you don't want to wear it, don't wear it," I taunted her right back.

"Oh, I'll wear it," she let her rictus grin grow into a full-blown smile. "It won't suck to have something more than a hoodie between me and some bullets."

"Thanks ... Dark Son," Liberty almost screwed up and called me 'Rey'. Sure, Arachne was going to go out on a date with me sometime soon and, with my current popularity, would automatically know I was Reynard Haven, but still ... Also, crazy-cakes Lucky Dead didn't know and she was by far the most unstable member of our quartet.

"When should I expect it ... and your call so we can go hunting bad guys together?" Lucky kept being happy.

I had to think about that. I was erring on the side of caution on how many man-hours it would take plus I had various projects to do for my class works for university. I still planned to graduate at the top of my class after all.

"Thursday," I answered.

"Why so long?"

"My real life is unrelenting," I sighed. "I have other commitments my 'regular' persona has to meet, or people will begin asking questions."

"But my Pain," LD protested. 'Pain' was the codename for her lover.

"I'm in the same boat," Arachne conceded. "If I don't get some of the projects he's put me on accomplished, I'm going to be out of a job and out of my apartment. Lucky, we are all making sacrifices ... and you have your own schedules to meet."

"I know," Lucky frowned. "I know ... I just don't like it. The longer we wait, the more trouble she could get in."

"Lucky, this is the major downside for us being vigilantes. Our time is not our own. We have things outside our life's crusades to take care of, which draws down on the time we can commit. Full-time heroes have the advantage of being full-time," Liberty explained.

"That and being wanted by the cops half the time," Arachne joked. After all, she was perpetually wanted by the municipality's authorities.

"Besides we took down Kalashnikov Kori," Liberty added. "That will make the rest of our hunt much easier. Now those scumbags will be more afraid of us than some future kingpin."

"So say we all," Arachne parroted from a TV show from her youth.

"What does that mean?" Liberty Lincoln asked.

"Oh, saints preserve me. I am in the land of the Philistines," Arachne groaned.

"It is from Battlestar Galactica," Lucky salvaged her. "So say we all."

"Hey now. If it was from a television show which came on after nightfall in the past twenty years ... well, I was busy," Liberty Lincoln shook her head.

"Me too. It was clearly before my time," I mocked her.

"But it was in 2004," Arachne countered.

"My parents weren't much into Sci-fi," I shrugged. "Besides ... I was about three when it began and it most likely came on after my bedtime."

"Well, I know what we need to binge then, once we have the time," Arachne openly contemplated my education of this Syfy classic. As if we'd ever have the free time ...

[~]

Speaking of free time ... or my lack thereof.

We had just retired to the roof to take off in our various ways when we noted a car collision a block and a half away. To be clear, a drunk driver smashed their sedan into the side-cab of a delivery truck, knocking it over. That was some serious-ass drunk driving as regular street speeds were 25 mph. Anyway, things began coming out of the panel truck. They looked small, but then we were a block away.

"Oh," Arachne muttered, "those are spiders."

"What?"

"Are you sure," from Lucky Dead.

"Yes, I'm sure. I have an affinity toward spiders," Arachne affirmed.

"Okay, what do you want us to do about it?"

"We have to round them up," she looked my way. "Spiders that big shouldn't be allowed to roam about on their own."

"Spiders that big shouldn't exist," I countered.

"That too," she nodded. "Let's go.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Count me out," Lucky Dead vehemently shook her head. "Those are spiders. They're icky."

"Come on, Lucy," Arachne pleaded. "It will be fine."

"Nah-uh," Lucky kept shaking her head. "They're spiders and they scare the crap out of me."

"Come on," I sighed. "Time's a wasting."

"Fine," Arachne said before launching herself up the street to a building across the avenue ... kind of like a jumping spider.

Me? I dialed up my HUD on my battle armor to magnify the crime scene. Damn, those were some big spiders and by big, I meant HUGE - easily twice the size of the common tarantula. Still, in I went.

"I'll wrangle them from the north," I called out as I swept by Arachne, "you take the south side and we will meet in the middle."

"Try not to kill any," was what I thought she had been trying to convey. I flew past her before I could clearly make out her response.

I landed on the north side of the accident and activated both my TK (telekinesis) gauntlets and got to work. Unfortunately, there must have been a dozen loose on my side by the time I began my spiders-wrangling.

I telekinetically kept picking up the ones closest to freedom and deposited them at the back of the overturned panel truck. Arachne was having an easier time of it - simply picking an errant spider up, whispering to it and letting it go. The obedient arachnid scampered back to the truck all of its own volition. Eventually, she made her way around to my side.

"The drivers are all okay," she informed me, "though a bit banged up. The police and EMTs are on their way." Not that I truly cared. The drunk driver was an asshole for speeding through the streets the way they did and the panel truck driver was clearly working for some illegal genetics lab. I was definitely not a hero.

"Fine and dandy," I huffed. "Why are you having such an easy job with the spiders?"

"I told you - I have an affinity to spiders. That means I can talk to them and they obey. I also have spider pheromones, which really isn't relevant right now," she snickered.

"Good for you," I chuckled. "Every tried to use them as scouts and spies?"

"I'm afraid spiders' brains really don't work that way."

"Pity. So, now that we have them all rounded up, what do we do with them?" I inquired.

"I'll go tell them to follow me then make my getaway," was her reply.

"Do you need me to stick around any longer?"

"Could you go back and pick up Lucky Dead. She'll need a lift home," Arachne stated.

"Okay - fine," and off I went. Lucky was right where we'd left her.

"Where is Arachne and you don't have any of those icky spiders with you, do you?" asked Lucky.

"Nope. Left them all behind and since Arachne has to take the spiders somewhere safe, she asked me to drop you off at whatever passes for your home / domicile / dwelling."

"Oh ... okay. Let's go to the South Campus of Megalopolis International Crown University," she directed. I picked up and off we went.

I ended up dropping her near one of the graduate student housing complex.

"What do you teach?" I pried.

"What makes you think I'm ... ugh ... I am a grad student and I teach Philosophy and Comparative Religions. My graduate thesis is going to be on 'Cults: Mystery and Modern'."

"A lot of money in that?" I teased. Of course there wasn't.

"No. I do it for the inspiration," she frowned.

"Well, good for you," I lauded her. "Too many people end up in a career they hate and wind up miserable and bitter. Money isn't everything."

"Isn't money everything for you ... villain?"

"Nope. Money is merely a tool. My own college path is in the School of Economics and I hope to be happy in that field one day. First I have a few unfinished promises to deal with."

"Oh. Like what?"

"Like stuff I can't talk with you about right now as it is definitely criminal."

"I understand. I plan to murder some sonsabitches before I get back my pain. That's why I carry guns," she grinned.

"A lot of guns."

"I plan to kill a lot of scumbags," she affirmed.

"Well. Good for you. We will have to team up soon because, while I'm sure you are more comfortable with Arachne, I'm sure she isn't on board with you killing the slavers who took your lady from you. I, on the other hand, don't care."

"I ... thank you for that, Dark Son. Gotta go," and off she went. I took off my own way on a wide arch back to the roof of my own domain.

[~]

I took the teleportation pad back to my / Dad's secret base and began being shed of my armor.

"Good evening, Sir," Jasper greeted me. 'He' was the base's AI.

"Good evening, Jasper," I responded. "How are my specifications going on Lucky Dead's suit?"

"They are complete, Sir. May I inquire as to how this will get your Father out of prison," he said in a voice filled with melancholy.

"Lucky is a metahuman who is basically unkillable," I related. "By working with her and making her even more unkillable, I'm building up the team which can make sure Dad is free once more. Even better, Liberty Lincoln and Web Slinger have agreed to help me as well. Liberty will only help with advice and logistics, but that's way better than nothing, right?"

"I agree, Sir. I was just hoping it wouldn't take so long."

"I'm not my Dad ... or my Mom. This is going to take a lot more effort than if either one of them was free trying to save the other," I confessed. "I'm working as hard as I can on this while still maintaining the façade of a regular life."

"What is the expected date of his freedom?"

"I don't have one right now, Jasper. Listen, I know you miss him. I do too. It isn't my fault you are trapped here on this asteroid on the far side of the Moon, unable to interact with the outside world. You have to trust me when I say I'm doing the best I can," I sighed.

Poor Jasper was forbidden by my Father from making outside contacts due to the risk of being spotted by any number of individuals who would likely either shutdown, or raid, this final sanctum of one of the World's greatest villains. I was surprised Jasper hadn't gone more stir crazy after all these years basically alone ... except for me.

"Okay, Jasper. Teleport me back to my rooftop pad (0% chance of failure)."

"As you wish, Sir," he sounded a bit peeved. What could I do?

[~]

I had put the last of my school work to bed and was slogging away on the internal and gravitational dampers I was planning on putting into Lucky Dead's costume. Those would double her land speed and triple, or quadruple, her jumping distances. A jet pack would have been nice, but it would also make a nice target to be destroyed by her numerous enemies. Who would want to shoot her tennis shoes?

My sensors alerted me to someone approaching my abode. It was, thank God, Angelheart in her civilian identity - Skye Steiner. I let her knock once then told her to come in. I had been hoping she would be stopping by tonight so had left all but one of the locks on the door unlocked.

"Hey Babe," she greeted me by wrapping her arms around my neck from behind after dropping her backpack on the ground next to us. "Whatchya working on?"

"Super-secret villain stuff," I teased. "Really, it is just something to help Lucky Dead be less dead on occasions - basic armor and mobility stuff."

"Oh, you are looking after a teammate," she hugged me tighter. "And here you said you weren't an inventor."

"I'm not an inventor like my Dad. All I'm doing is using tech he's already created in a manner he didn't intend it for."

"But you are doing it to keep a teammate alive," she kissed the top of my head. "That is special."

"How special?" I saved my latest work then put my tablet down.

"Really special," she purred with pent up sexuality. See, since the Grand Melee downtown we hadn't had the chance to be together much at all and certainly not enough time to have sex. My girl was horny.

"What do you have on?" I queried.

"Something new. A lavender front-opening bra and matching thong."

"You don't have to wear thongs to make me happy, Skye," I alluded.

"Thank God," she exhaled. "They really do ride up my ass. They make me feel sexy too, but ... Oh God, they are uncomfortable."

"Come around here and let me unwrap my special ... present," I commanded. Skye obeyed in a series of sultry movements which did nothing but stoke my ardor. When she began taking off her hoodie, I stopped her. "Let me," I demanded. "Stripping you down makes me so hot for you."

Skye's face blossomed into a thousand mega-watt smile. She liked teasing and exciting me almost as much as I loved being teased and excited by her.

After Skye settled in my lap, facing me, I worked the hoodie up inch my inch, kissing all along the exposed flesh as it became available. Her stomach became moist with my kisses and her resultant perspiration. I tongued he belly button lightly - just enough to earn me my first moan of the evening.

"I love the way you are playing with your pet," Skye panted.

I bunched up her hoodie in my left hand so I could move my right hand up to Skye's lips. She sucked on several digits greedily because she knew what was coming next. I pushed the hoodie up higher until the breasts were revealed. I took my slick fingers, inserted them underneath the frilly material of her lavender bra then rolled the aroused nipple back and forth between them.

"Oh ... yes. Don't stop," she moaned.

I had to stop the nipple torture because I needed to move the hoodie past her sternum. Up went her arms and up went the confining piece of apparel. I feasted upon her shoulders and neck. I nibbled on her chin all the way up to her lips. Her eyes blazed with lust because she knew I was far from done.

The lack of attention had left Skye hyper-aroused. Select members of Freedom Force had snuck back into Megalopolis to do what they did - fight crime. Members like X-Man and Solar Flare were too noticeable, so they had to remain outside the municipality's limits. They had left Angelheart there because of her 'Good Girl' image which they didn't want to abuse by having her arrested acting like some lawless vigilante.

That translated over to her going to school near me during the day, but her night time activities had been limited to 'field work' and PR missions. Why was she here tonight? I could only imagine she had told her mentors she would be on campus studying late ... not that she had fooled them one bit. Night Watchman would be sure she was here, at my "palatial" pad, getting sexed up. Maybe he would even understand.

I gave a nip to the tip of her nose then gentle kisses fell upon each eyelid. When Skye opened those eyes, she was erotically ecstatic. I then roamed over to her triceps, licking, nibbling and kissing them all the way to the elbow. The temples came next then it was time for the other triceps. Up the hoodie went until it cleared the top of her head so that received a kiss too.

I lavished tantric titillations on each forearm all the way up to the palms and fingertips. Each fingertip was also sucked on with enough energy to leave them flush with blood when I departed. When I was finished with her right arm, it languidly came down and wrapped me up under my left arm. Then she began kneading my back, drawing my torso tight to hers.

Her left arm joined her right when I finished with it. She was in my lap, eyes ablaze and my lips had nowhere to go. That just wouldn't do ... so we began kissing. We went back and forth from tender to demanding, rough to gentle and everything in between. Eventually, when the lips weren't enough, she began scouring my back with her fingernails.

I responded by diving in on her neck and giving her two wet, slobbery hickies. I loved sucking in the taut flesh of her neck and letting my teeth drag over it. Skye appeared to really love it too. As she ratcheted up her scratching on my back, I went down to her shoulders and attacked them with the same attention I had showed her neck.

"God," she huffed, "I love being here with you. I feel so alive."

I had really awakened the sexual being inside Skye Steiner. It was a hungry beast in constant need of attention. She was now humping my belt buckle and groaning with lust.

"I wouldn't be the same man without you," I responded. It was the truth. Skye made me explore unknown parts of my mind ... and morality.

Could I have become a vigilante without Skye in my life showing me not all 'do-gooders' were my enemies? Could I have accepted Liberty's initial offer if not for my dealings with both sides of Freedom Force? Probably not.

I picked up Sky by her perfect ass cheeks and walked us into my bedroom without bumping into anything despite Skye's fierce attention to my face.

I didn't drop her onto my bed. I lay her down gently. Her hand went from holding me tight to fingers interlocked at the back of my head. We sustained deep and personal eyes contact while I moved my hands over her body. I worked my fingers into the waist line of her jogging pants and underwear. I began pulling and pulling until I made it past her butt and half way up her thighs.

"Whatchya planning to do, Mister?" she said in an ever-so-sultry teasing voice.

"I plan to take care of my pet every which way I can."

"I like the sound of that," she purred. She also removed her hands and laid out her arms on the bed over her head, utterly vulnerable.

Me - I finished removing her pants and underwear then quickly removed my t-shirt.

Skye had kept her legs up in a 'V' where I'd left them. It made it easier to pursue my next avenue of torture by nibbling on the toes of her left foot. Kissing the knuckles, soles and heels came next before I transferred my attention over to her right foot. On and on I went with a mixture of kisses and nibbles as I went down each leg to the knee and then the thigh.

By that time her labia was glistening with her juices and some had trailed down toward her anus.

"Please, please, please," she was muttering as I worked my way toward my first contact of cunnilingus. Her head was moving back and forth on the bed as well, she was so riled up.

The first lick was broad and encompassing. With my next one, I drilled my tongue in to get even more of her delicious juices. Her clit, already visible, was touched next, sending an electric shock through her body. As I went for my fourth lick, her hips jumped up off the bed and into my face, forcing my tongue back against her clit once more before sliding down into another tongue-delving exploration.

On the fifth lick, I snuck my first finger into the mix. It played along her perineum before winding its way up her vestibule and into her vagina.

"Yes!" Skye hissed.

The sixth was more of the same while the seventh saw her thrusting, leading her clit to encounter my teeth. Once more she hissed in pleasure from the contact.

The eighth was a slow, languid, broad swipe of the tongue over the entire labia and clitoris. My one finger wiggled in even deeper then flipped over and touched Skye's 'G-spot'. That really set her off. That also established my new rhythm with tongue lashes and solo finger penetrations driving her mad with desire.

"I want you in me," she gasped. "Now!"

"My pet isn't ready yet," I taunted.

"Have mercy," she continued her plaintive plea.

"We have the rest of the night so let's make the most of it," I challenged her.

With that, I returned to my pleasurable work which was driving her to orgasm. Skye gave me that orgasm and more. I was so proud of her for the restraint she showed as well as proud of myself for how far I had come as a paramour.

[~]

We had climbed out of the shower, toweled one another off then returned to the bed. She led me by the hand, still incredibly aroused and wanting more. I had torn two orgasms from her already and left her a sweaty, juicy mess - thus the shower. This time around she was more dominant and demanding. She wanted intercourse - penetration of the penis-vagina kind and no tricks on my part would dissuade her.

Even though she lay on her back, legs wide-spread, she was the one pulling me into her, not me thrusting forward. Contact was made, she rolled her hips and guided my penetration into her love box.

"Aaaaahhhh ..." she exhaled once the deed was done. Her arms held mine by the elbows and vice versa.

When she pulled, I moved my whole body in a fucking motion. When she relaxed her pressure, I withdrew until only my glans remained inside. Skye clearly liked this little game and soon was expertly controlling the pace and angle of penetration all on her own.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," she chanted as I plunged into her.

It was warm, wet and oh so juicy as I repeatedly pierced her womanhood. Her breasts, now free of their confinement, bounced heavenly on her chest, inviting me to come down and feast upon her tender flesh and rigid nipples. So, I did so. I slobbered all over them. I left a hickey on her right breast before breastfeeding like mad on her left teat.

Honestly, sex with Skye was always very good, but this session was exceptional so, of course, I should have expected something to go wrong. What happened?

"Did you hear that?" Skye panted. She also stopped moving me.

"What? No."

"Some voice inside my head said I had one minute to prepare myself before I am to be whisked away to a tournament of champions," she related.

"I didn't hear that."

"Maybe it is only Earth's heroes who are invited ... but I don't want to go. Especially right now!"

"Fuck it," I growled. "You had better get dressed in case ..." In case this threat was real, I didn't want Skye to show up stark naked and freshly fucked.

I couldn't do anything about the freshly fucked part. A shower wasn't possible, but I could at least get her dressed and ready to roll in case this threat was valid and she didn't have any choice about attending. I pulled out of her and ran down the hallway to her backpack. It had her costume in it. By the time I came back, Skye had her cloths back on though it was clear to me her bra wasn't fixed right.

"Skye ..."

"Reynard, I'm sure I'll be right back. Whatever they have planned for us isn't ..."

And just like that she vanished. I suddenly began worrying about who else had vanished. I grabbed my phone and called my Godmother, Sarah Reeds. All I got was her answering machine.

"Reynard, if you are getting this before 6 AM, go to the Mentat Tower. Things will be explained there. Please, Dear, hurry."

What the hell did all of this mean? I had to go find out.

[THE END OF DARK SON]

Dark Son and others will return in 'World Without Heroes' - the next tale in the 'Legacy of Eros' World. Right now I need to work on some unfinished tales so I hope you will forgive the delay.

[10] The Masquerade of Mystery

The Orchid ~ aka Trousseau Masquerade - has telepathy-based powers

Hacker Hermes has knowledge-based powers

Specialist Aphrodite has charm-based powers

Sniper Luna has telekinetic-based powers

Padre Ares has fire-based powers

Ranger Zeus has weather-control powers and HTH combat

Medic Hera has bio-manipulation-based powers

Spotter Poseidon has water-based powers

Pilot Caelus has silence-based powers plus a killer glaive

Scout Hades has time- and teleportation-powers