Temptress

by Lola Dodge

  I took a deep breath and let out a supersonic scream.

  The air blurred with pressure that pricked my ears in a high-pitched whine. The column snapped, and the shadow dropped me as it rebounded. I landed in a crouch, cutting the noise and I rubbed my raw throat. Hopefully I wouldn’t need to give any speeches for a while.

  Dazed, a dark-skinned man stumbled from the column’s rubble. I caught him by the shoulders and met his lips before he knew what was happening. His kiss stung, but the pain faded as new power rushed into me. That felt better.

  Crashes and booms echoed as the other supers went at it, stilling for a moment as a massive explosion above shook the building. The air team had arrived, but we were behind schedule.

  Annihilator kicked one of the enemy supers in the chest, and he spun over to me. I grabbed a kiss before letting him fall. He tasted like sour Jack Daniels, but I sampled his power, and I could feel the grin that spread on my face.

  A teleporter. About damn time.

  “Ruin!” I dodged a plasma blast, and red lightning found the shooter. “I’m going after him. Catch up!”

  “Je—” he began, but I teleported before he could finish.

  I stumbled into a desk, tipping a pencil jar and a stack of office supplies. The secretary at the monitor screamed. After the octaves downstairs, it was enough to make my ears bleed. I made a grab for her, but teleportation screwed with my center of balance. The swipe carried me in a circle and I tumbled to the ground. The secretary threw her stapler, and it connected with my forehead like the chick was an NFL quarterback.

  My vision swirled. More superpowers than God, and I was going to get brought down by a Swingline. Was this really my life?

  “There you are, Jenny.” Drake sauntered from his office and crouched next to me. He tipped my chin upward with a finger. “I’ve missed you.”

  “You—” I grabbed, but he dodged easily. I tried to focus some kind of power on him, but his fuzzy barrier had returned and my gaze wanted to slide around him. I couldn’t focus. “Where’s Tank?”

  “I shouldn’t be disappointed.” Drake ran his fingers through his frosted tips. “I’m the one who made you forget. Still, I hoped you’d remember me a little.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I managed to climb to my knees.

  “Love the outfit, darling.” Drake glanced to the secretary, who cowered next to her filing cabinet. “You go home. I’ve got business to take care of.”

  As soon as she scampered away, Drake slung me over his shoulders. Everything spun and dove, and his aura shot my skin with pins and needles. He walked us into the connecting office and flopped me onto the leather sofa next to his desk.

  Tank’s chair wobbled. He was throwing himself at the ropes, face flushed with anger but lips covered in duct tape. The sight nearly broke my heart.

  How could Drake do this to us?

  “Who are you?” I tried to stand but pitched onto the floor again.

  “You’ll hurt yourself if you keep that up.” Drake plopped in front of his monitors. “But don’t ask me. Ask yourself. Who are you?”

  “What?” Was my mind that scrambled, or was he not making sense?

  “Every hero—heroine—has an origin story. What’s yours?”

  “I…” My past had always been vague. I liked it that way, but maybe I’d never appreciated how vague it really was.

  “It’s a thrilling story. The cruel world spat you onto my doorstep, and I formed you into a legend like so much lumpy clay. I’m having it made into a graphic novel.” Drake leaned forward, gazing up and down my body so lecherously that I wanted a shower. “Ah, memories. What a sweet little virgin you were.”

  A flash of anger cleared my head, and flames jumped from my fingertips. Smoke curled from the carpet. I didn’t believe him, but either way I wanted to get my stilettos better acquainted with his groin. “You bastard.”

  “Language, Jenny. What would your mother say?” Drake smirked. “Well, what would she say if you hadn’t killed her?”

  I froze. Seconds ticked as I tried to process Drake’s words.

  Mom died of a stroke right before I dropped out of college. It had nothing to do with Drake.

  Right?

  “Don’t strain yourself, darling.” Drake bent back to his screens. “I’ll have you forget soon enough. Looks like the Rogue Alliance is walking away with your hero for a cool five-hundred million. A bargain, don’t you think?” He addressed the last to Tank, but his cell rang before he could really gloat. “Sammy?” Drake frowned as the call continued, finally jabbing it off. “You two had better say your goodbyes now. I have to take care of your posse before they tear down my building. Don’t worry, I’ll only take a moment.” Haze enveloped him and he was gone.

  I crawled to Tank. The room spun so hard I could barely move myself forward. I was nauseous and dizzy, with a killer migraine, but I levered myself up and fell into Tank’s lap. My fingers shook as I tore away the duct tape. He didn’t look hurt. I sighed with relief.

  “I’m sorry.” I pressed my forehead to his, inhaling his scent and his breath. “This is my fault.”

  “No. It’s that asshole’s.” Tank rumbled with suppressed tension. “You okay? What did you do to yourself?”

  “I teleported. Ruin and your boys are on the way.” I grabbed his shoulders to steady myself and tried to channel fire to weaken the ropes. The ability slipped from my grasp. Nothing. Steel’s strength still rested inside me, but I couldn’t pull it into my hands. All I could do was tear at the knots with shaky fingers. “I can’t…”

  “Jenny.” Tank’s soft voice drew my gaze. His eyes were open and honest. “You’ve done enough. Don’t kill yourself for me.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do.” I buried my face in his neck as warmth spread through my body. If I clutched him tight enough, maybe the pain would go away. My hurt transcended the physical. I couldn’t do anything to save him. Powers wouldn’t come when I couldn’t even stand.

  “You know you’re crazy, right?” Tank’s sigh rumbled against me.

  “Yeah.” That wasn’t up for debate.

  “As long as that’s clear. You know I’m falling for you?” Tank said.

  I froze, completely still except for my heart, which beat faster and faster as I repeated the words. You know I’m falling for you?

  “You…are?” I pulled back to look him in the eyes. I’d thought—hoped—we shared something, but he was right. I was kind of crazy. That was me. I’d never expected to find someone who could deal with it, but Tank’s gaze was clear and warm. He could handle me and I needed him. I moved until our noses touched, and anticipation fluttered. “What if I already fell?”

  “Even better.” Tank tilted his head until our lips brushed. I clutched him tighter, closing my eyes as electric connection jolted between us. He tasted like forever, and I really wished he wasn’t tied to the chair.

  As I relaxed into him, the energies inside me stirred. Tank’s powers rose, and slipped back to him as naturally as if they’d meant to all along. Maybe they’d been waiting for this. Tank shuddered, and our contact broke as I slumped to the floor.

  “Jenny!” I could feel his power working against me from the outside, testing my mind, but its touch was gentle.

  I tried to wave him off, but I could barely lift my hand I was so weak. “It’s okay. It’s always like this.” Taking powers gave me a rush, but putting them back was like having my strings cut. It was one of many reasons I wouldn’t return that kind of energy mid-mission. For Tank, I’d make an exception

  A low whine built around him and his ropes slipped to the floor. He picked me up and cradled me in his arms, kissing my forehead. “You’re a lot of trouble.”

  “I know.” I sank into him. He’d have to get used to that. “Tank…”

  “Hmm?” He smoothed my hair. I could feel his power in the air, but it was directed elsewhere. He’d joined the fight, even as he held me. Explosions rattled the building and shook the li
ght fixtures.

  “Why did Drake come after us?” I closed my eyes. My voice was husky from the psionic screaming I’d done earlier, and my body wasn’t going to be able to maintain consciousness much longer. Everything hurt, and the doubts that Drake had offered threatened to crush me. “Can you read my memories?”

  “I shouldn’t—”

  “Tank. Please.” I hoped he was reading my thoughts. My mental defenses were down and it was the best time to find the truth. I trusted Tank. He could do it if anyone could and I needed to know what Drake was to me before tangling Tank into the mess of my life.

  “Okay.” He shifted me into a more comfortable position and put a hand over my temple. “Relax.”

  His calloused fingertips felt like heaven. I opened my mind, offering my whole self to the man I loved.

  Images spun from the shadowy depths of my mind. As Drake’s face came to forefront, my muscles tensed, and my world shattered.

  Jenny’s body tightened. I tried to keep my mental touch light, but digging for suppressed memories was rough work. I’d blocked all the supers in the building, and the guys were mopping up the rest of Drake’s force.

  Good to have you back, boss. Ruin spoke first, but the rest of their voices followed. They’re toast now. Boo-yah! Dibs on victory kisses from the boss’s girl!

  The last was from Cyclone. I tuned him out and bent to focus on the task at hand. We had about two minutes before Drake and one of his buddies made it back to the office. They’d slipped the guys on the roof and were sprinting down the stairwell.

  Two minutes would be enough. I didn’t want to do this now, but Jenny had thought right. The best time to break the hazy cage around her mind was while Drake’s powers were suppressed and she was vulnerable.

  I stroked her hair as I delved into her thoughts. She was mine. Beautiful, spontaneous, strong and crazy. She looked like she’d put herself through hell to get to me, and it wasn’t far from the truth. Every part of her ached, and her exhaustion stretched soul-deep. If she kept using powers at this rate, she’d tear herself apart. It was impressive, but I couldn’t let it go on. I wanted to see her healthy and off the diet of booze and pain meds. Smiling next to me.

  That wouldn’t happen until her thoughts were her own again. I moved deeper and deeper into her mind until the haze parted and a flood of memories broke from Drake’s dam.

  A fresh-faced Jenny clutched a stack of books to her chest as she ducked her head against a misty rain. I recognized the street. It was Greenwich Village near NYU. She had to be late teens, early twenties, with long blonde curls that turned heads, though she didn’t notice the attention.

  Jenny slipped into an alley and a smudge of something—a man?—shot through the air after her. A muffled scream, and the books toppled to the ground. She was flying.

  No. Her attacker was flying.

  He carried her to the top of a building and dropped her on the narrow ledge of ornamental stone. Old cigarette butts littered the space. Jenny tried to scrabble backward, but there were no windows and there was nowhere to go but down. The guy had scraggly hair and the melted look of wasted muscle. A failed hero?

  As he closed in on Jenny, he unzipped his fly.

  My blood boiled. I wanted to tear through the memory and rip his throat out, but I couldn’t change the past. I wanted to save her, but all I could do was watch.

  “No!” Jenny batted at him, but he pinned her arms and fell on top of her. His lips crushed hers. I ached to take her into my arms and stop the muffled sounds of panic and pain.

  It was getting too much to take when the man’s eyes widened. He tried to pull back, but his body went rigid. He slumped and tipped over the ledge, falling to the ground like dead weight.

  Served the bastard right.

  Jenny clapped a hand to her mouth, and panicked breaths sped through her fingers. She scrunched into herself, pressing her back to the wall as she clutched her knees.

  She stayed that way as screams and sirens echoed from the street, but the terrible realization stole over her face. As the shadows tugged at her mind in the present, I remembered something too. A superhero turned serial rapist, who’d abducted women by plucking them from the street. They couldn’t fight back when a fall meant death.

  Ending his life had wakened Jenny’s powers.

  The memory dissolved with Jenny frozen on the ledge. Did she realize then that she could fly, or did she wait alone until she was found? I wanted it to end, but Drake hadn’t arrived on the scene. Where did he come into this disaster?

  A new image rose, and Jenny looked more rumpled this time, with deep circles under her eyes. She knocked on an office door’s frosted glass. “Professor Darring?”

  “Come in,” a familiar voice called.

  Bookshelves filled with comic books and glossy texts ringed the room at waist height, and framed posters of supers crowded the walls. The man’s back was to Jenny as he fingered through a stack of comics. “You’re here about your term paper grade?”

  “No.” Jenny fiddled with her scarf. “I’m not one of your students. But someone told me to talk to you…you’re head of Super Studies and I need…”

  The man tensed and set down his comic. It was Drake before the dye job, in reading glasses and a tie. “Have a seat. What can I help you with, Miss…?”

  “Ray. Jenny Ray. I think I’m…” She gripped the chair back but didn’t sit. “There’s something wrong with me.”

  Drake came around the desk. He took her hand and pulled her into the chair. As he patted her hand, she gazed at him like he’d just thrown her a lifeline.

  Fucking bastard.

  The memory slipped, and a series of images shot me like machine gun fire. Professor Drake Darring seduced Jenny, slowly turning her into an object for his pleasure. One scene lingered longer than the rest.

  A ragged guy with a scraggly beard was tied to a chair in a room jammed with space heaters. Bits of frost clung to his fingers, but it was too hot to form ice, and water puddled from his feet, submerging the floorboards.

  Jenny wore clingy leather and Drake had ditched the reading glasses and tie. He hovered behind the guy, clutching his shoulders. “Do it, Jenny. For us.”

  “I…” She hesitated at the edge of the puddle.

  “You have to test this. Do you know what it means if you can take his powers? We can turn the city around, and with me hiding you, no one could touch us.” Drake dug his fingers into the guy’s shoulders. “The world could do without one more criminal, and you’re the only one who can stop him for good.”

  She took a deep breath and splashed through the water. “I have to know if this is real.”

  “You can handle it,” Drake said.

  She leaned in, and as her lips touched the bound man’s, her expression broke my heart. It was a mix of disgust and terror, her eyes as hollow as they’d been when she crouched alone on the ledge.

  The man jerked as his energy bled away, and Jenny jumped back as he slumped. She lifted a hand and stared in horror as tiny ice crystals blossomed on her fingertips. “I didn’t think it would work.”

  Drake pulled her from the room and sat her on a couch with a blanket. “You’ll be fine, Jenny. You were born for this.”

  “Born to steal other people’s powers?” Her voice trembled.

  “No.” Drake grabbed her chin and forced him look in his eyes. “Born to reclaim them from people who don’t deserve them.”

  “I’m not God, Drake. I didn’t even know I had pow—”

  Drake cut her off with a kiss. She melted into him, dropping the blanket, clinging to him like she would to anyone who offered her a hand.

  It should’ve been me.

  “Relax,” Drake said. “I’ll take care of you. We’ll do this together, okay?”

  Jenny nodded, and the scene blurred into a hundred others just like it. She didn’t want to steal powers, but Drake convinced her every time. This one’s a criminal, and that one’s dangerous. It was always, “You’re the o
nly one who can stop them, Jenny.”

  Every kiss they shared was a knife to my stomach. He taught her to control the new powers and gave her plenty of opportunities to experiment as he dragged her into the supervillain underworld. The more power Jenny took, the more her life crumbled, and it took a long time before all that pain gave her wisdom.

  When she finally realized he was manipulating her, she left him, but Drake had never let go. He’d used his power to shield her from prying eyes, always intending to return and claim what was his.

  As her past finished fast-forwarding, Jenny’s eyes snapped open, only Jenny wasn’t home.

  The air condensed around her, and shadows twisted in her hate-filled gaze. I clutched her to me, but the door burst open before I could start to pull her back.

  Two minutes were up. Drake and his follower stood panting in the doorway.

  Jenny gave a cruel, cold smile and pushed me away. I hit the opposite wall before I could process what was happening.

  She was out of control, and she had more power than I could stop.

  We were all screwed.

  Chapter Eleven

  The truth seared through me, waking powers I’d forgotten and a strength I’d never known I had. The pain was fresh as ever.

  I’d killed the man who tried to rape me, discovering a power I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t long until a glimpse of me flying triggered Mom’s stroke. My life was on the brink when I heard about Drake. I thought he was saving me, but he’d pulled me further into the darkness, taking advantage of me at my most vulnerable.

  With me to take down his enemies, he’d gone from untenured professor to criminal mastermind in a matter of months. He’d been right about one thing. No one could stand against our powers together.

  I’d followed him, mistaking sex for love, and though I’d forgotten what he did to me, I’d never escaped. The rush of memories burned so hot I tasted metal.

  “Jenny.” Drake was covered in soot, his sleeve torn, but he smiled. “You remembered.”

  Shadows boiled at the edges of the room. They darted out at my will, binding Drake and his goateed minion wrist and ankle. It was strange to feel so hot and cold at the same time. I craved revenge, and I’d do my worst to get it.