by Viola Grace
When her sister is murdered by a criminal, Zera sets a plan into action to seek revenge on her own terms. She might enlist a little help.
Zera has grown up on a world where actives develop superpowers and are less than fifteen percent of the population. It is expected that actives serve society, but some of them have other ideas.
Zera is a master of weapons design, but her active nature is that of a hopper. She can literally jump into someone else’s body and hide inside. Her sister, Susara, is Suit Bait. She projects vulnerability, which attracts the right and wrong type of interest.
When Susara’s soul is shattered and she is left to die, Zera sets a series of actions in motion that involve a superhero escort service, patrons who pay extensively for the pleasure of a superhuman partner, and clients with very specific needs.
The Blind Date Corporation arranges dates between patrons and the escorts, while the escorts wear a mask that covers their eyes and blurs the memories of the patrons so that no stalker issues arise. The company is flourishing until one of the original patrons from the days before the masks outs Zera as an escort, and the entire plan of revenge for Susa’s death ramps up a notch. Super.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
I Dated a Supervillain
Copyright © 2021 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-989892-80-0
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Smashwords Edition
Look for me online at violagrace.com.
I Dated a Supervillain
Blind Date Corporation Book 1
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Zera got up at five, got dressed, and prepared to go running, just like she did every morning. She knocked on Susara’s bedroom door and paused when it swung open. Her message unit was blinking.
Zera walked over to the unit and pressed the activator.
Susara’s voice came to her, slurring and giggling. “Zera, today’s the day. Delvis said he was going to tell the boss that we are in love.”
“Oh, Susa. No.” Zera lifted her arm and activate the tracker. She started running while the message continued.
She sprinted out of their small house, down the sidewalk, and got onto her rider. She pulled the helmet on and keyed up emergency services to meet her at the tracking point. She would take the fines if she was wrong. She hoped she was fucking wrong.
The streets were nearly empty, and she passed slow-moving traffic as she headed toward the waterfront. Tears were tracking down her face as she pulled up to the obelisk where Susara’s limp body was lying.
“Nonononononono.” She dumped her bike and ran to Susara. She was in her prettiest dress and limp in Zera’s arms as she was lifted onto her lap. Her eyes were wide open, and there was no consciousness inside. Zera closed her eyes and rocked the living body that had been purged of its soul. Susa was dead.
Emergency services pulled up, and Zera looked at the peacekeepers who approached her with weapons drawn. With her helmet and exercise gear, she looked like a super. She released Susa carefully and lay on her stomach, letting them subdue her so they could help her friend.
It took a few minutes before they remembered to scan her identity, and when they did, the cuffs came off.
“I need to head to the hospital that they are taking her to.” Zera watched them lifting Susa into an ambulance.
The peacekeeper helped her up. “Does she have any next of kin?”
“No. She’s in the program, and her parents are dead. I am her medical proxy and her executor.”
“How did you know she was here?” An investigator walked up and looked her over. His eyes lingered on her curves, and she gave him a bland look.
“She is in the program and is chipped. She wasn’t in her room, and she left me a message.” She looked toward the ambulance. “She was going to tell the guy she was dating that she was in love with someone else.”
“You think he did this?”
She looked at the vehicle as it drove off. “I know he did.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because she was—oh, there they are. Sorry. This is now out of your paygrade.”
A slick vehicle comprised of the highest-level experimental tech pulled up. She should know; she designed it. The team that spilled out came directly toward her. She looked at them and pulled her helmet off.
The three heroes in armoured suits nodded to her. One said, “Madame Zera, we came when we got the message.”
“I need my home secured, a full investigation begun, and a notice of her coma sent to the program directors. I am going to do everything in my power to get her to the trials in a week, but to do that, I need to get to the hospital.”
Astel nodded. “I will take you to the hospital.”
Naima smiled politely. “I will take your cycle and helmet, Researcher.”
Hron inclined his head. “I will drive the vehicle and get all recordings from this area to find out who dumped her here.”
Zera nodded. “Please, forward me what you find.”
Hron nodded. “Of course.”
Astel picked her up, and he murmured, “Cover your ears.”
She settled against him and covered her ears. He launched skyward and took them past the ambulance, landing at the hospital.
“We’re here.”
She nodded and made sure that her hands were shaking nervously as he set her on her feet. “Thanks, Astel.”
“No problem. This is horrible. Susara was... is amazing.”
“Even though most considered her Suit Bait?” Zera looked at him, and he turned his head away.
“About that. I didn’t actually mean it; everyone was saying it.”
“Not everyone. Just a bunch of guys with very small dicks and girls with flat chests. She was genetically gifted, just like the team applicants; she just had much better fashion sense.”
She was tapping on her com while she spoke, and in the three minutes that it took for the ambulance to arrive, the program had sent a collection vehicle.
Zera stopped the doctors at the hospital and transferred Susa to the dark vehicle the program had sent via the loading dock. One look at her credentials was enough to get the folk at the hospital to step back.
She entered their computer and created a fictional patient entry, pulling in scans from the ambulance and making the room Susa was supposedly in a janitor’s closet. Just in case someone tried to come in and finish what the mind-wiper had started. Once she had set things in motion, she headed down to the hire car bay and got a vehicle to take her home. Astel would figure things out, or he wouldn’t.
Hron called on her com. “What did you do with Astel?”
“Nothing. He gave me a lift to the hospital, and I had some administration to attend to. I have no idea where he is.” She sighed. “I am heading home to get a download of Susara’s files. I have to redact any information that involves my research projects.”
“Oh. Of course. Will we get a copy of that?”
“It will be provided to the teams. Yes. I should be done with it this afternoon.”
Hron’s voice was concerned. “How are you holding up?”
“Fairly well. We planned for this. There are contingencies in place.”
“You planned for Susa to die?”
“No. We planned for her mu
rder. If you excuse me, I now need to get onto the next portion of the plan. I will address you when I have enough information for a substantial briefing.”
“We need to get on this. You know who her parents were.”
“I do. I called them aunt and uncle, and I was next to Susa at their funeral. Now I have to plan a third.”
“I am sorry, Zera.”
“I will speak to you when I have information, Hron.” She cut the call.
It was another ten minutes before she arrived at her house. She left the car and walked toward the home that was writhing with high-security personnel. She stopped in the yard and said, “I must retrieve personal and locked documents for examination by the project and teams. I require an observer to make sure that I do not remove unrecorded documentation from the house.”
She heard the landing before the hand was on her shoulder.
“I will accompany her inside.”
“Thank you, Astel.” She headed toward the house, put the covers on her shoes, and walked into her home.
One of the investigators whispered, “Should she be in here?”
Zera kept walking.
They started in Susara’s bedroom, where Zera downloaded her message centre and diary. Astel put his hand on her shoulder again. “You don’t have to do this. We can go through it for you.”
“You don’t know what to look for.”
She headed to her bedroom, where the techs were turning over her personal belongings. She ignored them and opened her tracking software. She downloaded it with Astel watching. “What is that?”
“We knew that she was in a dangerous situation, and we decided to take action. This is the action. She was tracked, her clothing was tracked, and her com was tracked. It also had an isotope bleed. I should still be able to find where they took her.”
“Wait. How do you have access to all this stuff? Why is Hron so friendly with you? Is that a box of sex toys?”
Astel was easy to distract. The tech had brought the box up and opened it, staring for a moment.
Zera got up, walked around, and closed the box. “Yes. That is what they are. They were a gift from a friend who thought that since I don’t get out, something should get in.”
The tech snorted. “The box is still sealed.”
“Nothing needed to get in.” She turned her back and took her tablet.
“Astel, can you bring me to the project facilities?”
He grimaced. “Are you going to ditch me again?”
“I did not ditch you at the hospital. We were not on a date. My friend is dying, and I was trying to get her to the proper care.” She sighed. “You can remain with me until your clearance runs out.”
He looked abashed. “Right. Sorry.”
She grabbed a bag, had him inspect it, and then, she went to her closet and took a change of clothing and got some underwear. “Do you have to inspect this as well?”
He looked at the undergarments and turned them over in his hands before returning them to her. “They are clear. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“I bet that you say that every time you are in a bedroom with a lady’s underthings in your hands.” She smiled as she left the room. “Your mother should be proud.”
“Researcher, you have a way of shoving me off balance.”
She chuckled. “That is what I do. It is why I am good at my job.”
She handed her bag and tablet over to the peacekeeper waiting on the outside of her house.
“Were you monitored the entire time?”
Astel nodded. “I kept Researcher Zera in my sight at all times. All downloads are what she said they are. The clothing is just a change of clothes while the investigation is ongoing.”
Zera sighed but kept her mouth shut. The clothing was just so that she could appear on the newsvids and other interview events, as well as give a briefing to the teams about who they were looking for.
Her bag was handed back, and she put it across her body. Astel extended his arm, and she stepped toward him. He took off gently and carried her across the city in fifteen minutes, holding her tight against him. His suit was too well insulated to give her any body heat, but she appreciated the gesture.
She was shivering when he set her down and rubbed her arms. “Why are you being so nice?”
“Your housemate and friend was attacked, possibly fatally. You need comfort.”
Zera frowned. “I do?”
He leaned in. “It is standard social response.”
“Oh. I guess I am still in shock. Another standard social response.” She looked at him with challenge in her expression. She knew it. She had practiced the expression in the mirror for years. “I have to go inside now.”
He nodded.
“You have to let me go.”
He looked down, and his hands were on her waist. “Why does this feel comfortable?”
“Because you are a fan of the curve between ribs and hips.” She looked at him and kept her mind and expression blank.
He jerked his hands back. “How did... when...”
She nodded. “Please, excuse me, I have to check on Susa.”
She nodded again. “Thank you for the lift.”
His mouth opened and closed.
She turned and headed toward the med research building. He followed her with long strides.
“You are a program researcher. What is your designation? Even the researchers have to have some activation going on.” He spoke quietly as they walked.
“Designation is classified. Consider me very smart with a lot of patience.” She swiped her entry code through the first security screen, and he followed.
“Why do I remember the feel of your body?”
She felt heat in her cheeks and shrugged. “Perverse fantasy life? I am not your type, as I have heard you mention several times. You don’t speak as quietly as you think you do.”
He blinked. “I don’t mean... when did I say... how did you hear...”
She snorted. “Let’s just say that my activation involves enhanced senses.”
“Does it?”
“No, but it is a fun thing to say.” She walked through the next bio screen, and he followed.
“Why did you have Susara brought here? Why did you have her brought to the hospital first?”
“So that whoever did this to her would have the satisfaction of watching her brought to the hospital and declared dead.” She continued to watch and nodded to the security guards at the next gateway.
It was a little frustrating when Astel was able to stalk in after her.
“Why do you want that?”
Zera stopped and faced him in the hall. “So that the villain who did this will freak out and doubt the man who assured him her soul was gone. It will stir confusion through the ranks and drive him mad with rage.”
“You have planned this.” He scowled.
“We planned it. We have known it was coming for years. This is where it was always headed. This was always what would happen next.”
She looked him in the eye and said, “The important thing is what happens now. So, either wait for the briefing or go elsewhere. I have to check her vitals, and then, I need to grieve the loss of my best friend.”
She turned and walked through to the black sector, where Astel was not allowed to go. Sixteen people were allowed into this sector, and he wasn’t one of them. There was only one team member who was allowed in, but he was across the world, dealing with the aftermath of a seismic event. That was fine. He couldn’t do anything to help. No one could.
The evil bastard had set things in motion when he killed Susara’s parents and then attached himself to her at the funeral. This had been his long game all along, but if everything went according to plan, they would fuck his little game six ways from sideways, and Zera would scoop out his skull and use it as a footstool.
A girl could dream.
Susa was lying in a medical gown with IVs running into her to hydrate her. The medics gave Zera the reports, a
nd her heart sank. She walked to Susa’s side, pressed Susa’s hand to her forehead, and bawled like a child. There was nothing left, and the body was dying in increments.
Dr. Miliken spoke. “I know you are grieving, but we have to move. Are you ready?”
“I am. Are the backups in place?”
“They are. They are safe.”
Zera gasped and wiped her tears. “Right. Can you help me get her into a chair?”
“Can’t you do it like this?”
“I don’t like to. Face to face is too much like sex. Are we ready?”
“Wait. We can just sit her up, and you can scoot into her that way, right?”
The bed rose, and Zera put her leg on the bed, looking at the doctor, and then, she did what she did best. She slid inside another living being.
Zera looked at her hands and flexed her fingers. “I always forget how tiny she is.”
The doctor covered his mouth. “That is so disturbing.”
“I know. It feels the same from this side. Send in the drone cam.”
The doctor nodded and sighed. When he returned, he had a drone with him, and she smiled as the indicator went red. “Thanks to the fast work of the local team and emergency services, I am on my way to a full recovery. I hope that the people who did this to me are swiftly brought to justice.” She kneaded at the blankets and smiled. “I hope I can get back to the program and up to the final assessments next week. Thanks to everyone who wished me well.”
She nodded, and the bed lay back. The drone left, and she sat up. Zera got out of her best friend’s body, and the tears were on her cheeks again. They left her in repose with robotic guards at the door.
It was time to do the second-best thing that she did, edit data that should be impenetrable. It was time to set the scene and sprinkle enough truth in that people did not look too deep.
Chapter Two
