Villainess Love: A Lesbian Romance

by Mia Archer

  But that gave me an idea. I aimed my blaster straight at that eye and let loose with a few good shots. The first one didn't make contact, but the second one definitely broke through the stalk where it connected with that oversized eye. Another blast and suddenly his precious eye was forcibly disconnected and fell sparking to the street below.

  I smiled, and my only regret was that CORVAC wasn't able to see that smile.

  "You blinded my eye!"

  "And that's not all I'm gonna do," I shouted down at him.

  "Switching to secondary sensing devices," he said. "According to you that should be more than enough to see you with, mistress."

  And he was probably right. I found myself wishing I hadn't advocated so vocally for the healthy assortment of radar and other non-visual sensing equipment. No matter how satisfying it was in the moment, maybe it wasn't actually a good idea to knock the eyestalk out and force him to use some of his other stuff. Stuff that was better equipped for, say, knocking a lone tiny supervillainess out of the sky.

  Only it turned out to be a moot point. CORVAC turned in my direction, an impressive array of hatches opened on the side facing me revealing just about every weapon he had in his arsenal, and he let out a scream of rage. Only that scream of rage didn't actually sound very ragey. In fact it sounded almost worried.

  Terrified, even.

  The front of his body started to glow. Only the glow definitely wasn't from any of his weapons. There was a bright explosion and a blast of heat and laser light flew out from the center of his body, only it wasn't heat or laser light coming from any of his weapons.

  I grinned.

  Fialux flew straight through the center and up to float in the air next to me. The sphere stumbled for a moment but then CORVAC gained control and managed to gain his balance. The thing wasn’t moving as quickly as it had a moment ago, but it was still moving.

  “Damn!” Fialux said. “I blasted and ripped apart anything I could find while I was in there. I figured surely that’d bring it down.”

  “Lots of redundancies built into the thing,” I said. “It can be taken down, but it’s going to be a pain in the ass.”

  More missile bays opened up. More tentacles started flying out of the thing.

  “Did you give him enough weapons?” she asked.

  “Actually it looks like he made some design changes without consulting me,” I said. I looked at that sphere. This was going to take awhile to take him out with all the redundancies built into that chassis. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but there was too much potential for collateral damage down here. We needed to take him out, and fast.

  I looked the giant death robot chassis up and down. My eyes came to rest on that hole. A hole leading right to the center of the thing. And suddenly I had a flash of brilliance.

  “I’ve got it!” I said.

  “What?” Fialux asked.

  Only I was already in a dive. Heading straight for the giant death robot with all of its impressive, scary, and very deadly weapons. CORVAC threw everything he had at me and it was all I could do to deflect with my shields. In fact I was being overwhelmed, only a green flash appeared around me and started taking out missiles and lasers with superhuman speed before they had a chance to hit me. I grinned.

  As I dove a sphere materialized in my hands from one of the pattern buffers on my tool belt. A sphere with a single glowing red light running in a circle around its hemisphere. I pulled up to a stop right next to the opening Fialux blew in CORVAC’S side.

  “Damn Applied Sciences Department and their useless crap!” I screamed and then I chucked the wide area matter dispersal bomb into CORVAC’s innards with as much strength as I could muster and got the hell away from there as quickly as I could.

  The detonation was actually rather anticlimactic from the outside. I knew inside that giant robot was being dematerialized by teleportation technology gone horrifyingly wrong, but from the outside the only sign of the chaos inside was when the sphere listed to the side. A moment later the tentacle arms that were allowing it to roam through the city like the world's oddest, largest, most spherical metallic spider, went limp. It hit the ground and started to roll. The remains of his eyestalk came to rest against one of the skyscrapers. That didn't do much for the skyscraper but did prevent the rest of the robot body from rolling through downtown and causing even more incidental destruction.

  I flew down and peered through the hole Fialux had ripped in the side of the thing with her heat vision. Inside it was completely empty except for a few wires here and there hanging off of the outer shell. Everything within the wide area matter dispersal bomb’s sphere of influence was gone as though it had never existed.

  Well that was a successful field test of that nasty little toy.

  “Damn,” Fialux said as she came up beside me.

  “Yup,” I said. “Though it occurs to me now that it might’ve made more sense to have you deliver the bomb what with your invulnerability and all that.”

  "I thought about snagging it from you, but I didn’t know what it was or how it worked which can be dangerous considering you invented it. Plus I figured I had to give you a chance to try out the whole hero thing," Fialux said.

  My eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

  Suddenly she had this innocent look on her face and her hands went back behind her as she looked anywhere but directly at me.

  "Oh nothing," she said.

  "What? You thought maybe if you let me take on the giant robot I'd get a taste for the hero thing?"

  "Maybe…"

  I smiled and enveloped her in a hug. I leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You were absolutely right. Thank you."

  An odd sound drifted up from below. I twisted around midair with my blaster at the ready. CORVAC must not be completely gone, however impossible that was. Villains were never completely gone the first time around. I knew from experience.

  Only it wasn't CORVAC in his giant death robot chassis. No, it was people down below. They were streaming out of buildings and looking up at us. And doing something I'd never experienced before.

  Cheering.

  Fialux looked down, then back up to me and smiled. She nodded behind me. I turned to look and was greeted with a shot of Fialux and me fighting CORVAC on the news displayed on a giant TV hanging from the Starlight City News Network building. The ticker along the bottom read "Fialux and Night Terror save the day against giant robot."

  Night Terror saves the day. With a little help from Fialux, of course, but I was going to enjoy my moment.

  "Well that's new," I said.

  "How does it feel to save the day?" Fialux asked.

  "We haven't saved the day quite yet," I said.

  "What are you talking about?" The robot is destroyed."

  "The giant robot isn't the real villain," I said. "That robot wasn't powerful enough in terms of hardware or space to contain CORVAC's entire consciousness. It was taking orders from somewhere else."

  "You mean your computer is based somewhere else in the city?"

  "My computer is based somewhere else in the city," I said. "And I have a feeling the real villain is also going to be there."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "It's still just a hunch, but a good one. Follow me."

  24: Villainous Intent

  The warehouse looked abandoned, but I knew that was a lie. The transmission had been coming from somewhere in this area, though it shut off as soon as whoever was controlling it realized we were flying straight for the source.

  Only it was too late. There was still a giant power source coming from somewhere around here, and according to my readings that somewhere was right below this warehouse.

  "What is this place?" Fialux asked.

  "A rat hole," I said.

  I turned to Fialux. "Do you trust me?"

  She raised an eyebrow. "I'd think it's safe to say I do at this point."

  "I mean this, do you trust me?"

  "Of course I
do."

  "Good, because if I'm right you might see some things in here that shock you," I said.

  "More shocking than what happened with you today?"

  "I'm just saying be prepared."

  We walked into the warehouse but it was absolutely silent. No noise, no nothing. The only thing filling the warehouse was the debris from manufacturing that had gone to another country decades ago and the occasional mote of dust dancing in the light of giant windows that ran the length of the place.

  The place smelled of dust and wood.

  "Are you sure there's something down there?" Fialux asked.

  I looked down at my wrist computer. We were close.

  "I'm certain," I said.

  "I could just burrow straight down. Do a little spin and drill to whatever's hidden down there."

  "No, I don't think that's necessary," I said. I adjusted some settings on my wrist computer. "This should be powerful enough and directional enough to take that silicon wafered prick out."

  That was the problem with being a machine. At the end of the day when all the defense systems were gone, when all the schemes were defeated, when the giant death robot had been destroyed there was nowhere for a supercomputer to run because they’re stuck in place by necessity. No way to run. Nowhere to go. No way to save yourself if the person hunting you has a way of taking you out without entering your lair and risking whatever traps you’ve laid.

  And something told me this bolt hole wasn’t hardened against what I was about to dish out. That I could detect a power source at all told me whoever designed the place was relying on not being found as stealth tactic numero uno. Which didn’t do a damn bit of good if you got sloppy and let someone find you. At least I hoped CORVAC just got sloppy.

  I held out my wrist computer and paused with my hand over a big red button I pulled up on the touch screen. I liked big red buttons. I didn’t pause because of any sort of hesitation or guilt over killing CORVAC. No. I knew there was a good chance he had a monitor hidden around here somewhere, and I wanted him to know what was hitting him and who was doing it before I pulled the trigger.

  I pushed the button and the speakers played a satisfying click sound. My wrist computer started to make a high-pitched beeping noise, and a moment later the entire room flickered as the beeping stopped.

  The change was almost instantaneous. The building flickered around us again, giant structures coming into view then disappearing. And then they appeared again as though a curtain was being pulled back, though it was a curtain of invisibility and not any traditional cloth variety.

  "What was that?" Fialux asked.

  I grinned. "Localized directional electromagnetic pulse. I had it go straight down on the gamble that CORVAC's actual hardware was hiding somewhere down there." I glanced around the room. "Looks like I was right too."

  "Impressive."

  I didn't respond. I looked down at my wrist computer and scanned for any of the telltale signs of CORVAC's positronic matrix brain. Only there was nothing. No energy signal either. I smiled and very nearly breathed a sigh of relief. It was a gamble that he hadn't bothered to harden his systems here because what were the chances I'd discover his little secret and come calling on him at his real home?

  Hardening stuff was hard, expensive, and he was just overconfident enough to think it wasn't necessary since I would totally never figure out that all his hardware was actually located off-site.

  Well I'd shown him, the digitized asshole.

  My only regret was I didn't get to see the look on his self-satisfied screens as I fried his circuits for the last time.

  My moment of distraction thinking of CORVAC's last moments, it would've been less than a second but that was an eternity in computer time and plenty of time for him to consider the error of fighting Night Terror, was when the attack came.

  A flash of black slammed into me and I hit the ground sliding. I felt the wind knocked out of me. My reinforced suit might be enough to prevent damage when I was hit, but that didn't mean the laws of physics just stopped working. Getting hit with enough force could jostle me around inside the suit and really hurt, even with the inertial dampeners I'd added. It was the same old problem. I couldn't actually add anything large enough to completely shield me from everything that might hit me. Only enough to prevent glancing blows from doing serious damage, which was usually advantage enough.

  I looked up and my eyes widened.

  "Shadow Wing?"

  A fist connected with my cheek and I spit out blood. Damn! That hurt!

  I had to admit this reception was definitely not as fun as the last time Shadow Wing and I met, though it also wasn't entirely unexpected. Sure I was surprised to see her here, but I wasn't surprised at her reaction. It was all starting to fall into place.

  "Shadow Wing," Fialux growled.

  She looked like she was about to launch herself at Shadow Wing but I held up a hand. "Don't!"

  Fialux hesitated, and that was all the time I needed. I moved my hand up and a stasis field shot out, surrounding Shadow Wing and preventing her from punching me in the face again.

  Someone clapped from the other side of the room. I pushed Shadow Wing off of me and sat up. My eyes narrowed. My mouth fell open. I’d been expecting to meet someone here, but not this particular someone. I couldn’t believe it.

  Chalk another one up for Night Terror. All of my suspicions were absolutely true! But at the same time erase one off the board for Night Terror. My suspicions were completely wrong.

  "Rex?" Fialux said. "What are you doing here?"

  “Rex?” I asked, the incredulity dripping from my voice. “Rex is your mysterious boyfriend?”

  “Well… I…” Fialux mumbled and shook her head as though trying to clear something out.

  Rex Roth. Sniveling weenie, famous reporter for the Starlight City News Network, well known around the world as the only man to get exclusive interviews with Fialux, and apparently a supervillain in his own right.

  He clapped as he descended down the stairs from what could only be described as a lavish throne. When I say lavish we’re talking the kind of thing I'd be ashamed to sit on if I ever managed to take over the world. And as far as I know he hadn't even launched any plans to try and take over the world, or even the city for that matter. Talk about an overinflated sense of self-worth.

  Not that I was surprised to see that coming from Rex Roth. The asshole.

  "Bravo Selena," Rex said. "Bravo."

  "What are you doing here Rex?"

  He threw his arms out and gesturing to the giant lair surrounding him. The throne wasn't the only thing that was over the top. Banks of computers, all dark now, ran along one wall. On the other wall were giant monitors, presumably so he could keep tabs with what was going on in the city. Also dark now thanks to my directional EMP.

  Basically it looked like a stupid journalism major's idea of how to configure an evil lair. It sucked, it wasn't very functional, but it was obvious he’d put a lot of work into it at least so I had to give him that.

  "My darling Fialux," Rex said. "I'm sorry you had to see this before I was ready."

  "Did you really think you could get away with this, Rex?" I asked.

  I winced as I said it, though I wasn't really feeling any pain. But I needed to make sure and look like Shadow Wing had hit me good and hard if this was going to work. I needed to look weak and vulnerable. Weak and vulnerable couldn't hurt him. Weak and vulnerable wouldn't be plotting a way to eliminate him once and for all. I needed to use his massive ego against him.

  "What are you talking about Night Terror?"

  The sneer was obvious in his voice. He hated me almost as much as I hated him. The details aren't important. Let's just say one of my plans ended up humiliating the great Rex Roth in front of the entire world and leave it at that.

  It might have involved him being terrified of one of my toys. That's all I'm going to say.

  Maybe he peed his pants a little. Or a lot. While he was crying.<
br />
  In the middle of a live report on national television.

  "It really was a clever plan," I said.

  Rex smiled and the puffed up a bit. "Why thank you," he said. "That's high praise indeed coming from the second-best villain in the city."

  I bristled at that jab, but I kept up the act. There was a reason I was number one, and part of that was because I wouldn't let ego get in the way when it mattered. I just hoped that Rex would.

  "What's she talking about Rex?" Fialux asked.

  Rex walked over to Fialux. He reached a hand out and put it under her chin with a smile. His other hand came out. He held up something that looked chillingly familiar and yet slightly different from my design. It was a black box. With a big red button on the top. He pressed the button and it made a satisfying click. Immediately a humming filled the air and Fialux and Shadow Wing both went slack-jawed, swaying back and forth and staring at Rex with obvious worship in their eyes.

  Confirmation piling on confirmation, but I still had to be careful. If I didn't play this right then it could all blow up in my face in a seriously bad way, especially if he had Fialux under his control again.

  "Don't worry about what Night Terror's saying," Rex said.

  Yup. He was definitely going for the double cross play. Turning the superhero against me and probably letting her rip me apart. Sure Fialux had that prohibition against killing people, but Rex didn't seem to have any pesky moral compass preventing him from ordering her to kill me. It was splitting morality hairs, but it was a hair splitting that might result in Fialux splitting me right down the middle with her super strength.

  "Do you really think you can control her?" I asked.

  "Is it any different from what you've done? Don't think I won't forget how you tried to steal my two favorite pets away from me."

  "I did nothing of the sort," I said. "They're free to come and go as they please, and I'm certainly not giving any orders."