Super Villain

Super Villain 7

Super Villain 7

The old lady whose alias I discover is Madame Motions continues to explain how Gadget Girl died. She's a mean old bitch honestly with no real care of what's happening here. She reminds me of some devilish old Disney Evil Queen. She wears a long black gown and purple lipstick. Her hair twists and turns above her head like exposed wires. Her lips are tight and her large eyes peer down as a crooked hand rest on her hip.

"Wonder who is going to fix my goddam TV now," Icebox grunts.

Matter of fact the majority of the villains aren't really showing much emotion when it comes to Gadget Girl. Surprisingly I'm the only one just looking on in horror. My mouth is dry.

"What's the matter with you?" Madame Motions asks me, "Never seen a dead girl before?"

She's testing me. I'm not surprised. The rest of them look at me probably expecting me to show weakness. After that day, I cried they all give me this same old stare. I want to tell the old lady to go to hell. I want to tell her to have more sympathy for the dead.

Instead, I just turn and I run away. There is a growling laughter as I run. I don't turn to see who it is laughing at me panicking in such a way but I imagine it may just be all of them. Hell even Fem may be laughing at me right now. I don't fit in with these people. I'm not cold as them. I'm not so casual with death.

I find him in his room. The room door isn't locked. I assume that he just didn't care to lock it. His coat is on the floor with its armor embellishments still attached. As I walk closer to Vigor, his back is drenched with sweat. He's leaning over his vanity and when I approach, he sees me from the reflection. His eyes are empty at first as though attempting to restrain any emotion. It's strange that out of all the villains Vigor is the one to actually feel something about Gadget's death.

"How long do the rest of us have?" I ask him, "Until we are infected too?"

"I'll worry about that. You should get some rest. Work on creating the device to bring down the wall. That's your main concern."

This fucking device is all Vigor cared about. Is that my main purpose for being here or something? I look at him feeling anger boiling up inside. He is very secretive. He kept to himself entirely too much.

"I'm not leaving."

Vigor turns towards me. His eyes carry that intensity of passion that seems to flood almost immediately, "For once in your fucking life can you follow an order?"

I stand still making it clear I have no intention on budging. Vigor clearly seems to be upset by this. He grabs me up faster than I can react. Before I know it, I'm pressed up against the wall, pinned by solid hands and challenged by Vigor's intense eyes. Our bodies are so close. All the intensity and anger that he feels from Gadget's death is brought to life in this moment. He's a dark tiger right now threatening me.

I'm not afraid.

"Do what you like..." I tell him.

Vigor may see that I'm not afraid. Maybe that's why his arms soften into regular arms. As I hold onto the skin that is pinning me down it isn't tough like metal any longer. It's regular skin. Even with his real arms, though his grip on me doesn't loosen up. His eyes seem to lighten. They are still intense and passionate but not angry. No...there is something else behind his eyes.

"I could kill you," he tells me. His breath is pressed against my face. His threat is real and for some reason it turns me on all the more. There's something so intimate about this moment. There is something sexy about how powerful this man is and it makes me feel so fragile underneath him.

"Kill me softly then," I tell him.

I don't know how it happens but it happens quickly. He sneaks a kiss. It's not a lingering kiss. It's not one of those mind-blowing kisses. It's much too fast for that. It's a moment of life that passes from his lips to mine. It's almost like he's stealing a kiss from me.

As soon as our lips smack, he holds me back almost as though regretting it.

"You act just like him."

"Who?"

"Ashley."

He's comparing me to the man who is threatening to commit a biological genocide against metahumans. I don't know if I can take that as a compliment.

I shrug off the idea and roll my eyes, "I'm nothing like him. I wouldn't kill someone just because..."

"Not yet you won't," he shakes his head and finally releases me, "There will be a time. Back then, I didn't think he was capable of it either. You would be surprised at what some people will do. The virus is not a threat for now. It was a prototype. A good virus wouldn't kill someone so fast. It didn't give itself time to replicate into different hosts. Ashley is sending me a message."

"A message?"

"A warning shot," he responds.

Vigor sits on the bed at that moment. There is a heaviness to him and it has nothing to do with his ability to manipulate his own density. The heaviness is in his eyes. It's some sort of burden that he's trying to hide from me. I wonder if he blames himself for Gadget's death. The more he talks about Ashley the more curious I become about their history.

"When you kissed me Vigor, did you kiss me because I remind you of him?" I ask.

He hesitates to answer but looks up anyway and shrugs, "No. You're not him. I know that. You're not him and maybe that's the reason I kissed you. You are everything that he could have been. If...if..."

"If what?"

"If I hadn't happened," Vigor explains, "Ashley was a good friend back then. He worked for the ministry and he had no idea that I was a metahuman. I met him in a club. I seduced him. You see he had influence back then. He knew things and he had access. He had access that I needed."

"You had sex with him?" I ask.

I can't judge something like that. I've had sex with people to get my way before as well. In this world you had to do what you had to do.

Vigor shook his head, "Worse. I made him fall in love with me. Mind you, Ashley was married and soon I was in too deep with my cover. Soon I fell in love with Ashley too. And you know what? He was willing to leave his marriage for me and he was talking about us running away together. This was before the barrier was up. I had no idea why he wanted to leave."

"Did he tell you the barrier was coming up?" I ask.

Vigor doesn't seem too proud of this but he nods reluctantly, "He told me that. He told me much more. He told me about the plan that the Ministry had. It was the biggest mistake Ashley Keeper made."

Vigor was letting down his guard. He was letting me know his regrets. I wonder at this moment if he is trying to explain Ashley's biggest mistakes or if he was trying to explain his own. I stare at that moment completely compelled by him.

"What'd you do with the information he gave you?" I ask Vigor.

"I got angry."

"Is that it?"

"Isn't that enough?" He asks with a jaded edge in his voice before turning and crossing his arms, "I beat Ashley within an inch of his life. I was so angry that Ashley had been a part of something like that. I took out all the anger I had for the government that planned to destroy me and people like me on him. I told him I would never love him and when I was about to kill him. I stopped. I couldn't do it because in that second I realized that a part of me did love him. It was a part of me that I wanted buried. It was a part of me that I wanted dead."

I shake my head at that moment, "Jesus Christ."

He raises an eyebrow, "Now you see. You see what kind of person I am. I left Ashley bloodied. I was sure he'd bleed out to death. Then I took a trip to the DC...first flight out of Pittsburgh. I used Ashley's access cards and I killed the president. That's why the wall went up."

For a moment, I sit there looking down at Vigor. I don't know who to feel sorry for. I don't know if I should feel sorry for Vigor or if I should feel sorry for Ashley.

"How did Ashley survive?"

His husband came to save him."

"Husband?"

That was an interesting twist.

"Yeah husband. His husband was onto us about the affair. That same night he'd been outside of the hotel. He planned on confronting Ashley. That was until he saw me leave the hotel. I saw him as I exited the hotel. I didn't say anything but when he looked in my eyes, he must have known. He must have known I did something to Ashley. I have no doubt his husband saved him. Since then Ashley and his husband have hated metahumans. Since then they have tried to destroy us."

"Wait...who is Ashley's husband?"

"Bishop Philip Leaf."

My mouth goes dry.

"Fuck."

Philip Leaf was leader of the Mandate Ministry. He was the man who planned this whole thing. He was leading the war against metahumans. Now I saw why Ashley had so much pull in the organization. Now I see why he was so mad that night he saw Vigor. Vigor had used him, almost broken up his marriage and had left him to die.

Then I sit there and think about these people that Vigor had opposed. I think about these people Vigor hated. The Ministry held us as captives in this city against our will. They crowned "Heroes" that they used to go around the city to kill us.

I think of Gadget Girl. Regardless if she hated me or not she was still like me. She was a metahuman like me.

I cross my arms, "You did what you had to do."

Vigor doesn't seem to expect me to say that, "You think?"

I nod, "They think they are heroes. They aren't. We didn't start this war. The Mandate Ministry and the Hall of Heroes are working together. So yeah, I think you did what you had to do. I think Ashley is a monster and so is Philip Leaf. I think you are the hero Vicious Vigor. That's what I think."

Vigor gets up off the bed. He walks up to me aggressively at first. For a moment, I think he's going to pin me up to the wall again. He stops short though. He looks in my eyes. All that passion is built up in him. There is so much determination in him.

Then he grabs me. This time it isn't the kiss that we had earlier. It isn't a soft delicate kiss that he steals. This kiss he is giving me now is one that he wants to last. He wants it to linger. This second kiss is fireworks. Vigor's tongue enters my mouth. He holds it there tasting me. I can taste his saliva entering my mouth rapidly. The wetness keeps us stuck between one another. His tongue is aggressive and sure. He's making certain that I will remember this kiss and he's succeeding at it.

Vigor touches the smalls of my back and immediately my dick gets hard. I am pressed up against him so tightly now that I'm sure he notices how excited I am.

His reply is a soft gasp and an exhale, "Hmm..."

His reply is similar to mine. His dick is getting hard. I can feel it climbing slowly against the fabric on my left leg. He grinds slowly holding me making sure that the friction between us continues to exist. I'm kissing Vigor back and it's everything that I thought a kiss with THE Vicious Vigor would be. I feel delicate and empowered all at the same time. It's almost like he's sharing his greatness with me. I allow the emotion to wash over me. I give up to Vicious Vigor as I'm tilted backward.

I break the kiss only to look at the bed and then back at Vigor. My mouth is yearning for another kiss. My dick is thumping with desire. My ass is wet for him.

"We can..." Is all the expression I can let out at that moment.

Vicious licks his lips. They are wet already with my saliva so I know he's doing it to taste me. He seems to love the taste sucking on his thick lips slowly savoring every moment of it while looking at me with eyes full of lust.

"I want to," he responds, "You have no idea how much I want to. It's just that..."

Fuck.

"Gadget Girl?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "No..."

"Ashley?"

Silence.

Yes. That's what it is. He wasn't over Ashley. How long had it been? The wall had been up for years now. If his relationship with Ashley happened before the wall then what the fuck was he lingering on?

"It's complicated."

"Do you still love him?"

Vigor doesn't answer the question directly, "I don't want to turn anyone that foul again. I want to take you to that bed right now. I want to rip your clothes off of you. I want to fuck you all night long. I want to do it until the morning and then do it again and."

"THEN DO IT!"

I don't know if I sound desperate right now. Honestly, I don't care. I look down and my dick is so hard it's hurting. Vigor doesn't seem to be in any different of a position. His hard dick is pressing up against the fabric of his pants making a tent. He's breathing heavy looking at me and sucking on his lips as though wanting to kiss me again.

"I have to know first. Is this just going to be sex?" he asks me, "Sex and nothing else. No emotions or anything else involved. Can you promise me that?"

What kind of question was that?

"Are you serious?" I ask him, "Vigor I'm not somebody's jump off..."

Just at that moment, I see Vigor walk to the door. What the fuck? I'm shocked at the thought of him walking to the door like that. He holds the door open and stands there. It is a clear indication of what he wants me to do.

"I'm toxic. I don't want to hurt someone like I did with Ashley. Look at Ashley now. Look how bitter he is. I can't do that to someone else. You should stay away from me on a personal level. I'm toxic. I'm no good."

I get to the door and am looking at him, "I wouldn't be chasing a super villain if I wanted a good guy."

I am pressing my hands on his cheek. He doesn't stop me. For a moment, he shutters with my touch. He reaches his hand up almost in a welcoming way. He touches my fingers. He lets our fingers glide around each other. His eyes are closed tightly as though feeling my fingers. I'm not able to change my density like him but he seems to be intrigued by the texture of my skin.

When his eyes open, I'm staring at him and for some reason the resistance is back when he sees the look in my eyes.

"You should leave," he tells me, "We should keep this professional."

Fuck.

I can't believe I'm shut down like this.

"Fine."

He knows he's upset me. Maybe that's why I can hear him chasing me down the hallway desperate for our conversation not to end on such a level.

He's apologizing, "I'm sorry. It's not you, Materias. It's really not you."

With all that apologizing he's not going to change his mind.

"Fine. Let's keep this just professional. I'll have your device by tomorrow."

I spend all the night perfecting the device. It doesn't really matter though because I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about my growing feelings for Vigor or thinking about how he keeps shutting me down. He's so cold and precise. Nothing about him seems to want to welcome the idea that we can have a true connection between us. He keeps warning me against him and a part of me doesn't care. I know that's why he told me the story about Ashley. He wanted me to be weary of him. He wanted me not to like him. It's the only thing that could make sense. Maybe I should allow him to scare me off. I won't allow myself to be pushed away though. A part of me just wants to be held in by him. I want him to pull me in closer.

So I make the device. Partly I make this device out of anger and resentment that I'm not spending the night with Vigor. The other part of me makes the device because I want him to realize that I believe in his plan. I want him to know that I'm on board.

"You look like shit," Fem states, "You been hanging around Ghost lately?"

She must be talking about how pale I look.

"Spent all night crying about Gadget Girl?" Icebox asks me, "Pathetic..."

He laughs at himself. I walk in the training room at that moment to see the bunch of them. I'm not surprised by it. The barracks are shelved with obstacles. There is a gun range, boxing ring, mats, robotic combatants that I'm sure Gadget Girl designed, and even some suspended hoops floating around the air no doubt for the people who could fly in the group. Fem Fatale and Icebox are rolling around on the mats as usual. They aren't the only ones sparring though. Mr. and Mrs. Thinker are sparring on the other side of the box.

Web Weaver seems to look up at me with a slow interest at that moment, "Listen it's ok to be human every once in a while. I understand. If no one else does..."

"He's not thinking about Gadget Girl..." Mrs. Thinker states.

"...He's thinking about Vicious Vigor," Mr. Thinker replies.

Web Weaver gives me a long stare, "I told you to clear your mind when you are around these two, but are they right? Are you thinking about Vicious? Why is that?"

Web Weaver gives me a curious look. He isn't the only one. The others are looking on as well. I feel stuck and compelled too. I try to clear my head but I don't know if Mr. And Mrs. Thinker got to my thoughts before I could go ahead and resist their interference. The entire room just seems to be staring at me wondering what is going on between Vicious Vigor and myself.

It doesn't help when Vigor walks into the room within the next few minutes and ignores everyone else and walks up to me.

"Materias..." Vigor states.

"The rest of us are here too," Fem complains.

Vigor pays her no attention but focuses his eyes on me, "Did you...finish it?"

"Yes. It has to be activated within two hours."

"What has to be activated?" Web Weaver asks.

"Mind your business Web," Vigor responds, "You're off on this one. Materias, suit up. You and I are going on a mission."

Icebox glances over. The rest of them seem a little concerned as well.

"Boss...maybe we should come as well," Icebox suggests.

"I just need Materias."

"You guys spend an awful lot of time together," Fem asks suspiciously.

I can see Mr. and Mrs. Thinker trying to dig into Vigor's brains for answers but the expressions they share with one another lets me know that they aren't getting very far. I'm sure Vigor has mastered the way to keep them out of his head.

Web Weaver looks over at me taking up for me at that moment, "Maybe Materias should sit this out. He hasn't had training like the rest of us. Last time he went out with you he came back with a bullet..."

Vigor shoots Web an immediate challenging glare, "Are you trying to say he's not safe with me?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying he needs more training. I'd be happy to train him. He's spent all his time in his room making the device that you wanted him to make. At least let us know what kind of mission you are taking him on."

Are they arguing? Is Web Weaver jealous? If only he knew how hard Vicious Vigor shut me down, he wouldn't be giving him this annoyed look.

"It's confidential," Vigor states before grabbing me by my arm, "The rest of you can wait here."

There seems to be grumbling as Vigor walks away. It seems to come from the other villains. I am pretty sure even Mr. and Mrs. Thinker are in on it. It's probably killing them not knowing what Vigor has planned. They aren't happy about the whole confidential thing at all.

I'm riding on the back of his motorcycle. My arms are wrapped around his waist and every time I try even to remove them I can feel his hand pulling me closer. He's protective of me. Even though he doesn't admit that what Web said bothered him, I think it does. He's being very protective of me even with us just riding on the motorcycle. I wonder how he can expect me not to fall for him when he acts like that. Even when we reach our destination, we exchange this long stare like we just went through a very intimate moment together.

With just a shake of his head though Vigor changes the subject and his face hardens as though showing me that we are here on business, "Your suit is way too tight still. Web Weaver is really getting on my nerves with this goddam suit thing."

It's a random thing that he's complaining about my suit. He must have been thinking about it since we left the base. Now we are standing on a bridge. It's one of the many bridges in Pittsburgh. On the right hand side, it overlooks a city park. On the left hand, side is water. We park one of Vigor's many motorcycles along the side. I wonder why he uses motorcycles if he can fly.

The suit is still pretty much body paint but it covers my privates. I don't mind it but I can tell it makes him uncomfortable. A part of me enjoys that it makes Vigor uncomfortable.

"I think it's sexy."

"I didn't say it wasn't sexy. I'm saying I don't think it's appropriate," he responds.

"How appropriate do villains have to be?" I ask.

He sighs heavily as though struggling to find something else to complain about but instead he just hands me binoculars, "Here."

"Your device. It's down there. I want to see if you can spot it."

Vigor took my device earlier. I didn't see what he did with it because he disappeared with it 10 minutes earlier. It was almost 50 minutes ago now. I look through the binoculars and see that an event is happening in the park.

"What's going on down there, some type of meeting?"

"It's an award ceremony for the hero Holy Wings. Do you see him, the guy on the stage trying to look grand? The Ministry is giving him the key to the city."

I look through the binoculars again. I see him. Holy Wings is a blond white man in his early 20s. He has thin lips and a long beak like nose. On his back are golden wings that are made of metal. His eyes have nothing there but blackness. Its rare to see a metahuman that doesn't look exactly like a regular human and he's a sight to look at. I've heard of him here and there. Beside him, there are a lot of other people on the stage.

"Your ex is on stage..." I look over at Vigor.

Vigor grabs the binoculars and looks down at the stage. He isn't expecting that Ashley would be here. He shakes his head at that moment, "Strange. I was expecting Bishop Philip Leaf."

"Are you ok? You look...upset..."

Vigor shakes his head, "It's just, Dammit Ashley Stupid..."

"Vigor, what's wrong?"

Vigor seems upset that Ashley is down there in the park for some reason. He shakes his head.

"Nothing just wanted Leaf. That's all. Philip Leaf should be down there. I wonder where the hell he is. He's been in hiding for a while. He must have sent Ashley. I can't get in my feelings about it now. He'll have to do. He'll just...have to do..."

"Have to do what?" I ask.

"Keep watching. They should be talking pretty soon. You should hear them from the speakers up here if you listen close enough."

Vigor leans up against the steel beams of the bridge. He seems to be caught deep in thought. I think it has to do with his ex-boyfriend being in the park. He seems reluctant about something but I don't know what it is. Whatever it is makes me reluctant too though. Vigor seems to be so focused on something. He seems to be so upset and his mind doesn't really seem to be clear.

He is barely looking.

"We are here to commemorate the many achievements of..." Ashley starts but almost immediately, as he starts someone is in his ear.

Ashley Keeper has this look on his face at that moment. Whatever one of the Ministry members tells him seems to have shaken him a little bit. I watch his face turn white as glass and someone else comes up to take over the speech. Ashley Keeper seems to be walking away at that moment abandoning the stage and everyone on it.

Strange.

"Somethings spooked your ex," I tell Vigor.

Vigor once again grabs the binoculars to confirm, "What? Who...shit someone's on the inside. No one would have known though. No one would have known. They must have guessed something was up. Why warn Ashley? Someone's onto us."

Vigor seems to be on edge. Something is up. My heart is racing. It's pounding in my chest.

"Onto us about what?" I ask before realizing Vigor is hesitating, "VIGOR! VIGOR! ANSWER ME. What is happening? Why are we watching this?"

Vigor hands me the binoculars and points, "Look there in the crowd in all black. You won't be able to miss her. No one ever does..."

I stare out into the crowd at that moment. At that moment, I see someone who looks familiar. The woman is Madame Motions. She's walking through the crowd pushing her way onto the stage. I don't see what she has in her hands until she is actually on the stage. I see members of the Ministry start shooting at her careless about the way they are shooting. However, the bullets don't hit Madame Motions and with the wave of her hand, their guns disappear into thin air as though they were never there to begin with.

What was she doing! What the fuck was she doing!

"Vigor...she has my device in her hands, VIGOR THAT'S MY DEVICE!"

I look over at him. He's leaning up against the wall. He's staring out towards the other side of the bridge. He's staring out blankly towards the water.

I look back into the binoculars. Madame Motions is on the stage and she picks up the microphone. Within a few seconds, I hear her on the microphone.

"Tell the Ministry. Tell the Hall of Heroes. If the wall does not come down...this will only be the beginning," she warns.

I see Holy Wings swooping at her at that moment. His wings look like razor blades as he flies towards her. He cuts at her with his wings but only the podium is ripped in half. Madame Motions is nowhere near there. She has vanished into thin air.

That is when I hear a voice. It's a cold voice right over my right shoulder. The rattling tone of an old woman, "It's done."

Madame Motions appears over my shoulder. She doesn't have my device in her hand any longer. She left that down there in the park.

That's when it happens. The explosion is vast. I am thrown back by it. I watch as it blows up in the park taking out Holy Wings and all of the bystanders almost immediately. I have never seen a blast is like ever, not even on TV.

Oh my god.

The device that I made to take down the wall wasn't a device to take down a wall at all.

NO.

NO!

NO!

Guilt spreads into my mind at that moment. The horrors of flame and the smell of burned human flesh fill my nose. What has Vigor done? What has Madame Motions done? Even more...what have I done?

Without knowing...I had made Vicious Vigor a fucking bomb!

The old lady inhales a long puff from a cigarette and Vigor stands silently at my side. He walks over and then whispers something in my ear. He whispers something that chills the fuck out of me.

"I told you I was toxic," he tells me, "I told you I wasn't any good."

To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com