《A Girl's Guide to SuperVilliany! (Book 1: Nemesis)》 Prologue: The Very Beginning advanced. She needed to touch someone to get into their head. With a sly smile, she added, "And then we need to create a master plan.¡± "We''d have to train and be prepared for anything," Jasmine said softly, absently levitating a napkin with a flick of her finger, then dropped it quickly when she realized we were in public. Hannah stood from the table and drained the last of her chardonnay. She wagged her finger at us in warning, but her smile betrayed her true intentions. "Don''t forget we need to keep our enemies close, all while we stay hidden." "And then we''d strike...¡± I slammed my fist into my palm, my feet lifting slightly off the ground in excitement. ¡°When the superzeros are least expecting it. Like a pack of highly trained wolves hunting together. Okay, maybe that''s not right. More like hyenas, laughing viciously all the way to the kill." Madison''s giggle turned into a full-blown laugh. "Don''t forget the highly important chocolate and wine rations, guys. We can''t go into battle without it." Us five ladies had enough of the superheroes. All of Obsidian City worshiped them, but we knew their dirty little secret. Last year, when the men in tights diverted Dr. Quackery''s missile on its way to destroy downtown, the superheroes might have saved millions of people, but they didn''t think before they acted. The Wonderful Wons diverted the projectile into the countryside, right into the heart of WynGlo Chemical. Many innocent people died there. People like our families and friends. With great power comes great responsibility and all that shit. "This is good... our supervillain code. Let me write it down." I grabbed a napkin and scrawled the only title across the top that made me smile. A Girl¡¯s Guide to Supervillainy. It was the first time the powerless feeling of not being able to seek justice for the death of my sister disappeared. Hannah twirled her empty glass, a small storm cloud forming above it. "I mean, think about it. We''ll be like the anti-heroes of this story. We can be the ones that actually bring about real change and justice, instead of just saving the day for the sake of it." Madison raised her glass, the liquid inside starting to bubble. "Here''s to being the bad guys for once. To finally getting the recognition we deserve and making those arrogant superheroes pay for their mistakes." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Natalie grinned and clinked her glass against Madison''s. "And let''s not forget, we''ll also have the best supervillain costumes. No lame spandex for us." Jasmine nodded firmly, her eyes gleaming. "Absolutely. We''ll be the most stylish and formidable foes the superheroes have ever faced." "And we''ll have really cool superhero names like the Mind Mistress, Storm Singer, The Scorch, Dark Sky..." Jasmine''s voice trailed off as she set her glass down with a soft thud. "Damn. That''s all I got." ¡°It¡¯s a good start.¡± I smirked as I raised my glass to join the toast, hovering a few inches above my seat. Dang. I couldn¡¯t help the levitation since I was too damn excited. "To The Ladies in Leather and our mission to bring about real justice and change in the world." We spent the next hour and two more glasses of wine brainstorming our membership code. When we left our support group, The Ladies in Leather was alive with determination and a fierce, burning desire for revenge filled each of our souls. We were ready to take on the superheroes and show them the true meaning of consequences. We also left a little tipsy, but that''s a whole different story. A Girl¡¯s Guide to Supervillainy
  1. Choose your villainy. Are you interested in world domination, or are you content with being a criminal mastermind? There is no right or wrong answer, but you should pick something that you¡¯re passionate about.
  2. Choose your weapon. Whether it¡¯s a ray gun, a giant robot, or mind control, every supervillain needs a trademark weapon to help them take over the world.
  3. Develop your skills. Whether you¡¯re planning on being a physical threat or a mastermind behind the scenes, you¡¯ll need to develop your skills. Practice your fighting if you want to be a physical threat, or work on your hacking and computer skills if you want to be a mastermind.
  4. Create a master plan. This is the key to any successful takeover. Without a detailed plan, your villainous schemes are likely to fail.
  5. Build up your resources. A supervillain can¡¯t do everything alone, so you¡¯ll need to build up a team of loyal henchmen (or women) to help you achieve your goals. You¡¯ll also need to stockpile weapons and other resources that you might need for your evil plans.
  6. Keep your enemies close. It¡¯s important to keep tabs on your enemies and thwart their plans.
  7. Stay hidden. The best villains are the ones who stay hidden until they¡¯re ready to strike. Work on your disguise and evasion skills so that you can stay hidden from your enemies.
  8. Be prepared for anything. The world is a big place, and there¡¯s no telling what your enemies might throw at you. Be ready for anything and you¡¯ll be one step closer to world domination.
  9. Strike when your enemies are least expecting it. The element of surprise is key for any villain. Plan your attacks carefully and strike when your enemies are off-guard.
  10. Always make time for wine and chocolate and the company of like-minded women.
The Evil Minivan If you would have told me a year ago that I''d be at the Obsidian City Penitentiary, breaking my scum-bag ex out of prison, I''d have laughed at you. Yet, here I was, cackling like a proper villainess as we stumbled through the forest after hiding our escape vehicle. The moonlight cast eerie shadows through the trees, and the scent of pine and damp earth filled the air. Hannah''s eyes glowed with satisfaction at her handiwork as thunder rumbled in the distance, matching the pounding of my heart as my team of villainesses and I emerged from the trees. I picked a branch out of my ponytail, my feet barely touching the ground. "Step one¡ªdone. And by done, I mean I just nearly gave myself a concussion when I walked into a tree. Does my hair still look good?" "You always look good." Jasmine gave me a sweet smile and used her telekinesis to send a leaf flying off my shoulder. Natalie scraped the mud off her black, thigh-high boots, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Next time, let''s park in the parking lot. I don''t think anyone is going to think anything suspicious about our minivan. Even if Madison does donuts again." "First, it''s an evil minivan," Madison giggled, leaving steaming footprints in her wake. "And I was just trying to blend in with all the other prisoners'' families there to visit." I playfully nudged her with my black leather gloved hand, floating a few inches off the ground. "That may have been fine during daylight, but I didn''t see all the families there visiting in the middle of the night. If we didn''t all insist on coming here together, we wouldn''t need the minivan at all. I could have flown one of us in and flown us out before anyone noticed. All of us here tonight are way beyond my weight carrying capacity. As much as I''d like to be Supergirl, I''m not. But she does have magnificent hair." I smirked, running a hand down my own windswept ponytail. Our earpieces buzzed with Hannah¡¯s crackly voice. ¡°We didn¡¯t all come. Someone had to stay behind to be the mastermind.¡± ¡°And by mastermind, she means the one who gets to sit on the couch, eat chips, and watch Netflix while the rest of us do all the work." Natalie''s eyes narrowed as she focused on the earpiece. When only silence returned, she continued. "Really, Hannah, it''s nice having you watch our backs. Or at least, it would be nice if I could actually hear you through these crackly earpieces. Are you sure you''re not just talking into a tin can attached to a string?" Natalie shot me a look and then pointed up at the watchtowers surrounding the prison. "Anyway, if it was just two of us who came, how would we get past the guards?" "Or open the cell door?" Jasmine asked. "Or deal with seeing your ex-husband? Wait, scratch that last one. I''m not sure I even want to know about that drama." Madison''s giggle echoed through the trees. But none of them were wrong. There was all that drama around my ex. I mean, who knowingly marries the villain, and then when shit gets real, freaks out and turns him in? Me, apparently. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. And having four of us here for his escape made this break-in and break-out super easy. Especially armed with our special skills. Which, apparently, right now included the ability to nervously dish banter back and forth, delaying what we were here to accomplish. "Why do I have to wait outside?" Madison held out her ungloved hand and wiggled her perfectly manicured fingers. A small flame danced across her palm. "I could help on the inside, like melting the cell bars with my touch." "And also, probably set off all the fire alarms in the process." Natalie added, rolling her eyes. This was our first mission, and we all were itching to show off what we had been training for. "She has a point," I said, my feet touching the ground as my nerves got the better of me. "She''s probably more valuable than I am. I''m happy to wait outside after I do my small part. Once inside the prison, my power of flight is useless." My stomach knotted just thinking about seeing Elijah again. It had been nearly a year, and I was certain his anger only intensified. Fun times. "You''re just trying to get out of seeing him again." Jasmine placed a comforting hand on my arm. "Of course, I''m trying to get out of it!" I said with a dramatic flourish of my arms. "But you''re our security blanket that the infamous SuperBoom will work with us." Jasmine''s voice was gentle but firm. "I know he''ll come with us to get out of this place, but I''m not sure he''ll stick with us after that. And we need him." "I''m not sure Elijah will stick with me, either." My chest swirled with a mix of anticipation and dread, remembering our last day together. The day I double-crossed him and sent him to prison. To be fair, I didn''t see his vision back then. I was still brainwashed that the superheroes were our friends. Our saviors. But without the superheroes, there wouldn''t be supervillains. Then there was that little superhero disintegration stunt that made Elijah cross the line from deranged villain to standard murderer. I couldn''t stay married to him with that kind of rap sheet, could I? Despite everything, a part of me still excited at the thought of seeing him again. His intense gaze, his roguish smile, the way he could make my heart race with just a touch... I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Fine. I am the secret weapon. I get it. But if worse comes to worst, I''ll have to use my ultimate weapon: tears. No man can resist a good sob story. It''s like kryptonite to the male ego. And trust me, girls, you don''t want to be around for that." "Emily, stay focused here. You have the best chance of keeping him around," Hannah''s voice crackled in our ears. "We''re sticking to the plan." Hannah had been quiet, which was unlike her, but now her authority rolled off in waves. "We want nothing to go wrong and we rehearsed this. Agreed?" When she didn''t hear our response, her voice grew firmer. "Agreed?" Natalie and Jasmine shrugged. I''m sure they shared my sentiment. But Madison shook her head at Hannah''s bossiness, a trail of smoke or steam escaping her mouth. "At least it''s better than our backup plan. Which, if I remember correctly, involved dressing up like a clown and trying to distract the guards with balloon animals." Jasmine laughed. ¡°Hey, that could actually work. I mean, how can you not love a good balloon animal?" "Agree to the original plan," I said. That knot in my stomach was growing, and it was time to face the music. Natalie and Jasmine followed with their own begrudging, "Agreed." And the hesitant Madison. "Fine. Agreeeeeeed." Thank goodness Hannah didn''t see the eye-roll. "Okay." Hannah''s voice crackled again, accompanied by a distant roll of thunder. "Remember why we''re doing this. The sweet taste of Justice." "I thought revenge never tasted so sweet." "Revenge. Justice. Same thing." Madison giggled, a small flame dancing between her fingers. "Come on, Ladies in Leather," Hannah said over our earpieces. "Let''s get this over with. Sync your watches. Ready... Set... Go." We all started the timers on our watches. The plan was in motion. There was no turning back now. As we moved towards the prison, I couldn''t help but wonder what Elijah would think when he saw me. Would there still be a spark between us, or had prison extinguished any lingering feelings? Only time would tell, and right now, time was ticking away way too fast. My Fanny Pack...Ahem...Utility Belt Under the cover of darkness, I wrapped my arms around Natalie outside the penitentiary''s wall and launched into the sky, getting enough elevation to be out of the tower guards'' line of sight. The coolness of the night formed welcomed goosebumps on my skin, invigorating my entire body, sticky and damp from a mixture of exertion and nerves. My head throbbed like I had spent last night drinking, and my lungs seemed unable to get enough oxygen from the air. I could feel my powers draining like the battery on an old phone. I just hoped Hannah held off the rain until we got inside. I wouldn''t want my hair ruined for my reunion with my ex. My cape fluttered behind me as I hovered in the dark night sky with Natalie clinging tightly. The prison loomed below, a massive, foreboding structure surrounded by high, razor wire topped walls and armed guards. "Are you ready?" I called out over the wind from the looming storm. "Ready as I''ll ever be." Natalie''s voice strained with nerves. The absence of her usual quip told me she was truly nervous. I chuckled, masking my own anxiety. "Well, that''s not very reassuring. I was hoping for something a little more confident, like ''Bring it on, Stormy! I was born ready!'' or ''I''m ready for whatever comes my way!'' or even just ''Let''s do this thing!'' But I guess ''ready as I''ll ever be'' will have to do. Don''t worry, we''ve got this. The Ladies in Leather are unstoppable!" Okay, I didn''t believe any of that at the moment, but I could feel the tenseness in Natalie''s muscles relax. We didn''t need any fumbles during our first step to our inaugural master plan. Seeing a murderous ex-husband was enough to make a girl pee her pants. "Nice pep talk." Hannah buzzed in our ears. I showcased my middle finger, but luckily, she didn''t have a visual on us. "Remember why you''re here," Hannah continued, clearly wanting to give Natalie her own pep talk. "For Nell. She deserves justice." And so did all our loved ones. I began our descent towards the prison, narrowly avoiding the searchlights that swept across the sky. We caught a glimpse of the guard inside the tower, eyes already heavy as he seemed to wait for the minutes of his shift to tick by. Perfect. This would be easy. I landed softly on the roof, setting Natalie down beside me. We looked at our watches. The time ticked to four minutes into our plan. We had a minute until we had to act. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I pulled the explosive from my fanny pack. Ahem, utility pouch. I laid on my belly, waiting for the distraction to lower myself from the roof. I glanced at my watch. 4:58... 4:59... 5:00. Thunder boomed through the sky and the looming storm opened up. Hannah''s power was right on cue. On the other side of the roof, Natalie stomped on the shingles. Thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed. Another stomp. And I held my breath, slowly lowering until I saw the guard distracted by the thumping above him. At 5 minutes and 15 seconds on my watch, I hovered in the air and stuck the explosive to the glass, and quickly snatched Natalie from the roof, flying us high above the tower. The rain poured, taking out most of the visibility for the other tower watchguards and converting my sexy villainess look to nothing more but a drowned rat. God, what a way to make your ex jealous of all the things he missed over the past year. At 5:30, the sky lit up, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and off went the explosive, the boom swallowed by the weather. And now, there was no time to waste. I had Natalie in my arms and I could already see her hand glowing from her power brewing. I flew her down to the balcony, and she exploded through the broken window, launching herself across the room to place a hand on the guard. Her hand caught his wrist, and in only a moment, his eyes fell heavy and he slumped to the floor, fast asleep. "You earned your name of Telepathic Titan," I said, hovering just outside the window. "You are a god. Good job." Natalie turned, giving me a smile that showed off her pearly white teeth showcased by her bright red lipstick. "Guard number one has entered dreamland. I hope he dreams about something naughty." I placed my hand on the comm device, pushing the button. "Mission 1: complete. Exactly as expected." Through the storm, directly below the tower, I could make out the image of Jasmine, using her telekinesis to bend the wire of the fence to make an entrance and escape route for us all. I flew Natalie to the ground, and soon, we were inside the fortress. My ex-hubby was only a few corridors away, and I already felt like vomiting. I could do this. Sure, he deserved to be in prison for what he did, but in the same breath, so did the superheroes. They had killed my sister and many other people. Sometimes, life had consequences you couldn''t avoid. And despite the past, right now we needed Elijah to bring some justice. I had thought I would never have to see him again after what I had done. I knew I could take his anger, but could I take his hurt? I was about to find out. If only my magic little belt had enough room for the feel-better chocolate and emotion-numbing wine I wanted to pack. But as I turned one corridor and jogged down another, I couldn''t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Here I was, a newly formed supervillain, trying to break my supervillain ex-husband out of the prison I had sent him to, with the help of four women I met less than a year ago and completely trusted, united with a common goal of seeking justice against the superheroes everyone loved. If only the writers of my life could see me now. They''d probably cancel the show for being too over-the-top. The silent hallways were only giving us false confidence. A trap lay ahead that we were marching right into, and all I could do was chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all. Are We Having Fun Yet? Natalie led the way down the hallway with me on her heels. Our footsteps echoed off the cold, hard walls of the penitentiary. My cape fluttered behind, making me feel like a badass supervillain. You know, because if you look good, you feel good. And who doesn''t love a good cape? "Hold on," I whispered, stopping to pull a map out of my utility pouch. I traced the route with my finger, looking up at the maze of corridors. One wrong turn and we''d hit the guards. Sure, Natalie could take out one or two of them, but not a full wall of muscle. "We need to go that way if we ever want to listen to Madison giggle again. It''s the cell block where they''re holding Elijah." "As tempting as it is to never hear that sound, I don''t really want to get caught and have a roommate with skull tattoos on her chest... unless, of course, that roommate is male." Natalie winked at me and followed the way I pointed. As we penetrated deeper and deeper into the prison, a nearly crippling mixture of excitement and fear coursed through my veins. This was it, the moment I had both dreaded and secretly waited for. My palms sweated beneath my leather gloves and my heart raced. Life had not been easy since Elijah went to jail, but I managed by not thinking about my feelings. When those so-called superheroes killed my sister Ellie, it became easy to ignore my heart. But now, as we tiptoed through the prison, those suppressed feelings came rushing back. I hadn''t mourned separating from my husband. Ellie died right after Elijah went to prison, and I never had a chance to sort out my feelings for him. I simply put our marriage on hold. Yes, I filed for a divorce. It was what was expected after learning of the awful things your villain husband had done, but I hadn¡¯t dated anyone since our separation. "There she is." Natalie whispered, pointing to Jasmine at the end of the hallway. Jasmine fixated on her watch, then looked up to give us a nod. We were exactly on time. She pulled a small device out from between her mountainous breasts (can you say jealous?) and attached it to the security panel by the door. With a few quick taps of her fingers, the panel sparked to life, and the door swung open with a loud clang. Jasmine grinned, pleased with her device. We had gained access to the inner workings of the prison. Only behind the door stood three armed guards. What the hell? Were they standing there gossiping? Did men do that? "Well, this is just peachy," I rolled my eyes and smoothed out my waterlogged hair. "I was really hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation tonight. I mean, I did just get my hair done, and I''d hate for it to get all mussed up by a bunch of trigger-happy guards." I glanced at Natalie. "Do you think you could take them out before they ruin the drowned rat look I was going for?" This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Hands up!¡± One guard yelled. Natalie chuckled, forcing herself to relax as they raised their weapons. "I''ll do my best, but no promises. These guys don''t look like they''re here to gossip about their feelings." All three men suddenly fumbled with their weapons. One-by-one, they dropped them onto the floor. I glanced over at Jasmine and she was in a trance, sweat glistening on her temples. That took a lot out of her. "I hope you handle your other equipment better than your weapons." I naughtily glanced down below their belts, then back at their eyes with a smug smile. "Okay, okay." Natalie raised her hands and took a step forward. "I give up. We''re no match for such big, strong men." The poor guards didn''t know what hit them. As soon as one gathered Natalie''s hands behind her back for the handcuffs, and the other one assisted, their eyes grew heavy and they slumped down to the floor, fast asleep. That left me to take out the third one, who was clearly confused at the situation but smart enough to squat down to pick up his weapon. I pulled my taser from my pouch and lunged forward, aiming at the guard. But he was too quick. A powerful hand gripped my wrist and wrenched the taser out. I growled and threw a punch, but he easily blocked my attempt. Using my smaller size, I hunched to the ground and rammed my shoulder into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he stumbled backward. I scooped my taser and took aim... Only when I looked up, he had me at gunpoint. "Well, dang." I said, tilting my taser holding hand to get a better vantage point. "I like roulette. I''m actually pretty lucky." Did he see my shaking knees? Obviously, the gun was more deadly than a souped-up jolt of electricity, but I will bet he didn''t want to harm me. He probably had a woman to go home to and maybe children. He was probably a nice guy. A nice guy who could use something shocking in his life. Just as I was about to take my chance and pull the trigger, his eyelids grew heavy like the other two guards, and he fell down onto the floor with a thud. Behind his enormous body stood Natalie. "I had it covered." I sucked in a huge breath, not realizing I had stopped breathing, and flashed Natalie a playful smile. "I know. I was just showing off a bit." She winked. "Someone has to have your back." But damn. She had sweat on her temples, too. My partners were fading fast, and we hadn''t even gotten to Elijah''s cell yet. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," I playfully brushed off my hands. "Now let''s go bust Elijah out of this joint and get out of here before any more guards come to ruin our fun." "Beep, beep, beep." Came from overhead and a red light flashed above the door. "Something triggered the alarm." Jasmine breathed. "We''re on lockdown." "Great," I groaned. "We took down three guards without a scratch and now, some annoying alarm thinks it can scare us?" I huffed and placed a hand on my hip. "No problem. It''s not like we''re low on energy or anything." "Sure," Natalie said, wiping sweat from her temple. "We got this." "There''s no fun in doing things the easy way, anyway." Jasmine added with a tired smile. "What did my mom always say? If you don''t come back dirty, you didn''t have any fun." And as noises from the guards echoed down the hallway, I knew we''d soon be having lots of fun. A Thing for Bad Girls The blaring alarm assaulted my ears, its piercing wail reverberating off the cold, sterile prison walls. The acrid smell of sweat and disinfectant filled my nostrils as I pulled the crumpled map from my pouch, the paper rough against my gloved fingers. "Well, this is just great," I said, injecting sarcasm into the tense situation. "We break into a heavily guarded prison, take down a bunch of guards, and finally find where they''re holding my ex. There''s no way we''re stuck because the door won''t open." I let out a long sigh and looked at my team, their faces a mix of determination and anxiety in the harsh lighting that did nothing for our makeup. Natalie shrugged, her eyes darting around for potential threats, her perfectly styled hair somehow still immaculate despite our ordeal. "I guess we''ll just have to find another way to get Elijah out of here. Maybe we can dig a tunnel with our perfectly manicured nails? I''m sure the prison provides complimentary nail files." Jasmine added, her voice strained from overusing her powers, tiny beads of sweat dotting her forehead, "Or chip away at the concrete wall with a screwdriver? I''m sure I''ve got one in my utility belt, right next to my lip gloss and emergency tiara." "Or maybe if we let the giggling Madison in here, she could have just melted the door with her heat touch." I rolled my eyes, picturing our bubbly teammate probably reapplying her lipstick in the getaway van. "I mean, it''s not like we have a deadline or anything. We could just hang out here all night, maybe order some pizza? I hear prison cafeteria food is to die for." Hannah''s voice crackled over the comm, barely audible over the alarm. "It''s... kay.... one door left.... Elijah''s cell.......... go fast, the alarm... alert.... superzeros." My stomach knotted, a mix of anticipation and dread swirling inside me. One more door until I had to face the past I avoided like a dirty table at a restaurant. The memories of Elijah and I, once so sweet, now tasted bitter in my mouth. We jogged down the corridor, trying to act cool despite the loud clanking of our boots against the linoleum floors. The next door was no match for Jasmine and her trusty gadgets. Thank goodness she had a thing for a specific nerdy electronics expert. Hopefully, he remained discreet about our suspicious purchases, but he seemed to have a thing for Jasmine, too. As long as she flirted a bit, and kept waving those magical ta-tahs at him, we should be golden. When Jasmine attached the device to the security pad, the red display started ticking down. Seven... Six... Five... Above us was a line of cameras, which had been hacked by Hannah from our secret lair, but these flashed red, showing they were live. Maybe her hack hadn''t worked this whole time? Or the guards noticed the loop she put on and overrode the system. Either way, people were watching us. "Let''s give them a good debut pic for the news." I said with a smile, pushing down the anxiety bubbling in my chest. "We have three secs." So, we struck our best poses, trying to look tough while slicking back our water-logged hair, sticking out our leather clad butts, and making pouty lips. There was always time for a good photo op. But only for a second. I couldn''t help but wonder what Elijah would think if he saw me now, playing dress-up and breaking the law. How times had changed. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The pad sizzled, but this time the door didn''t move. We had to pry it open ourselves, the metal groaning in protest. Madison probably would have broken all her nails trying to do it, which was another reason she stayed behind in the getaway van. Poor girl''s nails just aren''t made for this kind of work. I could almost hear her chirping, "But guys, my manicure!" We readied ourselves for what lay behind the last door, but there was nothing but a wall of cells. The two guards sat in the center of the room in their own little booth, staring at the monitor like they were the judges on ''The Voice'' and we were the auditioning contestants. Then they slowly looked up, like they didn''t believe what they had just watched on the screen. "It''s like a real-live version of ''Big Brother'', isn''t it?" I laughed, striking a pose and ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. "Are we ready for our close-up? Or should I do my talent portion now?" The two guards'' shoulders shot up to their ears, and they stumbled back into their chairs like they had just seen a ghost. The skinny one got up and locked the door to their booth, his keys jangling nervously. The other instantly had the phone up to his ear, probably calling Ghostbusters. Smart men. Though I doubted even Ghostbusters could handle us. "You get Elijah out and I''ll keep Curly and Moe busy," Natalie said, her eyes already glowing with telepathic energy. She smirked, adding, "I''ll make them think they''re contestants on ''The Bachelor''. That should keep them occupied." "Hurry," Hannah buzzed in my earpiece, her usual authoritative tone tinged with urgency. "They''re alerting the guards where you are. And I can''t hold this weather distraction forever. Even I have limits, you know." I ignored the obvious, my stomach sick knowing that our country''s most notorious supervillains were in this room, staring at me. Their eyes boring into me, a mix of curiosity, lust, and maybe a hint of respect. And one of them was my ex. But the catcalls and cheers that rang in my ears? Those I ate up. Nothing like a good leather costume to make all your cellulite disappear. Take that, ice cream addiction! "I''ve always had a thing for bad girls. Want to add me to your list of crimes?" Came from a burly man to my left, his voice hoarse. "Come on over here and let me see what''s under that mask," called a skinny little guy with an exceptionally deep voice on the other side of the room. Talk about a voice not matching the package. "Hey sweetheart, why don''t you let me out of here and we can go on a crime spree together?" Came from somewhere behind me. "I promise I''ll be a perfect gentleman." And the whistles and hoots faded into the background when my legs turned to jelly as I adjusted my mask and watched Jasmine make her way past the guard station and into the corner to cell 132. "Come on," she yelled, glancing over her shoulder like she was leading a Conga line. "Last one there has to explain this mess to the police!" Yes. I had to do this. There was no turning back now. No matter how much I wanted to fly away and pretend this wasn''t happening. Step by step, I made my way to my ex, watching the ground as I walked, the cold floor seeming to seep through my boots. When I finally mustered up the courage to look into Elijah''s vibrant green eyes, I couldn''t help but feel my heart break. The last year had clearly taken a toll on him. Those eyes that once looked at me with such love and adoration now held a mix of confusion, anger, and something else I couldn''t quite place. As much as having a sexy man shackled to a wall was every woman''s fantasy, this was a far cry from any kind of dream come true. Unless you counted nightmares. Because the last year of hell Elijah went through was all too apparent in his eyes. And worst of all? It was all my fault he was here. The weight of my choices, the path that led us both here, settled on my shoulders like a lead cape. I wanted to reach out, to touch him, to explain everything. But I knew I couldn''t. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Whoa! Had Elijah been in this type of misery for the past year while I enjoyed wine and chocolates with the girls? Guilt coursed through my chest as I adjusted my mask for the umpteenth time, hoping he wouldn''t recognize me. I couldn''t avoid the confrontation forever, but I didn''t need that drama on top of our prison break. The smell of stale air and despair hung heavy in the cell, a stark contrast to the sweet scent of the perfumes the girls and I wore. Jasmine''s hands glowed as she slowly manipulated the iron bars to flex like they were made of putty. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her face contorted with concentration. The metal groaned and twisted, the sound grating against my nerves. "Whoa!" Elijah said, raising his shackled hands. "I gave up my life of crime. I''m no threat." His voice was rough, like he hadn''t used it in a while. It sent a shiver down my spine, memories of late-night whispers and passionate moral debates flooding back. "Oh sure, because nothing says ''I''m no threat'' like being in prison," Natalie called from behind the guard''s station, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What are you in for? Jaywalking? Overdue library books?" "We''re on your side," Jasmine gritted out. I expected something more long-winded from her, but her face said those four words took more energy than she had. The bars continued to bend, creating an opening just large enough for us to slip through. I wanted to say something clever and sarcastic like, "This proves how wonderful of an ex-wife I am, breaking my murderous husband out of prison," or "Remember all those mediocre meals I cooked for you? Well, after prison food, I bet you finally realize they were gourmet." But I didn''t want my ex-husband to recognize my voice, at least not until I had to unveil my identity. Instead, I kept quiet, my heart pounding in my chest, threatening to burst out like an alien from a sci-fi movie. The shackles binding my ex''s wrists were attached to the wall by long cables, allowing him to move within his cell, but they must have been burdensome. The skin around the cuffs was red and raw. If only they''d introduce fuzzy handcuffs in prison. I bet he''d look nice in a purple pair to match his worn, but clean orange prison jumpsuit. His clenched jaw and narrowed eyes watched me intensely with each breath I took. His brown hair was longer, like he hadn''t cut it in a year. His normal buzz had grown out into waves that framed his face, making him even more delectable. I fought the urge to run my fingers through those unruly locks. And his body had changed. He had always been fit from running and cycling, but now, his leanness was gone, replaced by muscular bulk. The lengths he had to go to change his body like that all while being tied up to the wall like a wild animal made that guilt I felt soften me further. I remembered our morning jogs, the way we''d race each other to the finish line, always ending in a tie and a kiss. In a rush of lust, my body reacted to the sight of the man I had once loved. Damn. Was this the suppressed emotions I had been thinking about earlier? They were coming back with a vengeance. I reminded myself that his little villain hobby had put my life at risk. He had lost his conscious and killed someone. And that when faced with the choice of achieving his goal or saving me, he hesitated. You don''t hesitate with love. The memory of that moment, watching him decide, still haunted my dreams. Jasmine made a big enough hole between the bars that we could slip inside his cell. "I''m done." She stumbled back and grabbed the iron grid to hold herself up. "Get him out. I need time to recover.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "There is no time," Hannah buzzed in our ears, her voice tense. "I can see the guards making their way through the security system, doing a sweep and coming your way. And this freak thunderstorm turned tornado warning I whipped up won''t distract them forever." "Then we''re going to have to abort." Jasmine was breathless and her other hand shook as she used it to help her down to the ground. "Oh no, don''t leave me here with all the luxurious amenities," Elijah caught me with the intensity of his emerald eyes. "You need me to escape this paradise and go back to the real world." Suddenly, I felt like Jasmine. Completely useless. I glanced over my shoulder at Natalie, watching the guards and holding her hands out with glowing fingertips, ready to put them to sleep when any opportunity presented itself. And dang. That left me. I took a deep breath and entered my ex''s cell, the confined space making the air feel thick and heavy. "Get these shackles off and stand back. Prepare to be amazed at how I can help." His words were softer than before as he offered me his wrists. "I promise not to sonic boom you into next week. Scout''s honor." The cuffs were a big problem. Elijah could create a sonic boom by clapping his hands together, and a fixed metal rod attached between the cuffs held apart his hands. I wondered how he got those bulging biceps of his with his hands bound. I guess pushups and pullups with the cuffs explained his scarred wrists. I ran my hands along the cuffs, doing my best not to touch him anymore than necessary. The memories of our life together were already clouding my focus. His shackles were digital, making the lock picking skill I had perfected over the past few months irrelevant. So much for those late nights practicing with bobby pins and YouTube tutorials. "The chickens over there in the coop have a magnetic device." Elijah nodded towards the bulletproof guard station where Natalie was still on watch. "Unless you''d prefer to saw through these with a plastic spoon. I''ve got plenty of time." But if we penetrated their shelter, we were at risk of their weapons. The bullet proof glass protected them, but it also protected us. I turned his hands over, seeing the scabbed and scarred skin on his wrists and the illness in my stomach intensified, overshadowing the sizzling electrical hum that brought memories of his touch into my mind. I had taken a vow that we''d love and cherish each other for better or for worse and to death do us part. He had needed me this past year, and I had bailed. The weight of my choices pressed down on me, threatening to crush me. But I couldn''t think about that now. I turned the device, examining if there was a manual override that I could pick. Maybe I could channel my inner MacGyver and use a hairpin and some chewing gum. And that''s when I made the mistake of looking up into his green eyes at this closeness. My heart pitter-pattered at the intensity of his gaze. But then his face hardened. "Emily." The way Elijah spat out my name was like acid on his tongue. Each syllable laced with disgust and hatred. This was a bad idea. Right now, Madison''s heat touch would be more helpful at getting these shackles off and all she was doing was guarding the getaway van. When we had planned our master plan, I tried convincing the girls that Elijah wouldn''t come with me, but they hadn''t listened. They said he''d trust me. That he''d forgive. And there was a part of me, deep down, that hoped they were right. But there was nothing on his face that said he forgave me now. Elijah leaned back and took in my entire getup, making all my badass pride disappear like Snickers bars on Halloween. "Well, well, well, look who finally graced me with her presence." Elijah tsked his tongue, keeping his voice quiet enough that the conversation was only shared between the two of us. "Feeling guilty? Or were you just really, really into the whole prisoner fantasy thing?" My mouth went dry, memories of heated nights together flashed through my mind. "No." Yes. "Not guilty at all." Could he see through my lie hiding behind a leather mask? I felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, only the cookie jar was a maximum-security prison. All the drama I had hoped wouldn''t be unleashed was about to come crashing down on me full force. And worst of all? Hannah''s crackly voice yelling in my ear that the guards were only one corridor away. Dont Worry Darling Elijah arched an eyebrow, his green eyes glinting in the harsh prison lighting. "Not feeling guilty?" He laughed, the sound echoing off the concrete walls. "I don''t believe you." I fidgeted with the lock pick in my hands, avoiding his gaze. "I''m not the one who deserves to be in prison," I snapped, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. In my earpiece, Hannah''s voice crackled with urgency. "The guards are coming. Get out of there." "Oh really?" Elijah chuckled, oblivious to Hannah''s warning. He rattled his chains dramatically. "Because breaking into a federally protected prison and attempting to release a known murderer just screams that you''re a stand-up citizen." He gave me a small, respectful bow, his orange jumpsuit stretching across his broad shoulders. "Bravo." I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore how the movement accentuated his muscular frame. "What about you?" I huffed, focusing on the lock. "Last time we were face-to-face was when you handed my broken body over to the police and took off to chase down Doctor Quackery." Elijah flinched, his cocky demeanor faltering. His eyes fell to the concrete floor, tracing the cracks. "To be fair, you needed medical attention¡­ and I was¡­ overwhelmed with the desire to make the Doctor pay for what he had done to you." "And how did that work out for you?" I asked, my fingers working faster on the lock. "He''s in prison and you''re alive." Elijah looked up, his gaze catching mine with unexpected sincerity. "I''d apologize, but things worked out, didn''t they?" I clenched my jaw, biting back a retort. The topic was brewing a full-out emotional brawl between us, and this wasn''t the place for that. Elijah seemed to sense it too, changing the subject with a smirk. "And you brought your little team of... villainesses with you. How sweet." His cocky tone made the hair raise on the back of my neck. "I see you finally came to your senses. When did you decide to join my team?" ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited.¡± I tried to hide the flood of emotions in my voice. ¡°We¡¯re only here to use you for your powers. Once we¡¯re finished with you, you can come back here for all I care. That¡¯s up to you.¡± "Oh, don''t worry, darling," he said with a wink that sent an unwelcome shiver down my spine. "I''m not opposed to being used." I rolled my eyes at his comment, ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks. "Let''s just get out of here and focus on the mission at hand." I turned to further examine his shackles, my fingers brushing against his wrists. "I don''t have time for your macho posturing. Right now, we have a plan that we thought you''d be interested in. A plan to take down the heroes once and for all. And you, darling," I flashed him my evilest smile, "are going to help us do it." "I can see how enthusiastic you are to work with me again." More sarcasm, but he smiled back, the softness on his face melting the ice around my heart. "Because of that, I''ll do it. No questions asked. That and the fact that you''re getting me out of this luxurious spa." "I''m glad your accommodations were to your liking," I quipped, giving up on his wrist restraints and following Elijah''s shackles to where they were attached to the wall. "I hear the prison''s cucumber water is to die for." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. With a simple twist of my lock pick, the shackles detached from the wall. The sudden freedom seemed to energize Elijah, his entire body humming with power. ¡°The guards are almost there," Hannah buzzed in my ear, her usual calm replaced by barely contained panic. As soon as we got Elijah out of this place, we could figure the rest out. The current problem: we had counted on using his powers, but now, he was handicapped with his hands still bound. I grabbed Elijah''s arm, trying to ignore the solid muscle beneath my fingers. "We gotta go." I gathered the metal cable that was still attached to his wrists and pushed my ex out of the cell through the opening. I had him on a leash and I wasn¡¯t letting go. There was no way I¡¯d let him sneak away. Elijah surprised me by leaning down to help Jasmine up. Her legs wobbled, so he looped his still handcuffed arms around her, lifting her into a front piggy-back. The way Jasmine wrapped her legs around his waist was intimate enough to flood me with an emotion I never expected. Jealousy. "Which way?" Elijah asked, his voice husky from the exertion. I pointed to the open door beyond Natalie at the guard station. "The same way we came." "The route is clear," Hannah said over the comm, her voice tinged with relief. Elijah, with Jasmine latched on, led the way. I followed close behind, my eyes darting between potential threats and the flex of Elijah''s back muscles, all while holding his leash. Natalie brought up the rear, her fingers glowing faintly with telepathic energy. As we jogged through the familiar corridors, the sound of sliding metal and heavy boots echoed behind us. My heart raced, pumping equal parts fear and exhilaration through my veins. "Hurry. Hurry." Hannah buzzed, her usual cool demeanor cracking under the pressure. Our steps quickened, Elijah''s feet falling heavy with Jasmine in his arms. Memories flooded my mind of a time when my legs were wrapped around his powerful waist. Of our whirlwind romance that led to a quick marriage. Of how I felt I had found my soulmate. But I couldn''t fantasize about that. Anything between us was clearly over. Elijah was the villain. (But so was I.) My mind snapped back to the present as we took one turn, then another, and finally approached the final turn. The exit was right ahead, promising freedom and complications in equal measure. Jasmine pried her head up from where she''d been nestled in the crook of Elijah''s neck. Was she sniffing him? "Why are the guards so slow?" she asked. I paused, straining my ears. The corridor was silent except for our ragged breathing and pounding hearts. "Ever heard of the silence before the storm? Keep moving." As we rounded the final corner, my words proved prophetic. We had our answer to why there were no guards¡ªthey were all cowering in a corner waiting for the superzeros to arrive. And there they were, waiting for us. There, standing in the last corridor, chests puffed out in their gaudy spandex and billowing capes, were two members of the Wonderful Wons: Captain Celestial and The Thunderbolt. "What? No Golden Guardian today?" Elijah laughed his villainous laugh, the sound sending an inappropriate shiver down my spine. "Are we not a big enough threat to send in the entire team?" Jasmine slipped from his arms, her wobbly knees miraculously steadied. I could practically see the gears turning in Natalie''s head as she raised her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay?" Natalie''s voice dripped with fake innocence. "We give up." I joined the line of villains, shoulder to shoulder with my ex. He looked over at me with a puzzled eyebrow arch, not privy to Natalie''s little surrender act. I gave him a subtle nod, hoping he''d play along. The only problem was we didn''t know if Natalie''s telepathy would work on another super. She''d tried putting all of us to sleep during training, and it had worked on everyone except Jasmine. Fingers crossed the superzeros weren''t immune. Just as hope began to flicker, a side doorway burst open. Three guards piled out from the stairwell, their weapons trained on us. Well, fuck. We were surrounded, caught between overzealous guards and self-righteous heroes. As I met Elijah''s eyes, a silent understanding passed between us. Whatever happened next, we''d face it together. Let the games begin. Ive Been Very, Very Bad The harsh fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting eerie shadows on the sterile white walls of the corridor. The acrid smell of disinfectant mixed with the metallic tang of fear-induced sweat. My leather outfit creaked softly as I shifted my weight, the cool material a stark contrast to my flushed skin. "I can handle these three," Elijah said through gritted teeth, his jaw clenching in that familiar way that still made my heart skip a beat. My gaze met Elijah''s, and a familiar spark of electricity passed between us. His jaw clenched tighter, a muscle twitching beneath his skin - a telltale sign of his frustration that I still remembered all too well. I fought the urge to smooth it away with my thumb, as I might have done in the past. My heart raced, torn between the urge to help Elijah and the need to protect my team. Images flashed through my mind - tender moments we''d shared, juxtaposed with the pain of our bitter breakup. I shook my head, trying to clear the conflicting emotions. Now wasn''t the time for nostalgia or regret. I debated turning around to help him, but the two superzeros in front of us were more of a threat. If Jasmine, Natalie, and I handled the men in tights and Elijah took out the guards, we''d be able to escape. As outnumbered as we were, this wasn''t over. We had studied the superzeros¡¯ powers for months and knew all their weaknesses. And we had the element of surprise, they knew nothing about us¡­ yet. Natalie¡¯ laughter echoed down the corridor, bouncing off the walls with a slightly manic edge. "Is this all you''ve got? Two members of the team and some measly guards?" She put a hand on her hip and huffed. "You should have brought the entire gang if you wanted to take down the notorious Ladies in Leather..." She glanced over her shoulder at Elijah, a smirk playing on her lips. "Plus one." "Is this a super-powered showdown or a high school reunion?" I quipped, while dodging a wild swing from one of the guards. "Because I didn''t bring my yearbook for autographs." Elijah rolled his eyes, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips despite the situation. "Your jokes haven''t improved since we broke up." "Neither has your timing, apparently," I shot back, memories of our playful banter flooding back. Natalie sauntered forward with her wrists out, her perfect hair somehow still immaculate despite the chaos. "Seriously guys, I already said I give up. Take me. I''ve been very, very bad." She batted her eyelashes, her voice dripping with exaggerated innocence. I held back a snicker, admiring my friend''s commitment to the act. But when Captain Celestial grabbed her, he fell to the ground asleep faster than a narcoleptic at a lullaby convention. That''s when all hell broke loose. Natalie grabbed for The Thunderbolt''s arm, but he pulled away from her touch. Damn. He was immune to her telepathy. Jasmine spun around to stand beside Elijah, her eyes latching onto the guards'' hands. With a graceful flick of her wrist, she used her telekinesis to yank the guns from two of the three guards. The weapons flew across the room in a deadly arc, each one landing perfectly into Natalie''s outstretched palms. Not content with just disarming our foes, Jasmine''s spun back around to protect Natalie. I felt like an idiot, just standing there doing nothing but looking pretty. There was one guard left with a weapon. He raised his gun, finally keeping up with the slightly advanced speed we all moved at. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. And I would not let him shoot. It was my time to show them I was more than eye candy. I jumped and lunged forward, breaking out into a full fly, knocking all the air out of him as he thudded to his back. My problem was I couldn''t stop as quickly as I could start, and I covered my head as I pelted into the ceiling to slow myself down, tumbling to the ground in a less-than-graceful heap. "Nailed it," I muttered, spitting out a strand of hair that had found its way into my mouth. While disoriented, I scrambled to stand. Tires screeched to a halt outside the doorway, the smell of burning rubber wafting through the air. From behind the fighting that was going on with my ex against the two guards and Natalie and Jasmine with The Thunderbolt, shimmered a beautiful golden minivan. Right on cue, Madison was here for our escape. Elijah caught my eye and nodded towards the minivan outside. I nodded back, letting him know it was part of our plan. With my approval, he followed Natalie''s attack method. Elijah raised his hands in the air, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Okay, okay. I surrender. I didn''t want to escape. These women were kidnapping me." The two guards yanked his arms down, grabbing hold and twisting them in awkward positions, since the metal rod still held apart his wrists. "We don''t want anyone to get hurt," Jasmine said, her gentle voice at odds with the chaos around us. She held up her hands, too, but I could see the tips of her fingers glowing. Her powers had recharged. The hinge of the stairwell door squeaked, the sound piercing through the sounds of our failing battle. Sweat beaded on Jasmine''s temples, her brow furrowed in concentration. And just like that, the stairwell door flew off its hinges with a deafening crash, pelting the two guards who stood in front of it. They went down like bowling pins, freeing up Elijah and distracting The Thunderbolt enough to create an opportunity to escape. Hannah''s voice boomed on the other end of our comms, sharp and authoritative. "Go. Go. Hurry." Natalie and Jasmine raced for the door, throwing themselves into the minivan with its side door already open. Good girl Madison. I could practically hear her peppy voice cheering us on. They frantically motioned for me, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and excitement. My heart pounded as I weaved through the air, narrowly avoiding The Thunderbolt''s crackling energy blasts. I tucked into a roll, springing up behind him and using my momentum to send us both careening into the wall. The impact rattled my teeth, but I pushed off, spinning to face the next threat. My mind raced, weighing my options. I could fly past the guards, snatch Elijah from their grasp while midair, and maybe make it around The Thunderbolt. Or maybe not, since freeing Elijah would surely slow me down. The superzero''s hand glowed ominously, his powers brewing. One wrong move and Elijah and I would get a massive dose of the defibrillator. Or I could leave without Elijah, certain to make it out while he distracted the guards and The Thunderbolt. But did I trust him? Ha. Not at all. Another option would be better... One where everyone could escape and I was in charge. "Go!" I yelled, waving the rest of the Ladies in Leather away. When they hesitated, I spoke clearly into my comm to ensure everyone heard. "Go. I have a different plan. Hurry! We''ll meet up later." With that, I dove for my ex, using the force of my power of flight to knock the guards off balance while grasping Elijah in my arms. I used the guards'' bodies as a wall to turn myself around and head away from The Thunderbolt and his glowing touch. As I heard the minivan''s tires squeal, I flew Elijah towards the open stairwell. I kept going up, up, and away, flying over the steps while looking for an exit to the roof. The exertion of using my powers and lugging Elijah''s two-hundred-pound body around had my entire body perspiring. His familiar scent, a mix of spice and something uniquely him, filled my nostrils, bringing back a flood of memories. Hannah yelled in my ear, her voice tinged with frustration and concern. "Emily, what are you doing?" What was I doing? Making sure my girls got out safely. And making sure my ex knew that I was stronger now. That for once, I didn''t need his rescuing. As I flew up the stairs with Elijah held so close, I admitted I liked it a bit. Whether it was the power, the freedom, or the memory of us wrapped in each other''s arms didn''t matter. At the moment, I felt powerful. And this time, I''d take care of myself. But as we reached the top of the stairs and couldn''t see any way of escape, I knew that this was far from over. The weight of my choices, both past and present, settled on my shoulders like a lead cape. "Well," Elijah said dryly, his breath warm against my ear, "this brings back memories. Though usually, our dates ended with a bit less property damage." I couldn''t help but chuckle, the sound bubbling up despite the gravity of our situation. "What can I say? I like to keep things interesting." Seven Minutes in Heaven "Okay. Maybe it was a bad idea to take the stairs to the roof." I panted at the top of the stairwell, my leather suit clinging uncomfortably as sweat trickled down my spine. The lack of roof access mocked our escape attempt. "Who wants to live through such a clich¨¦ movie scene, anyway?" Elijah''s soft chuckle vibrated against the tender flesh of my neck, making me acutely aware that I still held him tightly. His prison-honed muscles tensed under my fingers. I reluctantly let him go to scan for an escape route, but only a hallway of nondescript doors greeted us. "What do you think?" I asked, trying to steady my breathing. "Will it be door number one, two, or three? Or should we just play eeny, meeny, miny, moe?" I peered behind door number one, revealing nothing more than a big closet. We seemed to be on an unused floor, storing a mishmash of things that weren''t used for prisoners - broken chairs, outdated computers, and what looked suspiciously like a life-size cardboard cutout of Captain Celestial. Over the blaring alarm that was drilling into my skull, footsteps and voices rumbled down the hall. "Get in," Elijah whispered, his hands warm on my back as he nudged me inside. "I''m not going to hide..." Even though staying hidden was part of our supervillain code. Elijah didn''t listen. He maneuvered us both into the closet, his finger pressing against my lips in a shushing motion before closing the door, leaving us together in total darkness. The small space amplified every sensation - Elijah''s warm breath on my cheek, the rapid beating of my heart, the faint scent of ginger, cloves, and allspice that still clung to him despite a year in prison. Yup, complete pumpkin spice. Yum. "Are we playing 7-minutes in heaven?" I whispered, my lips brushing his finger. "Because if we are, I''m not ready. I didn''t even bring my strawberry lip gloss." He shushed me again, but I could practically feel his smirk in the darkness. Hannah¡¯s voice crackled in the comm. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Shh,¡± I snapped. ¡°Not now. Kinda hiding in a closet.¡± Then I backed up, and got poked byy something. I smiled and whispered, defying Elijah¡¯s attempt to shush me. "Is that a mop in my ass or are you excited to see me?" I snickered, trying to lighten the mood. It was that or panic, and neither of us needed that right now. Elijah''s soft chuckle rumbled through the darkness. It wasn''t the evil laugh he''d unleashed downstairs. This one was deep and genuine, sending an inappropriate shiver down my spine. His voice dropped low, a sensual whisper that caressed my ear. "Well, I''m not sure about the mop in that tight little butt of yours, but I am excited to see you." He paused, listening to the voices in the hallway. Then he leaned in closer, his lips almost touching my ear. "Just not excited enough to share this experience with a mop. I have standards, you know." I pulled away before my hands could betray me, fumbling around in the dark to get a sense of our surroundings. My fingers brushed against rough shelving, cleaning supplies, and what felt suspiciously like a feather duster. I felt Elijah''s presence next to me, his breathing heavy. Or was that just me hyperventilating? Hard to tell in the pitch black. "Well, that was a close one," Elijah whispered when the voices outside passed. "I''m glad you chose to save my sorry ass. Though I''m sure it''s not as sorry as yours right now, pressed up against that mop bucket." "I didn''t choose anything," I hissed, trying to ignore how his proximity made my skin tingle. "You were our mission.¡± "Downstairs, when your fellow villainesses were escaping, I saw you pause before you grabbed me away from the guards. You could have gotten away, and you knew it." "And miss being trapped in a closet with you like we were fourteen? That''d been a shame. It''s not like I have better things to do on a Tuesday night." "You have to admit, this is kinda romantic," he teased, his voice low and playful. "It''s only your year of deprivation that''s making you think this is romantic," I retorted, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through my body. "I''d prefer a box of chocolates and a bubble bath. You know, without the threat of imprisonment hanging over our heads." Elijah''s hand found mine in the darkness, intertwining my fingers with his calloused ones. A mixture of the need to pull away and the desire for him to touch more of my body seemed to tear me in two. Things between us were too far broken. He was broken and so was I. And I could never forgive him. Could he forgive me? I didn''t have time to answer that question before a pile of keys were pushed into my palm. "There should be a circular magnetic release that fits into an indentation on the cuffs," Elijah explained, his breath warm on my cheek. I ran the keys through my fingers, my heart pounding so loud I was sure Elijah could hear it. I felt the jagged edge of at least a dozen keys before finding a device that felt like the stub of a pencil. "Maybe this?" A warm hand cupped over mine, his fingers brushing against my skin as he felt what was between my fingers. "Yeah. That''s it. Put it in the hole. And no sexual jokes, please. It''s been a year locked up in here. I think one more thing out of your sexy mouth will cause me to lose control faster than my sonic boom." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. His confession left me speechless, heat rising to my cheeks. Instead, I focused on our task, grateful for the darkness hiding my flushed face. I ran my fingers around the device on his wrists until I found the indentation he spoke of. I inserted the end of the magnet where it seemed to belong, and the entire cuff lit up a soft blue color, casting eerie shadows on Elijah''s ragged face. A beep echoed in the small space. "Shit. Too loud," he whispered, tensing beside me. But the cuff released with a satisfying click. "Mission accomplished. Do I get a gold star? Or maybe a ''get out of jail free'' card?" "So, you can fly?" Elijah whispered, changing the subject. His tone was a mix of awe and curiosity. "When did that happen? Or were you hiding your secret superpower from me all this time? Because if so, our honeymoon could have been way more interesting." "It would be only fair, since you hid so much from me," I shot back, old hurt coloring my words. "Hey, now is not the time to unleash our anger," Elijah said, his voice softening. "And I hid nothing from you. Things just... escalated... and there was no time to tell you the entire master plan. You know, between the explosions and the police sirens." I sighed, the weight of the past year settling on my shoulders. "Fine. You know the Superhero''s missile diversion that blew up WynGlo Chemical right after you went to prison? Well, not only did I lose Ellie in that explosion, but I was out in the parking lot, waiting to have lunch with her. When the chemicals rained down, I got my little gift. Surprise!¡± "Hmm. And your team of henchwomen?" "Not henchwomen," I corrected, a hint of pride in my voice. "We are all equal partners in this. We all were affected by that explosion. Think of us more as a really niche support group with a flair for leather." "Wow." Elijah''s voice was still soft, tinged with regret. "I''m sorry I wasn''t there when this all happened. It tore me up not being there to hold you when you lost Ellie, but knowing you were going through these changes too..." "Stop. I don''t need your sympathy. I had my girls¡ª" Footsteps echoed from outside and we froze, barely breathing. The closeness of the space suddenly felt suffocating, Elijah''s body heat seeping through my suit. Once the footsteps faded, Elijah whispered, "Is flying your only power.¡± ¡°Oh no. I have a great backup skill that we''re using right now: pretending to be fantastic at hide and seek and hoping the guards don''t find us. Sorry to disappoint you, but yeah. That''s all I can do. No x-ray vision or ice breath. Just your average, everyday flying ex-wife." "Trust me. It''s not a disappointment. I was just calculating our escape. Though I wouldn''t say no to ice breath.¡± Outside the closet, the voices grew again. Elijah once again put a finger to my lips, still illuminated by the glow of the handcuff with the magnet stuck in its spot, and whispered, "Shh." This time, I didn''t argue. If I had to be honest, being trapped in a closet with Elijah wasn''t the worst thing in the world. But Elijah had other plans than just to make goo-goo eyes at me in the dark. He took the magnet from the free cuff and released the other one, causing a beep that made me cringe with the prison workers right outside our door. "Ready?" He whispered, excitement thrumming through his voice. "Fuck no!" I hissed back. Didn''t I just tell him that my only skill was flying? "I''m not invincible. In fact, my shoulder already hurts from the collision with the ceiling.¡± But he didn''t listen. Like always. Instead, he swung the door open and clapped his hands softly, sending a sonic wave directly at the two guards standing in the hallway. They flew back twenty feet, crashing into the wall with twin grunts of surprise. "Door number three it is!" He grabbed my hand, his grip warm and sure, and raced us down the hallway. We ducked into the room at the corner, an office bathed in moonlight streaming through the window. "You can fly us outta here?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with a mix of mischief and hope. As soon as I nodded, he clapped his hands, causing the window in front of us to rain down broken glass like a sparkly, deadly waterfall. "Good. Then let''s go.¡± No sooner did he say that, did I have his body wrapped around mine as I dove out the window into the rain. I welcomed the coolness since my body instantly heated with Elijah so close, his arms locked around my waist. The rain was coming down in sheets, which was perfect for a getaway. "Thanks Hannah," I said into my comm, appreciative of our team even if they weren''t right beside me. I could almost hear her smug "you''re welcome" in response. The rain was both good for an escape, but also for a surprise attack. Out of the darkness, a glowing Golden Guardian appeared from nowhere, like a disco ball with a vengeance. Maybe I should have seen him sooner. Or maybe I was too distracted by Elijah''s arms around me. Either way, he plowed into my body, causing me to lose my focus and tumble towards the earth. And then, just as I slowed our fall, a boom and a piercing pain shot through my backside. It was a moment before the unbelievable pain hit me, causing my levitation power to slowly drain away like air from a punctured balloon. Elijah hung on tight as we tumbled from the sky, his grip the only thing keeping me from completely losing it. "Emily, what''s going on?" he tapped my cheek, trying to wake me up from some trance. I was there, but I had retreated into my mind, probably looking for a happy place without bullets in my butt. "Ems. Darling. Come on. This is no time for a nap." Darling? He had used his pet name for me earlier, but it was spiteful. Now it was sweet enough to snap me back in the moment just before we pummeled the ground. I swept us up slightly, flying through the trees to stay hidden as we escaped somewhere into the forest around the penitentiary. When all my energy was gone and my feet hit the ground, I collapsed. Too much exertion. Too much pain. Too much Elijah. I quickly rolled over from the shooting pain from my backside. My butt was up in the air while I planted my face on a bed of pine needles, like a damn ostrich. Elijah''s hands palpated my ass, and I was too tired to stop him. "Hey Ems, don''t panic, but you''ve been shot." No shit. ¡°What gave it away? The bullet hole or my impromptu forest floor faceplant?¡± And the worst part? It was right in my perfectly heart-shaped buttocks. The buttocks I''d spent countless hours sculpting in the gym, now with an unwanted piercing. Elijah pushed on my firm cheek, his touch sending conflicting signals of pain and... something else through my body. "Let me look." "Ha!" I mumbled into the pine needles, my voice muffled by the forest floor. I was wrong, getting shot wasn''t the worst part. Having to bare my ass to Elijah under these conditions was. As Elijah''s hands gently probed the injury, I couldn''t help but think that this was not how I imagined our reunion going. Then again, with our history, maybe I should have expected nothing less than chaos, gunshots, and inappropriately timed butt touches. Just another action-packed night for Emily and Elijah, the world''s most dysfunctional supervillain couple. Let me See your ASSet The scent of pine and damp earth filled my nostrils as I lay on a bed of needles, the cool leather of my pants contrasting with the warmth of Elijah''s hands. He''d pulled them halfway down to wipe the blood away with his soft and faded orange prison shirt, now soaked from the cool spring rain. To get through the pain, I twisted my head to focus on the shadows cast on his chest by the new muscles I hadn''t yet caressed. He''d clearly changed since a year ago, but the familiar wolf tattoo over his left pectoral was so familiar. I had traced its outline with my finger many times. The forest was silent, except for the two of us, giving us a sense of aloneness and safety while we waited for my powers to recharge so I could fly us the rest of the way to the evil lair. "I can see the bullet. It''s not deep. The leather and distance probably slowed it down enough that it barely penetrated your skin." Elijah''s hand pressed firmly against one cheek. I groaned, trying to mask my pain with humor. "Can''t you tell me it''s terrible so that my whining is justified? Come on, please? It hurts like a mother¡­" He chuckled, a sound that brought back a flood of memories. "Okay. I was wrong. It''s a terrible injury. You''re lucky to be alive. Seriously though, we should get the bullet out. What do you have in that fanny pack of yours?" "Evil utility pouch," I corrected, through gritted teeth. "Something besides lipstick?" "As useful as that is, how about something sharp?" I wretched my hand to my back and unclipped the pack, pushing it off for Elijah to rummage through. "Maybe your lock picking tools¡­" He pulled out a few of my different size thin metal hooks. "Yeah, these will work. I''m going to dig the bullet out. Are you ready? It''ll hurt." "Really? I was thinking this would feel as good as a full body massage at the spa." As Elijah worked, good memories flooded back ¨C we met only a handful of years ago, on the frickin¡¯ subway. He looked all panicked and I said something quirky to calm him down. He ignored me at first, so my quirkiness got more annoying until he couldn¡¯t ignore our chemistry. He started throwing banter back to me and before I knew it, we were back at his place making out. Little did I know he had just escaped Dr. Quackery¡¯s control and hadn¡¯t yet plotted his revenge. My earpiece buzzed, but it was shorting out in the rain. "Emily¡­ Okay¡­ Where¡­ You¡­" "I didn''t get that," I said back to Hannah at our evil lair, but only buzzing returned. I pulled the annoying electronic out of my ear before a shooting pain in my butt shot a jolt of pain through my system. "Ow, ow, ow. I always knew you were a pain in the ass, but this is different." Another soft chuckle. "I was never a pain in the ass. We were an amazing pair. If I would have known you had an evil bone buried somewhere in that hot little body of yours, imagine the team we could have made if we nourished that part of you." The first part was true. Elijah was never a pain. "Fine. I admit I used to enjoy spending time with you¡­ when you prioritized me over revenge." "Revenge was a short-term plan. You were for the long haul. Once I got the Wonderful Wons out of Obsidian City and made Dr. Quackery pay for creating superpowers in the first place, all my time would have been devoted to you." As Elijah pushed on the tender flesh of my backside, he made small talk. I knew him well; he was trying to distract me. He had done this after he got my broken body away from Dr. Quackery right before handing me over to the police where I betrayed him. "Tell me about this master plan of yours. Why did you break me out?" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. My mind raced, torn between the familiar comfort of Elijah''s presence and the memory of why I''d walked away. Was I making another mistake by involving him in this plan? I pushed the thought aside and focused on answering his question. "Because of all the villains in the world, it would be my ex who got rid of Shadow Strike and brought the superfoursome down to a superthreesome. You were on your way to take out the other three Wonderful Wons when¡­ well¡­ when¡­" "When you stopped me." His voice was matter-of-fact. "We wouldn''t be here now if you didn''t turn me in. I would have succeeded and there wouldn''t be superheroes anymore." "Bygones. That wasn''t the right time, but now is." I laughed, but I knew Elijah had been serious. Then a big twinge of pain from my backside. After I cringed and he chuckled, I knew he did it on purpose. "Okay. I see how you''re still mad about that." "No, Darling, I''m over your betrayal. What really felt like a punch in the gut is that a month after sending me to prison, you slapped me with divorce papers." "Ha! That''s why you''re bitter? Come on Elijah. You killed someone. You went to prison for life. You were a supervillain. What was I supposed to do? Can you imagine how I felt having to confess to all my friends and family that I was married to the notorious SuperBoom? And that being your wife wasn''t safe? That it left me with two black eyes and a broken rib? What was next?" "That''s why I went after Doctor Quackery. I would not let it happen again." He was quiet long enough for me to hear his heavy breath, in and out while he focused on my bare ass. His powerful voice fell soft. "And then he still orchestrated that attack on Obsidian City from behind bars¡­ and that missile he let loose killed Ellie. Ems, I wish both those things never happened. I''ve run the events over and over in my head and wish I would have made different choices, but that''s the past. I can''t do anything about it now. I''m truly sorry that all happened to you¡­ to us." "You''re placating me. Earlier you told me you wouldn''t apologize. And even back during your trial, all you did was gloat." "I was playing the role of the villain. A year behind bars should have taught me to let that part of me go. Knowing the Doctor is in prison makes me happy, but¡­ maybe there was another way. Every day I debated that after I got you away from the Doctor, I should have hung up my mask and vest and got a boring nine-to-five job so I could focus on being your husband." "Because then you wouldn''t have ended up in prison." "No." Elijah''s voice was firm. "Because then I wouldn''t have been served divorce papers." Now, I didn''t know what to say. I wouldn''t apologize for turning him in, testifying against him, or asking for a divorce. "I couldn''t just sit back and watch you destroy your¡­ our life. I had to do something." "Do something? I think there were less extreme routes to take besides sending your hubby to prison for the rest of our lives." Elijah''s softness was slowly dissipating. "But no, you just threw me under the bus and walked away. You didn''t even have the whole story." "The whole story? Ha! Like the secret lair of weapons? The army of henchman you were gathering? Or about how your plan to make superheroes leave Obsidian City had morphed into killing them, one-by-one?" Another sharp pain from my backside made me shut my mouth. Elijah was silent for a minute as he worked on my cheek. Finally, he backed away with bloody fingers holding the bullet. "You''ll need antibiotics, but I know you can''t go to the hospital. A bullet wound would certainly connect you to the prison break tonight." I breathed slowly, focusing on containing the pain. Bit by bit, it got under control. "I released you from prison. We''re even now, right? I testified against you, but then saved you. It''s a wash." He chuckled. "For me going to prison for nearly a year? Sure, we can be even for that one. But I just pulled a bullet out of that hot ass of yours and you owe me for that. And for two, regarding the divorce. I never agreed, so technically, we''re still married." "Not in my head." But Elijah was right. Here in Obsidian City, if both parties didn''t sign off on the divorce, it wasn''t final until a year after filing. That year would be up next month. "Oh no¡­ not good." Elijah said, but he wasn''t talking about my divorce comment. "There''s more blood than I expected." He folded his already bloodied shirt and held it tightly to my ass. "We need to get you somewhere to stitch this¡­ or cauterize it." "Are you just saying that so I can whine some more?" But his face was as white as a ghost. Oh no. This was getting serious. And the worst part? I couldn¡¯t even come up with a damn joke. Whats your Supervillain Name? "I''m going to regret saying this, but¡­" I winced, just thinking about the pain I was about to endure. "I have a sewing kit in my evil pack." Elijah raised an eyebrow, and the color returned to his face. "A sewing kit?" "Hey, us girls all wear leather. You never know when a button is going to pop off. How inconvenient. That''d ruin the bad-ass chick look, don''t you think?" He pulled out the little black plastic kit and quickly threaded a needle. "I haven''t done this before. Do you trust me?" "Trust? No¡­ but I don''t have a choice." "You never finished. Tell me more about this master plan of the great Ladies in Leather." "More small talk, huh? This is going to hurt, too¡ªOUCH!" The needle pierced my tender flesh. "Fine. Each of us lost someone we loved when WynGlo Chemical exploded from the superheroes'' diverted missile. We ran many ideas through our heads¡­ some of them darker than I would like to admit, but that''s not who we are." ¡°No, you¡¯re definitely not as dark as I am.¡± I took a deep breath. "I will admit that having experienced pain like we did, gave me a little understanding of what motivated you to do what you did. Anyway, The Ladies in Leather settled on a master plan of exposing the Superzeros so the city can see they are not as perfect as the public believes. Just like you and me, the superheroes have flaws. OUCH!" He chuckled. "You''re enjoying causing me pain." "No, no," Elijah said in a deep, sexy voice. "I''ve just missed your whining. It''s like music to my ears." "You''re such an ass¡­ OUCH!" "From where I am, it''s not my ass that we should worry about." I held my mouth shut, stopping myself from throwing out a string of curse words as he continued to sew. "So, you in?" I asked. "The needle is through. Not in." "That''s not what I mean." I sighed. "Are you in with our plan? Will you help us?" "I have little choice. If I run away, you might do something stupid and get yourself in trouble." "I would never." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "No. You''d never get shot. You''d never need a bullet removed from your backside." "I learned my lesson. Won''t happen again." Elijah changed the subject, and that was fine. He could figure out what he wanted to do once we were out of the forest, dry, and rested. "What''s your villain name, anyway?" he asked. "Work in progress." "That''s not a good name." "Fine. I haven''t really decided yet. The other girls have such cool names. Hannah is the Storm Singer and Jasmine''s the Mind Mistress. For me¡­ I was thinking¡­ Dark Sky Diva." He laughed. "You''re no Diva. At least not to me. I find you very easy to please." "Haha. Then what?" Elijah didn''t hesitate. "Darling. Dark Sky Darling." I didn''t mind that name, but didn''t want to tell him. Finally, Elijah gave one big tug on the thread that had an "Ouch!" escape that I couldn''t control, even though numbness was setting in. "There. All done. That was exhilarating." "More like exhausting." I laid my head on my forearms, letting my heart calm as the extreme agony dissipated, not like I wasn''t still in pain, but it was controllable. "What do you think, Doc? Am I going to live?" This past eleven months, I had torn myself up, over and over again, about what I saw in him. Why, after confessing to me his special abilities on the night before our wedding, did I still choose to marry Elijah, knowing he was the villain. Only, I hadn''t seen him as the villain. I had been optimistic that I could change him. That his little obsession with the superheroes was just a healthy delusion. I was foolish and in love. But it looks like he changed me instead. Under the rain, Elijah brushed the hair that was plastered to my cheek away. He looked at me with that tenderness I fell in love with less than five years ago. The love we shared rushed back, reminding me what I had seen in him that made me marry him after only knowing him for three months. I took in his rain drenched hair, the smear of my blood on his chiseled cheeks, and those bright green eyes framed by his dark eyelashes. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me with that love-drunk expression, but he righted himself, turned his gaze back to my butt, then said, "We should keep moving before they find us." "Yeah, yeah we should." I chuckled weakly. "Sounds like a plan. Just let me catch my breath and put my pants back on first." Did he still care about me? Or was I just his ticket to freedom? And the most daunting question: did I still care about him? A siren pierced the silence of the forest. Elijah helped me and my pants up, which was quite difficult. Wet leather. Bad idea. Especially when a sharp pain shot through me as I put weight on my leg. "Damn!" "Can you fly?" Elijah asked, embracing me in his muscular bare arms that gave me a whiff of his pheromones beneath the scent of rain. "Probably, but I''m not sure if I''m strong enough to carry us both." "Then we''ll walk. I''ll help you until you recover." That was almost sweet, but if Elijah still cared about me, wouldn''t he have sent me off to fly home, leaving him in the woods? I was injured and he always could take care of himself, even if the forest was surrounded by police and superzeros. But Elijah wanted to keep me¨Chis escape plan¨Cclose. And that was okay at the moment. I didn''t care if he still cared about me or not. I had bigger problems to worry about than my suppressed feelings for my criminal ex. Besides, if he had kissed me moments ago, I wasn''t sure what I would have done. Probably pushed him away, but not before enjoying his touch for a second or two. Two steps deeper into the forest and one of those bigger problems surfaced. The blinding golden light engulfed us suddenly, forcing us into action. I gritted my teeth against the pain and widened my stance, ready to fight, but Elijah pulled me protectively close, and I fell against his rock-hard body. We had finally found the third wheel of the mighty superhero threesome. Give Up, Villains! My heart pounded, the adrenaline coursing through my veins like liquid fire. The scent of wet earth filled my nostrils as the golden light engulfed us. "Fuck!" Elijah muttered. He clapped, sending a sonic boom forward, but the sound was sucked into a void of light. And then came the Golden Guardian''s self-righteous speech. "Give up, Villains! You can''t escape the law forever! You can''t continue to hide in the forest." The familiar thrill of defiance surged through me, reminding me why I''d chosen this path. There was no way I''d give up without a fight. Apparently, neither would Elijah. He unleashed another sonic boom at Golden Guardian, rippling the air. The tall pine trees surrounding us creaked and cracked, their needles rustling ominously, but the golden light grew, quickly stopping the attack. "You''re not going to take me down that easily!" Golden shouted. I snickered at how one-dimensional Golden Guardian was. Did I sound like that? ''Be careful, the Ladies in Leather are here!'' Or Elijah, ''Watch out for SuperBoom!'' Okay, I guess we were all a little obsessed with our alter egos. Elijah''s powers were useless as long as Golden Guardian kept up his void of light. If Elijah clapped any more, the trees would fall and squash us as flat as a pancake. "Damn. It looks like I have to save the day again." It was all up to me. I launched into the sky, pain shooting up my body from the bullet wound, and leaving Elijah below. The cool night air whipped past my face as I soared upward. "Try to catch me!" I exclaimed. Damn. I did sound as one-dimensional as Golden Guardian. I''m sure we all had depth hiding beneath our costumes. Just as expected, Golden flew after me, dodging the pine boughs with his flapping golden hawk wings. The metallic gleam of his feathers caught the moonlight, creating a dazzling display. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed, catching my foot firmly in his grasp. Elijah sent another sonic boom into the sky, knocking the Guardian out of the sky as his wings couldn''t take the blast, but he also hit my heels, sending me on an out-of-control spiral through the rain. Another sonic boom, and the earth thudded as Golden Guardian fell through the branches. I twisted and turned in the sky, trying to make as much air resistance as I could to slow my flight. I flapped my arms, pushed my belly out, and curled into a ball until I had control again. As I returned to the forest to get Elijah, I was too late. Golden Guardian had him in tow with his hands bound together so he couldn¡¯t clap, stopping any further sonic booms. Dang. All this¡­ for nothing. The weight of disappointment settled in my chest, heavy and cold. Golden Guardian snapped his head up, dropped Elijah''s arm, and launched into the heavens right towards me. I tried to escape, but he was too fast and too strong for my weakened state. He soared through the air, catching me off guard and snatching me out of the sky. "Gotcha again!" his fingers dug into the tender flesh on my arm. I really needed to work out. Maybe I¡¯d finally say yes to Madison¡¯s excessive invites to CrossFit. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Elijah tried to run, but Golden Guardian was ready for the escape. With me in tow, kicking and screaming like nothing more than a minor annoyance, he flew towards Elijah while sending a flash of blinding golden light. The light disappeared to reveal Elijah covering his eyes with an arm, stumbling back and tumbling to the ground. Golden Guardian¡¯s orb or light absorbed superpowers for a fraction of a minute and Elijah wouldn¡¯t be of any use, even if I could get his hands separated. A smug smile fell on Golden''s lips as he handcuffed us and flew us out of the forest, handing us over to the authorities parked on the road. As quick as a snake''s strike, they shoved us in the back of a cop car together. "Ouch! I''m injured." I complained as I was forced to sit down on my butt with my hands cuffed behind my back. I leaned over, using Elijah as support to keep the pressure off the bad cheek. Sure, I could have grinned and bore it, but part of me, deep down, was enjoying being pressed against my ex''s bare chest. Plus, I didn''t want to rip out those agonizing stitches I had survived. Outside, the cops were receiving a report from Golden Guardian, leaving Elijah and me alone. "Oh great, it looks like Golden Guardian is getting a medal for capturing us," I said with a sarcastic eye roll. "Well, at least he''ll have something shiny to distract from his ridiculous bright red and yellow outfit." I chuckled. "So, this is what it feels to be captured, huh?" My poor attempt at humor didn''t lighten the mood. A vein pulsed on Elijah''s temple. "You left me." His face was unreadable, but I could feel the tension radiating off him. I chuckled nervously. "Technically, you left me when you went to prison." Then I realized he wasn''t referring to the events nearly a year ago. "I was trying to protect you by luring Golden Guardian away so your powers would work. But then, you didn''t wait long enough. You threw a sonic boom right at me and I almost crashed." I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest, but when I looked at my almost-ex, he had a smirk on his face. "Seriously? We''re sitting in the back of a squad car and you''re smiling?" "First, I think you finally understand why I left you with the police a year ago. I was protecting you, too." His voice softened, and for a moment, I could see the man I fell in love with. "And second, I''ve always found you irresistible with that pouty lip and sultry eyes, but you don''t know how turned on I am right now. You look absolutely scrumptious in black leather and a mask. I didn''t want to drag you into my life of crime¡­ but it appears you got here yourself." Now, if my butt didn''t hurt so damn much, I would have leaned away from Elijah, but he was stuck with me hanging onto him. Maybe it was for the best, so he didn''t see my cheeks blush. "You corrupted me." He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. "Ah, Darling, admit it. You love the thrill of being on the wrong side of the law. You''ve always loved it." His voice dripped with sarcasm. "And a little time in prison was a small price to pay for the love of my life." "Love?" I snorted, ignoring the way my heart skipped at his words. "You never put me first. Your villainous schemes always took priority over our marriage. You left me vulnerable." "Like how you left me in the forest?" He huffed, playfully. "Oh, Ems, you were never vulnerable. You''ve always been strong and capable; you just didn''t see it back then. Look at you now. But can you blame me?" Elijah adjusted in the seat, allowing my head to fall on his still-bare pectoral. Would it be wrong to lick his nipple? "I am a supervillain, after all. It''s in my nature to cause chaos. In fact, I think we both thrive in chaos." "Like being trapped in the back of a police car together? At least now we have each other''s undivided attention. Or the chaos of the fact that we''re both on our way to prison?" "We''ll make the best of it." Elijah shrugged. "Like we did when I saved your ass from blowing up while using that stupid ray gun? I mean as fun as being turned to nanoparticles sounds, it would completely ruin this perfect skin I had been working on." He laughed, the sound filling the small space of the car. "Oh, you have no idea how much I missed your sarcasm. And to be fair, I always make sure to leave you a front-row seat to my chaotic antics." "Oh, how thoughtful of you. Who wouldn''t want to be constantly dodging danger and evading the law? It''s practically a love letter." "I did like to keep you entertained." Elijah replied with a wink. "And let''s be honest, you can''t deny that you found the dangerous side of me way more attractive than the boring married man." "Oh please," I rolled my eyes. "It was that boring man I fell in love with." I waited for a smart-ass comeback, but it didn''t come. Had I finally broken through his jokes and gotten to his soul? "Did I finally get to you?" "I''m just preoccupied with what''s going on outside the window." I pried my eyes up and when I saw the wide eyes and open-mouthed smirk of the blond woman''s face pressed against the glass, I jumped. "Holy crap!" Phew! That was Close.. Natalie''s goofy face stared at us through the police car side window. When I jumped in surprise, she laughed and gave Elijah and me two big thumbs up. Behind her, the scene unfolded. Jasmine stood over the Golden Guardian''s sleeping body, raising her hands for the cops to grab her, and we all knew what happened next. After the cops fell to sleep, Jasmine brought over a ring of keys and unlocked the police car through one magical key fob. And yeah, Natalie had to pry me off Elijah''s warm, bare chest when she helped us out of the back seat. "Come on, lovebirds." Natalie smiled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "We''ve got to get out of here." As we took a step away from the police car, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of relief. My heart pounded, and I was grateful my girls came at that exact moment. I didn''t want to confront my feelings for Elijah and they were threatening to gush out of my mouth in the romantic back seat of the police car. The way the warmth and scent of Elijah''s bare chest caused old feelings to resurface was not where I expected this night to go. I needed some time alone, without our skin touching or my butt out in the open, to regain my resolve. To remind me of why I had filed for a divorce in the first place. I limped towards our evil minivan, and Elijah noticed my pain immediately. He tried to help me, but we fumbled with our hands still cuffed. His words were laced with anguish. "Can one of you help her? She''s been shot." "Shot? Like a real bullet?" Natalie snickered. "How cool!" "You okay?" Jasmine asked, her brow furrowed with concern. Both my villainesses looped an arm through mine and helped me into the minivan. As the tires squealed away, Jasmine sat between Elijah and me and ran through a set of keys to unlock our cuffs. "Thanks for that exceptional rescue," I laughed, rubbing my wrists. "I guess you were right earlier tonight. The more, the merrier." Before I could think of something else that was clever, the minivan screeched to a halt, throwing me forward in my seat. "What the hell is going on?" Elijah clenched his jaw and tried to wrench his handcuffed hands free. "We''ve got a problem," Madison said, her bubbly personality gone as she stared out the front window. "The police have a roadblock ahead and we won''t be able to get through it without being caught." "Great," I muttered, trying to come up with a plan. "Haven¡¯t we already faced enough tonight? I¡¯m brain-dead at this point." "I can use my telepathy to lift the barricades and the cop cars out of the way," Jasmine suggested. "But it''ll take everything out of me and I''m not sure if I can get them all or hold them long enough for us to get through." "My heat touch won''t help," Madison''s giggle was back, this time, out of nerves. "I¡¯m too far away. I see why you stuck me driving the getaway car." "That, and you think you''re a racecar driver," I said. "But you are the best at doing donuts." As we debated our options, the sound of approaching sirens made me tense. We were running out of time. Elijah groaned. "Get these blasted handcuffs off me and I can send a sonic boom their way." "We don''t need a man to rescue us," Madison giggled. But Natalie had already undone Elijah''s handcuffs, and he was hanging out the minivan''s sliding door, keeping himself from falling on the pavement by the seat belt he wrapped around his body. He opened his clenched fists and let out a mighty clap. The force of the sonic boom shook the minivan and sent the barricades and the cop cars flying. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "All right!" The adrenaline was getting to me, but I wasn''t the only one. We all cheered when we saw the clear road ahead, but our celebration was short-lived. As we drove through the gap, the road ahead revealed a group of police officers running towards us, guns drawn. "Go, go, Speed Racer!" I yelled. "Show us what this minivan can do!" The minivan''s engine revved and tires smoked as Madison plowed past the officers. A bullet hit the van, but only one. In 0 to 60 seconds, we were gone, swerving down the country roads, taking corners, and driving our sensible minivan into the garage of our evil lair¡­ aka Hannah''s house¡­ completely unseen. Hidden in Hannah''s garage, we piled out of the van and celebrated, hugging each other and cheering. The smell of burnt rubber and adrenaline filled the air. Hannah welcomed Elijah with a pat on his shoulder and a warm smile. "Welcome to the team." He smiled back. Team hadn''t been a word in Elijah''s vocabulary before, but now, the sincere smile he shared with each member of the Ladies in Leather while they shook his hand or patted him on the back only made Elijah stand up proud. And a part of me was proud of him, too. Suddenly, a sensation washed over me, feeling like it was almost easier to breathe. For the first time in my marriage, I could be completely open and honest with my friends about who my husband actually was. And they wouldn''t judge. Hell, they''d welcome him into their circle. Only, in less than 30 days, Elijah would officially not be my husband anymore. The thought sent a pang through my chest that I quickly pushed aside. We all took turns using Hannah¡¯s bathroom to change out of our villain costumes and into our comfy getaway clothes ¨C aka, pajamas. "Okay," Hannah said. "Time to unwind and get some sleep. We''ll begin the next step to our plan tomorrow." "Good idea." I stifled a yawn. "This has been fun and all, but right now, my bed is calling. I''ll see you all in the morning." "Same here," Jasmine yawned as well. "Elijah, I have an extra room at my place and we thought it''d be best for you to stay with me for now." Elijah shook his head. "That won''t be necessary. I''m only staying at one place tonight, and that''s my house." I raised an eyebrow. "Your house?" Elijah shrugged. "Since we aren''t officially divorced yet, it''s my house, too. Besides, there''s no way I''m staying at Jasmine''s place. She grabbed my ass when I carried her during our prison break." I blew out a laugh, trying to ignore the surge of jealousy that coursed through me. Jasmine shrugged. "I didn''t grab anything." We all stared at her. She was our introvert, sensitive, and sweet member of the team, but she was also sneaky. She laughed. "Hey, okay. I''m just a friendly person and the opportunity arose. To be fair, in the heat of the moment, I didn''t think you''d remember. And you can''t blame a girl for trying." "Oh, I can blame you," I playfully sneered, then turned to Elijah. "Think about it. You just escaped from prison. Where are the police going to go first? My house to warn me." "That''s why it''s the perfect place. Besides, is my evil lair still set up in the basement?" "Of course not. It''s now an exercise room." Not that I ever used it. "But the structure is still there. It''s reinforced and hidden behind a false wall. It''ll be perfect." I sighed. "Fine. Right now, all I want to do is go home and collapse. We can deal with all of this tomorrow. Elijah, you can stay at my place. But only because I''m too tired to argue with you." Or, was I jealous of Jasmine? I wasn''t examining those feelings right now, but there was no way I was sending a shirtless Elijah home with the sneaky shark Jasmine. I pulled my keys out of my utility pouch and tossed them to Elijah. "But you''re driving. My butt is throbbing and I''m going to lie down in the back seat." Exhaustion washed over me. It had been a long night of breaking Elijah out of prison, and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for a week. ¡°Fantastic, I get to be the designated driver,¡± Elijah smirked as he caught the keys. I climbed into my sleek little SUV, parked on the quiet early-morning street, I couldn¡¯t contain the rush of excitement that swept over me. We had emerged victorious from the night¡¯s trials, and despite all the danger and chaos, we stood tall and unbroken. But this was only the beginning of our journey. Elijah¡¯s evil side had always been my nemesis. The thing that hung over our marriage, and I had always tried to tame. But now? With Elijah and I on the same side, we were a force to be reckoned with, ready to bring justice to the Superzeros who killed my sister. But first, I needed to recharge, to let my mind and body rest before the resolve about the end of my marriage dissolved. And sleep would be hard to come by, knowing that the man I had once been head-over-heels in love with shared the same roof with me once again. What to do with a Ray Gun? As I led Elijah through the front door of our old house, a sense of nostalgia washed over me. So much had changed since we were last here together, but it felt like only yesterday. ¡°Wow, Ems, you¡¯ve been busy,¡± Elijah commented as he looked around. ¡°Not only have you been perfecting that bad ass side of you, but I barely recognize the place. You turned our little evil lair into a respectable home. Congratulations.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Well, I had to do something with all the evil supervillain garbage you had lying around. I mean, who needs a ray gun when you can have a toaster?¡± ¡°Evil supervillain garbage?¡± Elijah playfully huffed. ¡°I see that you¡¯re still holding a grudge, but I bet you¡¯re kicking yourself now. You could put that ray gun to good use on the Wonderful Wons.¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯m not kicking myself. I don¡¯t think that ray gun ever worked.¡± I chuckled, remembering the brightness in his eyes when he brought that beast home and tried to disintegrate a cupcake on our kitchen table. Needless to say, we ended up full of frosting and had to buy a new table. ¡°Enough about the past. Let¡¯s focus on the present. Do you need a tour to refresh your memory? Or just to remind you of all the ways I¡¯m awesome?¡± ¡°Oh, my memory doesn¡¯t need refreshing, but I¡¯d love to see what you¡¯ve done to this place. Show me everything.¡± As I led Elijah from room to room, he marveled at all the changes I had made: the new paint, the modern furniture, and the updated appliances. ¡°You really went all out.¡± Elijah nodded with sincere amazement. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how different everything looks.¡± I smiled. ¡°Well, I had to do something to keep myself busy after you left. And besides, I wanted to make the house my own. I mean, I never expected you to be back here.¡± Suddenly, I felt my eyes tear up. No, no, no. I wouldn¡¯t think about the hundred ways I missed him. That was the past and once we set our master plan in motion to take down the Superzeros, I couldn¡¯t guarantee either of us would stay out of prison. As we reached the bedroom, Elijah¡¯s face lit up with his sinister grin and the tears I almost shed had evaporated. ¡°But it looks like you kept one thing full of memories.¡± I tilted my chin at the room. ¡°I kept the nightstands.¡± ¡°Nope. Not them. You kept the bed. We had some good times there.¡± I rolled my eyes, but I couldn¡¯t stop my cheeks from heating with a memory of the first day Elijah tried on his SuperBoom costume and the hilarious strip tease he did for me in this room, showing off each little modification to the leather that would help him rid our city of the Superheroes. Elijah¡¯s voice lowered. His words were soft. ¡°You don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ve missed that sexy smile of yours. The one you used to always give me when you were pretending to be impressed with my ridiculous plans?¡± ¡°Or humoring you while you danced around in leather?¡± And God. he had been sexy back then, but now, he still stood in front of me without a shirt and he was a hundred times hotter. Honestly, I¡¯d probably find him sexy no matter how he looked. It was that damn personality that could take my shit and dish it back. My heart raced as he took a step closer. I should have turned away from him, grabbed a blanket and a pillow for his bed on the treadmill in his lair, and sent him out of the room, but he had almost kissed me in the forest and I wanted to know if his touch would excite me or repulse me after all this time. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. After all, he had killed a man. He had left me to seek revenge. But, for some reason, I felt like I understood why. Here I was, out to seek my own justice for what the superheroes did. No, murder wasn¡¯t right. But sometimes, bad things happen. When Elijah¡¯s powerful arms wrapped around my waist, I looked up into his emerald green eyes, filled with emotion. I had never forgotten the love we shared, or the pain of having to testify against him. The moment he pulled me close, my senses overloaded, like waking up from a deep, dream-filled sleep by someone yanking the covers off. My body responded to his closeness exactly as it always had. His touch sent a shockwave through my system that started in my core and ran down to my fingers and toes. I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of being in his arms again. He moved his hands up my back, gently caressing my skin through the fabric of my comfortable getaway clothes. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine, causing them to tingle and ache for more. My body melted in his arms, and suddenly he grew hungry, taking me with passion and longing. We moved together in perfect harmony, our mouths meeting in a slow and sensuous dance. His lips were soft and inviting, and my heart swelled with the emotions I had been ignoring. He pulled away, and our eyes met again. I could see the same love reflected in his gaze that I felt in my heart. Every part of me knew I should push him away, but I didn¡¯t want to. There was no turning back now. His hands cupped my face, and he kissed me again. Oh, how easy it would be to take him to bed. But there, I drew the line, and he didn¡¯t push. When our kiss finally parted, he held me close until I pulled away. With the warmth of his touch still radiating through my body, I looked into his emerald greens and saw the man I had fallen in love with. ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°That good, huh?¡± ¡°You could always kiss.¡± ¡°Admit it. You find me irresistibly sexy.¡± He smirked and gave me a playful flexing of his biceps. I laughed. ¡°I think I¡¯ll find you sexy when you¡¯re far enough away that I can admire it without getting a restraining order.¡± I turned my back to him and gathered the blankets and a spare pillow from my closet and tossed them over. ¡°For the treadmill in the basement¡­ in that secret lair of yours.¡± ¡°Right. Who needs a gym membership when you have a secret lair?¡± The hope on Elijah¡¯s face fell, but I knew now wasn¡¯t the time to chat about feelings. All the adrenaline from tonight was making my body and mind betray each other. I faked a yawn. I had gone from tired to over-tired and over-stimulated. Sleeping would take work. ¡°I¡¯m going to go to bed¡­ but maybe you can bandage my ass better before I make all my sheets bloody.¡± Elijah chuckled. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to check out your ass again.¡± ¡°Some things never change.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at Elijah¡¯s comment. Despite all the drama and heartbreak we experienced, it was nice to see that we could still joke around and reminisce about the good times, even knowing there was that passion between us that never was extinguished. After a very platonic bandaging, I ended up cuddled safely in bed while Elijah slept on the soft sofa instead of the basement. Yeah, I was weak. I figured he deserved something better than the hard surface of that running machine I never used. Did Elijah still have feelings for me, or was this all a flirtatious game he was playing? Was it more than a deprived man who was hungry for a good love-making session? And the biggest question of all was if I still had feelings for him? I hadn¡¯t thought about my feelings for the last eleven months because he was tucked away in jail and I was mourning the loss of my sister. But now that he was so close, I had to figure out my thoughts. Did I still love him? Of course. But did I still want him as my husband? Not if he was going to treat me as second fiddle to his evil ways. Plus, he had killed someone. What kind of man does that? Even if it was to protect me. As I drifted off to sleep, I was left with two conflicting thoughts. One was a sense of contentment. No matter what the future held for Elijah and me, it was nice to have a common goal of overthrowing the superheroes. The other was turmoil. If Elijah and I went after the superheroes, I didn¡¯t know what was next. If we failed, it could mean prison¡­or worse. And if we succeeded? What was next for us? I had no idea. The Great Master Plan ¡°Welcome to the team.¡± Hannah greeted Elijah from the head of her dining room table. Her jet-black hair framed her pale face. She wasn¡¯t in leather now, but she wore her other uniform. Khakis and a black polo with the silver logo of SecureTech Solutions, since she got called into the office today, she looked like hell. She crossed her arms over her chest as she surveyed our amazing villainess team assembled before her. The rest of us looked better tonight than we did early this morning when we let each other after breaking Elijah out of prison. It¡¯s amazing what a bit of beauty rest can do. Elijah smiled. ¡°It¡¯s nice to be back to what I love. This is so much better than brewing hooch in the prison toilet.¡± ¡°Hooch?¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Your taste was always more expensive than that.¡± ¡°Ahh, you know me well, Darling. I love a good glass of scotch and would never drink that poison I made. I brewed it to trade for favors.¡± ¡°Favors?¡± Madison¡¯s giggly question made Natalie and Jasmine giggle, too. ¡°What kind of favors?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Jasmine leaned in, giving Elijah the perfect view of her cleavage hanging out of the neckline of her teal scrubs. ¡°Tell us about these favors. And I want all the details.¡± Elijah¡¯s eyes never glanced down. ¡°Not what you¡¯re hoping for. I traded hooch for loyalty, dirt on the superheroes, and other villain stuff.¡± He turned and looked right at me with a sneaky smile. ¡°Updates on me?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Okay, people,¡± Hannah chirped up. ¡°We need to finalize the details of our plan to get rid of the superzeros once and for all.¡± I took a deep breath and faced Elijah. ¡°You eliminated Shadow Strike. How exactly did you do it?¡± I swallowed a lump as I prepared for all the gory details I didn¡¯t want to know. I was starting to not see Elijah as a monster anymore, but knowing what exactly happened that night, nearly a year ago, would certainly remind me of my disgust towards him since he went to prison. But maybe I needed that reality to keep my head on straight. Elijah shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°All the details are in the court records. And Ems, you were there at my trial. You all already know that I killed him with a ray gun.¡± I cringed, imagining the evil look on Elijah¡¯s face as he pulled that ray gun¡¯s trigger. In my head, Elijah wasn¡¯t even recognizable as my husband anymore. ¡°We read the court proceedings,¡± Hannah said. ¡°You said that Doctor Quackery had blackmailed you to eliminate all four members of the Wonderful Wons. What was your master plan to do that? Obviously, Doctor Quackery had faith that you could pull it off.¡± Elijah¡¯s eyes had never left my face, and he must have noticed the sickness that was pulsing through my body. He spoke softly, like the other four women in the room disappeared and it was just the two of us. ¡°There was no big master plan. All I knew was that I had to do everything in my power to keep you safe, Ems. I hope you can forgive me someday for that.¡± He did it for me. My stomach further swirled. That guilt I had been trying to deal with resurfaced. Yes, I had guilt about sending Elijah to prison, but it was more than turning him in and testifying against him. It was because of me, he killed a man. Early in my supervillain journey, I made the girls take a pact that we¡¯d kill no one. That we could get revenge without resorting to violence. During our marriage, I had always thought Elijah held the same ethical code. Because once you crossed over to murder, you lost your humanity. And he crossed the line. Had he lost his humanity? Now, something twisted inside me under Elijah¡¯s focused stare, like I should know some deep secret he was keeping. I replayed his words in my head. ¡°You didn¡¯t have a big master plan?¡± I chortled. ¡°You were always scheming. There was always a plan.¡± Elijah set his jaw, and a vein pulsed in his temple. ¡°So, you hunted Shadow Strike down and used a ray gun on him?¡± Hannah asked. ¡°How did you find him?¡± ¡°He found me,¡± Elijah said. ¡°I lured him out, then blasted him. He disintegrated to ash and was never seen again. This isn¡¯t important¡ª¡± But I didn¡¯t hear the rest of what he said. My head was focused on the image of Elijah using the weapon we had tested in our kitchen. ¡°You killed Shadow Strike with the ray gun that never worked quite right?¡± I arched an eyebrow. ¡°Not that one in our house, but a different one. And it worked. Didn¡¯t we blow up the cupcake and our kitchen table once upon a time?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yeah. They blew up¡­¡± But the pieces didn¡¯t fit together. ¡°Did the ray gun you used work exactly the same?¡± Elijah tensed his jaw again and didn¡¯t answer. There clearly was more to this story. So, I pushed forward. ¡°The police didn¡¯t find any evidence or DNA¡­ And nothing fried to ash.¡± My mouth dried. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually kill Shadow Strike. At least you didn¡¯t blow him up with a ray gun.¡± Elijah looked around the table while the vein in his temple continued to pulse. ¡°Shadow Strike is gone. I did my part to free my wife. Any man in love would do the same thing to save the life of the woman they love. Maybe you all made a mistake breaking me out of prison. If you want my help to take down the Wonderful Wons, I¡¯m happy to help. You all know my history with them and my desire to rid the world of their self-righteous attitudes. Plus, I really want to stick around and see my sexy wife wearing leather again. But the details of that day Emily was captured and my confrontation with Shadow Strike have to remain in the past.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Involuntarily, I was shaking my head. Why didn¡¯t he want us to know the truth? Maybe I was reaching, or maybe it was wishful thinking, but I couldn¡¯t let the thought go. ¡°You didn¡¯t use the ray gun¡­ so¡­ so I¡¯m willing to bet that Shadow Strike isn¡¯t dead, since the police never found a body. If he¡¯s not dead, where did he go?¡± I tilted my chin at him. He stared at me, then glanced at my team, then back at me. ¡°Can we talk in private?¡± Chapter 15¨CYup and You Betcha ¡°You didn¡¯t kill him!¡± My voice was ecstatic. ¡°He¡¯s still alive. I knew it. All this time¡­¡± ¡°Ems, stop. Please.¡± Elijah pleaded. ¡°In private, please?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No. These are my girls. My team. They¡¯ve been here to support me over the past year when I needed it the most. What I know, they know. Even if you would tell me in private, I¡¯ll spill it all to them over our next glass of wine.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t like what I have to say.¡± Elijah blew out a breath as he looked around the table to the five sets of eyes staring at him. ¡°Fine. But this stays in this room. Okay?¡± A round of yups and you betchas circled the room. Elijah continued, ¡°I knew Shadow Strike since we were both teens. He was my¡­ friend back at WynGlo when Doctor Quackery took us from the orphanage for his experiments. Shadow Strike and I had both gone to a special school they named the School for Superheroes.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ you were supposed to be a superhero?¡± I asked. He had never told me that part of his backstory. ¡°No. None of us were. It was just a name used to make us feel special. But it went to some of our heads, like the Wonderful Wons. Shadow Strike was the leader of our little band of teens with superpowers. The super quartet was supposed to be a super quintet, only I couldn¡¯t stand the Thunderbolt. I went off on my own, but the public only saw me as the villain. The Thunderbolt made sure of that. So, I switched sides. Being a villain is so much more fun. At least, it would have been with Doctor Quackery out of the way. He had power over us all. Deep brainwashing shit.¡± ¡°So, you know all the Wonderful Wons secret identities?¡± Jasmine asked, leaning on the table again. Elijah shook his head. ¡°I only knew the boy behind Shadow Strike¡¯s cape since we had been friends. Doctor Quackery never let us into school without our superhero costume disguises. And back then, we hadn¡¯t made our civilian lives yet. We were only teens wearing masks.¡± That lump in my throat grew. ¡°I knew Doctor Quackery was evil, but this is a whole new level. He set you up to kill his own creation, your friend, to save me?¡± ¡°The doctor was bitter, since the superheroes turned against their creator. And me, I revolted too. Killing Shadow Strike wasn¡¯t the option Doctor Quackery gave me. He wanted me to bring Shadow Strike in as a trade for you. And that¡¯s why it took me so long to hunt you down and rescue you. I had to come up with a plan alongside Shadow Strike.¡± ¡°So, your plan was to fake Shadow Strike¡¯s death.¡± ¡°And I couldn¡¯t just kill him. I had to disintegrate him to nothing, so there would be a reason the body wasn¡¯t around.¡± Elijah took a deep breath. ¡°The point is that Shadow Strike was my friend, and I knew his secret identity. I simply used his secret identity to blackmail him into leaving town. He had a family and kids who I¡­ threatened.¡± My fellow villainesses exchanged skeptical glances. ¡°So, you didn¡¯t actually kill him?¡± Hannah asked, her brow furrowed. ¡°Told ya!¡± I gloated, struggling to hold back a rush of excitement at confirmation of my hunch. ¡°All this time and you didn¡¯t actually kill him.¡± ¡°I blackmailed my friend. The only Wonderful Won that had my back. That was bad enough. But I had to convince everyone that I killed him, so Quackery didn¡¯t retaliate. And to keep Shadow Strike and his family safe from Quackery and his henchmen in the future¡­¡± Elijah paused, then he let out an evil chuckle. ¡°And, of course, a villain needs to protect his reputation. It¡¯s better if everything thinks I¡¯m ruthless.¡± Hannah let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief. I felt guilty allowing a murderer to go home to sleep on Emily¡¯s couch.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Jasmine said. ¡°You were going to let him sleep on my couch?¡± ¡°I knew you could handle yourself.¡± ¡°And I couldn¡¯t?¡± I huffed with a playful hand on my hip. Hannah winked at me, and I knew it was all in good fun. ¡°Anyway, we don¡¯t need any murder on our hands. Blackmailing is one thing, but outright murder is a whole different level of evil. We need to put our heads together on our next step. This puts a little kink in our plan to break Elijah out of prison and have him tell us how to hunt down the Superzeros in order to expose their flaws. It turns out that he only figured out who Shadow Strike was because they had been childhood friends.¡± ¡°So, we don¡¯t need him?¡± Madison giggled. ¡°Emily took a bullet in her bum for nothing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that bullet was for nothing.¡± I laughed. ¡°Elijah is still valuable, as he had superhero training, fake or not. He knows how they think.¡± ¡°Oh, sweetie,¡± Jasmine said. ¡°That bullet wasn¡¯t for nothing. You now have a war wound. Something to show off.¡± ¡°I guess. My butt was hot before, but now with a big scar? Nobody will be able to resist it.¡± Elijah growled from beside me. ¡°You better not show that off to anyone but me.¡± My world stopped. ¡°Possessive, are we?¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°A little. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sticking around to keep you out of trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to argue that I only got this bullet wound because you were around.¡± Elijah chuckled. ¡°What was your line? Bygones? Besides, I loved your sister, too, and agree we need to make sure the public knows the truth.¡± Jasmine interrupted our flirtatious chatter. ¡°You two can take that back to your bedroom if you want to continue.¡± And as always, Hannah brought us back to reality and focused on us. ¡°We need to be smart about this. Our original plan still stays. We are going to discredit the heroes and show the citizens of Obsidian City that they cause harm, too. Like what they did to our loved ones. Exposing them just might take us a little longer without hijacking Elijah¡¯s master plan.¡± Natalie, a mischievous glint in her eye, chimed in. ¡°So, we need to expose their secret identities. Elijah used Shadow Strike¡¯s secret identity against him. Maybe that¡¯s the first step. Then we could dig up some juice to discredit them in the eyes of the public.¡± ¡°Like maybe they have a secret love for crocheting?¡± Madison giggled. ¡°Or maybe they secretly attend karaoke night every week and sing off key?¡± Natalie added with a chuckle. Hannah shook her head in disbelief. ¡°You two are ridiculous. Let¡¯s focus on finding something that will actually damage their reputation.¡± I didn¡¯t hear much of what the girls were saying. This past year, I had hated Elijah for the blood on his hands, but it turns out, his hands were mostly clean. I whispered towards my ex, ¡°I testified against you¡­¡± ¡°You did. And it hurt.¡± His gaze pierced directly into my heart. ¡°Now can we talk in private?¡± I sucked in my bottom lip and all I could do was nod. Yup and You Betcha ¡°You didn¡¯t kill him!¡± My voice was ecstatic. ¡°He¡¯s still alive. I knew it. All this time¡­¡± ¡°Ems, stop. Please.¡± Elijah pleaded. ¡°In private, please?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No. These are my girls. My team. They¡¯ve been here to support me over the past year when I needed it the most. What I know, they know. Even if you would tell me in private, I¡¯ll spill it all to them over our next glass of wine.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t like what I have to say.¡± Elijah blew out a breath as he looked around the table to the five sets of eyes staring at him. ¡°Fine. But this stays in this room. Okay?¡± A round of yups and you betchas circled the room. Elijah continued, ¡°I knew Shadow Strike since we were both teens. He was my¡­ friend back at WynGlo when Doctor Quackery took us from the orphanage for his experiments. Shadow Strike and I had both gone to a special school they named the School for Superheroes.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ you were supposed to be a superhero?¡± I asked. He had never told me that part of his backstory. ¡°No. None of us were. It was just a name used to make us feel special. But it went to some of our heads, like the Wonderful Wons. Shadow Strike was the leader of our little band of teens with superpowers. The super quartet was supposed to be a super quintet, only I couldn¡¯t stand the Thunderbolt. I went off on my own, but the public only saw me as the villain. The Thunderbolt made sure of that. So, I switched sides. Being a villain is so much more fun. At least, it would have been with Doctor Quackery out of the way. He had power over us all. Deep brainwashing shit.¡± ¡°So, you know all the Wonderful Wons secret identities?¡± Jasmine asked, leaning on the table again. Elijah shook his head. ¡°I only knew the boy behind Shadow Strike¡¯s cape since we had been friends. Doctor Quackery never let us into school without our superhero costume disguises. And back then, we hadn¡¯t made our civilian lives yet. We were only teens wearing masks.¡± That lump in my throat grew. ¡°I knew Doctor Quackery was evil, but this is a whole new level. He set you up to kill his own creation, your friend, to save me?¡± ¡°The doctor was bitter, since the superheroes turned against their creator. And me, I revolted too. Killing Shadow Strike wasn¡¯t the option Doctor Quackery gave me. He wanted me to bring Shadow Strike in as a trade for you. And that¡¯s why it took me so long to hunt you down and rescue you. I had to come up with a plan alongside Shadow Strike.¡± ¡°So, your plan was to fake Shadow Strike¡¯s death.¡± ¡°And I couldn¡¯t just kill him. I had to disintegrate him to nothing, so there would be a reason the body wasn¡¯t around.¡± Elijah took a deep breath. ¡°The point is that Shadow Strike was my friend, and I knew his secret identity. I simply used his secret identity to blackmail him into leaving town. He had a family and kids who I¡­ threatened.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. My fellow villainesses exchanged skeptical glances. ¡°So, you didn¡¯t actually kill him?¡± Hannah asked, her brow furrowed. ¡°Told ya!¡± I gloated, struggling to hold back a rush of excitement at confirmation of my hunch. ¡°All this time and you didn¡¯t actually kill him.¡± ¡°I blackmailed my friend. The only Wonderful Won that had my back. That was bad enough. But I had to convince everyone that I killed him, so Quackery didn¡¯t retaliate. And to keep Shadow Strike and his family safe from Quackery and his henchmen in the future¡­¡± Elijah paused, then he let out an evil chuckle. ¡°And, of course, a villain needs to protect his reputation. It¡¯s better if everything thinks I¡¯m ruthless.¡± Hannah let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief. I felt guilty allowing a murderer to go home to sleep on Emily¡¯s couch.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Jasmine said. ¡°You were going to let him sleep on my couch?¡± ¡°I knew you could handle yourself.¡± ¡°And I couldn¡¯t?¡± I huffed with a playful hand on my hip. Hannah winked at me, and I knew it was all in good fun. ¡°Anyway, we don¡¯t need any murder on our hands. Blackmailing is one thing, but outright murder is a whole different level of evil. We need to put our heads together on our next step. This puts a little kink in our plan to break Elijah out of prison and have him tell us how to hunt down the Superzeros in order to expose their flaws. It turns out that he only figured out who Shadow Strike was because they had been childhood friends.¡± ¡°So, we don¡¯t need him?¡± Madison giggled. ¡°Emily took a bullet in her bum for nothing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that bullet was for nothing.¡± I laughed. ¡°Elijah is still valuable, as he had superhero training, fake or not. He knows how they think.¡± ¡°Oh, sweetie,¡± Jasmine said. ¡°That bullet wasn¡¯t for nothing. You now have a war wound. Something to show off.¡± ¡°I guess. My butt was hot before, but now with a big scar? Nobody will be able to resist it.¡± Elijah growled from beside me. ¡°You better not show that off to anyone but me.¡± My world stopped. ¡°Possessive, are we?¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°A little. That¡¯s why I¡¯m sticking around to keep you out of trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to argue that I only got this bullet wound because you were around.¡± Elijah chuckled. ¡°What was your line? Bygones? Besides, I loved your sister, too, and agree we need to make sure the public knows the truth.¡± Jasmine interrupted our flirtatious chatter. ¡°You two can take that back to your bedroom if you want to continue.¡± And as always, Hannah brought us back to reality and focused on us. ¡°We need to be smart about this. Our original plan still stays. We are going to discredit the heroes and show the citizens of Obsidian City that they cause harm, too. Like what they did to our loved ones. Exposing them just might take us a little longer without hijacking Elijah¡¯s master plan.¡± Natalie, a mischievous glint in her eye, chimed in. ¡°So, we need to expose their secret identities. Elijah used Shadow Strike¡¯s secret identity against him. Maybe that¡¯s the first step. Then we could dig up some juice to discredit them in the eyes of the public.¡± ¡°Like maybe they have a secret love for crocheting?¡± Madison giggled. ¡°Or maybe they secretly attend karaoke night every week and sing off key?¡± Natalie added with a chuckle. Hannah shook her head in disbelief. ¡°You two are ridiculous. Let¡¯s focus on finding something that will actually damage their reputation.¡± I didn¡¯t hear much of what the girls were saying. This past year, I had hated Elijah for the blood on his hands, but it turns out, his hands were mostly clean. I whispered towards my ex, ¡°I testified against you¡­¡± ¡°You did. And it hurt.¡± His gaze pierced directly into my heart. ¡°Now can we talk in private?¡± I sucked in my bottom lip and all I could do was nod. Im Still the Villain Elijah took my hand and led me away from the rest of the Ladies in Leather who sat at Hannah¡¯s kitchen table and tucked us away in the tiny bathroom and shut the door. ¡°Darling, I¡¯m still the villain. It didn¡¯t matter if I killed Shadow Strike or not, I was going to prison either way for the list of crimes the cops already had on me: breaking and entering, thievery, not to mention the mountain of parking tickets. With his amazing lawyer, Doctor Quackery only got a five-year prison sentence and if he doesn¡¯t still think that I killed Shadow Strike, you¡¯ll be back on the radar as revenge. Plus, I thought it¡¯d be easier for you to move on if you hated me.¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t sign the divorce papers. If you wanted me to move on¡­¡± ¡°Just another move for you to hate me more. I knew the divorce would be final in a year and it¡¯d be over¡­¡± he dropped his voice. ¡°Or maybe I didn¡¯t want you to move on so soon. Ems¡­¡± he brushed the hair off my face. ¡°I never stopped loving you.¡± My chest constricted. I didn¡¯t know what was going on with my emotions, but there was one I latched on to. One I was all too familiar with. Betrayal. ¡°You¡­ you lied to me? All this time? You let me think the worst of you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­.¡± but his voice trailed off, coming back weak. ¡°I guess I did lie. I¡¯m sorry. I did it to protect you.¡± ¡°Obviously, but didn¡¯t you say that I was stronger than I thought? I didn¡¯t need protection.¡± I spat, leaving him in the room and returning to the table surrounded by my villainesses. ¡°Emily¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± Elijah called after me. I spun around, holding my open palm out to stop him. ¡°Not now. Let me process one thing at a time.¡± And I needed something else to focus on. Something else to dedicate myself to, so I threw myself into the plan. I focused on my poor, innocent sister and how we¡¯d get justice. ¡°Let¡¯s stay focused. I have to get to work in less than twelve hours. I mean, who¡¯s going to crunch numbers, help rich people embezzle money, and push papers around all day if I don¡¯t show up? Plus, I¡¯d like to get back to a normal sleep schedule.¡± ¡°Emily¡­¡± Jasmine started, but I didn¡¯t give her time to finish. ¡°I like where you were going with this, Natalie. Hannah, if we identify a superhero¡¯s real-life identity, do you think you could hack into the superheroes¡¯ personal accounts so we could review all their bank transactions for anything abnormal?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Hannah said.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. I nodded, but my frickin¡¯ lip quivered, seeing that look Elijah had on his face beside me at the table. ¡°You okay?¡± Jasmine squeaked out during my pause; her eyes filled with compassion. ¡°Yeah. Why wouldn¡¯t I be? I married a villain four years ago, and it forced me to harden my heart. We have a plan and I want to stick with it. The sooner it¡¯s done, the sooner we can send Elijah on his way.¡± And maybe back to prison, making that toilet hootch he deserved. After a small, uncomfortable silence, a sly grin spread across Madison¡¯s face. ¡°And while we¡¯re at it, we could plant some false evidence to really turn the public against the superzeros. Maybe make it look like they¡¯re embezzling funds or something.¡± And just like that, we were focused back on our plan. Jasmine¡¯s sinister grin made me proud. ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but we need to be careful. We can¡¯t be caught red-handed, or else we¡¯ll be the ones going down. Our first mission is to work on uncovering who the superheroes really are. What is their secret identity?¡± ¡°I was working on that right before the showdown with Dr. Quackery,¡± Elijah said, throwing himself into the plan just like I had. ¡°I started to trace odd purchases through the financial system, hoping for a connection between the new things the Wonderful Wons used during their public appearances and tried to match them to purchase history. Hannah, you¡¯re the tech one on the team?¡± Hannah nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not that good. I can hack a few security cameras, but the financial system is too complicated and secure for me.¡± Elijah continued, ¡°I was using a hacker I knew¡­ but I¡¯m out of favors with her. We¡¯ll have to pay and she¡¯s not cheap.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to raise funds then,¡± Jasmine said. ¡°Madison, isn¡¯t that your specialty?¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Madison rolled her eyes. ¡°How boring. I do that all day at work.¡± ¡°We should divide-and-conquer tasks,¡± Hannah said, ignoring the eye roll. ¡°There¡¯s five¡­ um six of us and we¡¯ll get farther by breaking things up.¡± ¡°And I also did some old-fashioned tailing,¡± Elijah added. ¡°I watched where the superheroes went after each appearance and where they came from when they showed up at community events. I mapped it all out to discover any pattern. All that information was in my secret lair. We could dig it out.¡± I swallowed. ¡°I¡­ um¡­ threw that all away.¡± Everyone glared at me. ¡°What? I didn¡¯t expect to become a villain.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Elijah saved me. ¡°We can start again. We have time, right?¡± Hannah nodded in agreement. ¡°We do, but if we¡¯re out there in the field, we need to be careful and cover our tracks. Assigning duties will help us stay focused. If we play our cards right, we can completely ruin the reputation of those self-righteous heroes and finally bring justice for what they have done.¡± ¡°Tailing it is,¡± Hannah said. While the rest of the women cackled with glee when our evil plan came together piece by piece, I couldn¡¯t help but dwell on the new information I learned about Elijah. I understood wanting to keep me safe from Quackery, but why did he keep the truth a secret from me for so long? All the hatred I harbored towards him this past year was built on false information. Did that make me like him again? No. All it did was make me find a new reason to hate him¡ªfor lying to me. And my stomach churned even more, thinking about the kiss we shared last night. I was foolish. And it wasn¡¯t going to happen again. Stakeouts are SO Much Fun! Elijah and I sat in my fun little silver SUV, the leather seats creaking as we shifted our weight. The smell of stale coffee still lingered from my morning commute earlier today. Outside, the neon signs of the gas station flickered, struggling to show themselves in the afternoon sun. We had been on this stakeout for half-an-hour, and my patience was already wearing thin. I drummed my fingers on the dashboard, my mind racing through all the ways this could go wrong. "What''s taking them so long? I thought the life of a supervillain would be a little more exciting than my life as an accountant. What if they''ve been caught? What if it''s a trap? What if¡ª" "Perspective, darling," Elijah cut in, lounging in the driver''s seat and looking far too comfortable for someone who''d just broken out of prison. He flashed me that infuriating smirk of his. "After sitting in a prison cell for nearly a year, this is exhilarating¡­ especially sitting next to you. Your worry lines are showing, by the way." "I''m still mad at you," I snapped, ignoring his teasing jab. "I can''t believe you let me think you killed Shadow Strike when all you did was negotiate with him to leave town. How... anticlimactic." "Would you rather have had it that I killed him?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, his tone challenging. "No! Of course not. I''m relieved that you didn''t, but believing a lie this entire past year was... well, it just pisses me off. I''m mad that you lied to me¡ªyour wife! I''m mad that you would let me believe such an awful thing about you. I''m mad that you let me be mad at you for so long." I swallowed a lump, trying to place the other feeling circling inside. "And... I... Um... I guess, secretly, I had been flattered at the lengths you went to protect me... and now... I realize you weren''t as passionate about protecting my life as I had thought." Elijah turned in the driver''s seat and grabbed the hand I was nervously rubbing against my jeans. His touch sent a familiar jolt through my body, and I hated how easily he could still affect me. His thumb traced small circles on my skin, and I had to fight the urge to lean into his touch. He gazed at me with those magical eyes that seemed to see right through me. "Yes, it''s true that I didn''t kill anyone, but that doesn''t mean I wouldn''t have to save you. In fact, if the police didn''t hunt me and Doctor Quackery down, he might not have gotten a prison sentence because he''d be very, very dead." "Very, very dead?" I lightened my tone, trying to escape the intenseness of the moment. "Is that the scientific term for it?" Elijah''s eyes twinkled. "Oh yes, it''s right up there with ''pushing up daisies'' and ''kicked the bucket'' in medical journals." Then his expression turned serious again. "In fact, as soon as he''s released from prison, he might still meet that fate if he so much as even looks in your direction." There was no denying the sincerity of that promise. "That''s not the point." I took a deep breath, trying to stay focused on the other emotion that was zinging through my body that I couldn''t catch. "My biggest problem is that I can''t trust you." "Trust me?" he huffed. "You''re the one who turned me in. And just a few days ago, you flew off to escape from Golden Guardian, leaving him there in the forest to catch me." I sighed, running a hand through my ponytail. "I was trying to lure him away to save you. And don''t change this argument to be about what I did. You dropped a big secret on me yesterday. What other things are you keeping in that head of yours?" "Besides that, I want you back... more than anything else I''ve ever wanted?" My heart pounded, and I lost my words for a moment. "I wish I could believe you, but I''m afraid to trust your words." "Understandable." Elijah said, turning back to look out the window. "I''ll just have to prove it to you." "It''s going to take more than a box of chocolates. But I''d gladly accept them." He laughed, the sound warming me despite my best efforts to stay aloof. "Noted. And I will get you back. I know you never could refuse my charm." I glanced at the clock on the dashboard, trying to change the subject. "Where''s Jasmine?" Elijah chuckled. "She probably got distracted and grabbed some rando''s ass." "She doesn''t do that all the time. Besides, your ass is pretty terrific." Elijah''s cheeks turned a soft shade of red, and I couldn''t help but feel a little triumphant. "Oh, my God! Did I make you blush?" Elijah straightened in the seat, clearing his throat. "To be fair, I hadn''t had any action other than Jasmine and that amazing kiss between us in nearly a year. Unless you count the goo-goo eyes the burley guy in cell 154 kept giving me." He nodded towards the window as his cheeks turned back to their too-pale prison color. "Let the cartoons begin!" From across the street, the shimmer of shattering glass, raining down to litter the sidewalk, made our words hang in the air. Jasmine and Madison were both grinning maniacally inside the gas station, their powers on full display. Jasmine''s eyes glowed an eerie purple as she orchestrated a symphony of floating snacks, bags of chips and candy bars swirling around her like a sugary tornado. Madison''s fingers left scorching trails on everything she touched, the air shimmering with heat around her as she melted the cash registers with a casual brush of her hand.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Showing off a bit?" I chuckled, unable to hide my admiration. "I love those girls." "Look at them go," Elijah nudged me with his elbow, his eyes dancing with amusement. "They''re like little kids in a candy store. I bet they''re having the time of their lives." "Yeah, well, let''s just hope they don''t get too carried away. We just want them to lure one superhero out, not the whole team... or worse, that two of the Ladies in Leather get captured. I''m kinda sick of prison breaks for now. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt and everything." "Let''s hope they grab enough snacks to last us the whole stakeout. I''m starving." I rolled my eyes. "I''m glad to see you didn''t lose your appetite in prison. What, was the gruel not up to your standards?" Madison and Jasmine were making a bold statement, but we knew that it would attract the attention of at least one superhero. And I had to admit, it was kind of impressive. We watched as my fellow villains started to make their escape, their powers on full display juggling candy bars as they climbed into that evil minivan, but a bright flash of light made Elijah and I jump. "He''s here." Elijah said, his voice a mix of excitement and apprehension. We looked up to see Captain Celestial standing in the gas station doorway, his ridiculous blue spandex gleaming in the sunlight. "Oh no," I muttered, watching as he strode towards my girls frantically trying to shut the minivan door. "This is not good." Elijah chuckled, seemingly unfazed. "Relax, darling. It''s just Captain Celestial. He''s no match for Jasmine and Madison." I raised an eyebrow. "You really think so? Have you seen the size of his biceps?" Elijah waved his hand dismissively. "Your villainesses are on a roll. Let''s watch and learn. Maybe they''ll teach us a thing or two about showmanship." We watched as Captain Celestial approached the minivan; his fists clenched at his sides. But before he could even lay a hand on anyone, Jasmine and Madison unleashed their powers. Chips and candy bars flew through the air like edible projectiles while bursts of heat melted the blue spandex right off Captain Celestial''s body, leaving him standing there in his heart-patterned boxers. I snickered, covering my mouth to stifle my laughter. "Well, that''s a sight I never thought I''d see. Think we could sell this to a tabloid?" "Come on, let''s get out of here!" Madison shouted, grabbing Jasmine by the hand. The minivan''s tires squealed, and they were gone in a puff of exhaust. After hesitating a bit too long, sorting through the chaos of snacks and smoldering spandex on the sidewalk, the superzero launched into the air, tailing the gold minivan from above in nothing but his blue cape, white mask, and boxers, but my girls were already blocks ahead, disappearing into the traffic. "This is more entertaining than I thought." Elijah started the car and threw it into drive, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Our turn." Madison and Natalie were probably already on foot, parking the minivan in the nearest parking garage, out of sight from the sky. Elijah and I followed Captain Celestial through the city, trying our best to keep up with his super-fast speed. Tires screeched. Engines roared. We weaved through traffic, narrowly avoiding collisions. Captain Celestial was a blur above us, his cape fluttering in the wind. My heart raced, adrenaline surging through my veins. "Let me out!" I shouted over the sound of the engine, my hands itching to feel the rush of flight. "He can fly for goodness'' sake. I can tail him from the sky." "He''ll spot you in an instant." Elijah gave the engine more gas, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. "Don''t worry, darling. I''ve got this. Just keep your eyes on him and let me do the driving." I leaned forward to better see out the windshield, my nose almost touching the glass. "Easier said than done. He''s practically a blur up there." We chased Captain Celestial through the city, our tires screeching around corners and our engines roaring through the streets. It was a wild and reckless pursuit, but we were determined to follow him to the end, wherever that was. My knuckles were white from grabbing the arm rest. "You remember what I said before about the life of a villain being boring? Well, I take that back. This is better than any rollercoaster I''ve ever been on." Elijah laughed, the sound rich and exhilarating. "I think you need the monotony to balance out the adrenaline. He''s slowing down," Elijah nodded towards the sky and let off the gas. "He must have finally realized that Madison and Jasmine outsmarted him. I''m sure this failure won''t make the news." "Yeah. It''s like they have someone on the inside at the news station. Hmm... a thought for us to explore later. Maybe we can get our own PR team." Finally, Captain Celestial stopped over a massive, four-story office building. He hovered in the air for a moment, scanning the area, before disappearing inside through an entrance on the roof. "That''s it!" Elijah exclaimed, parking the car with a screech of tires. "We''ve got him. Let''s go check it out." I sighed, unbuckling my seatbelt. "Great. Now we just have to figure out which one of the hundred employees in that building is Captain Celestial. The good news? How many have heart-shaped polka dots on their boxers?" Elijah chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Are you going to pull everyone''s pants down or is that my job?" True. If Captain Celestial had any brains in that head of his, he''d have regular clothes on in no time, leaving the building completely inconspicuous. More than likely, he had ties to this place. Whether he worked there, owned the business, or hid his secret hero lair inside. We parked in the fifteen-minute spot and headed inside Sure Thing Insurance, scanning the sea of suits and ties for any sign of the superhero, but it was no use. Captain Celestial had vanished, leaving us with nothing but a frustrating clue. "Well, that was a bust," I grumbled, leaning against a wall and blowing a stray hair out of my face. Elijah patted my shoulder, his touch lingering just a moment too long. "Oh, don''t worry, darling. We are way better off than when we started. Not only will we have snacks when we get back to the lair, but we can dig deeper into this business and maybe we''ll figure out his identity. We''ll regroup and come up with the next step." But before we could finish brainstorming, the sound of sirens filled the air. Elijah grabbed my hand, his eyes wide with alarm. "We have to get out of here." He pulled me towards the exit. The sirens wailed, growing louder by the second. Elijah''s hand clamped around mine, his grip tight and urgent. We bolted for the exit, hearts pounding in sync with the approaching police cars. We were on the run, with no idea how we were going to evade the law and catch Captain Celestial. And I was loving every minute of it. Freeze! We burst out of the insurance office building, the bright sunlight momentarily blinding us. Our footsteps pounded the pavement as sirens blared, the sound reverberating off the glass-fronted skyscrapers. The acrid smell of burning rubber filled the air as police cars screeched to a halt in the middle of traffic, their doors swinging open right by my silver SUV parked in the 15-minute area. Elijah''s hand found mine, his grip firm as he pulled me away from the parking area. "Keep your head down so they don''t recognize us," he muttered, his breath warm against my ear. I couldn''t help but roll my eyes. "Us? They don''t know who I am. They''re looking for your face. Plus, they''re only here because of your crazy driving!" A roguish grin spread across his face. "But I didn''t lose Captain Celestial, did I?" He had a point. My mind raced, thoughts tumbling over each other like acrobats. Every fiber of my being screamed to take off for the sky, but that would only openly tie me to my alter ego. I wasn''t exactly in costume, unless you count a slightly rumpled blouse and pencil skirt as villainous attire. "They don''t know we were driving the car," Elijah whispered, his grip on my hand tightening. "We have to stick together and find a way out of this." It''s like he could read my mind, sensing my urge to fly off. "Of course, we do. I wouldn''t abandon you." Even as I said it, I wondered if I was trying to convince him or myself. If I had flown away, I would have taken him with me, right? "We can''t leave my car here. They''ll know it was me." "You have a fake license plate And you scrubbed the VIN number, right?" "Yeah, but my vehicle registration and insurance are in the glove box." "What?" Elijah snapped, his eyebrows shooting up in disbelief. I shrugged with a laugh, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. "I''m a good girl, deep down, right? What if there was an accident? Insurance is important." Elijah''s lips twitched, fighting a smile. "Okay. New plan. Do you trust me?" "No." "Well, too bad," Elijah said with a smug grin that made my heart skip a beat. "We''re making a break for the car. Ready?" "No." He ignored my protest. "In three... two... one... go!" The look of determination in Elijah''s eyes told me he had my back. I had to trust him, if only for this moment. And off we went, making a mad dash towards my SUV. The world blurred around us, adrenaline sharpening my senses. "Stop! Freeze!" the cops yelled, their voices almost drowned out by the blood pounding in my ears. But we didn''t hesitate, sprinting full-tilt towards the SUV. We dove inside, the leather seats cool against my skin. Elijah started the engine, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. He threw it in drive and slammed on the gas pedal. The tires squealed in protest as we jagged into traffic, narrowly missing the cop car parked beside us. "Grab the steering wheel," Elijah commanded, a fierce look in his eyes. "I can take care of this and create enough of a distraction for us to get away, but I need both hands." "At this speed? Ha! I don''t think so. Pull over. We''ll abandon the car, and I''ll fly us to safety. I''ll just report the vehicle as stolen." Note to self: Next time we go on a simple stake out, don''t use my personal vehicle. But who knew it''d turn into a high-speed chase worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster? "And it''s full of our fingerprints----together. They¡¯ll know we spent some time together after the prison break. Probably not a good idea to let them have the car." "Okay. So abandoning is not an option." Skeptically, I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure we''re not going to get killed? Or that they''ll see where the sonic boom came from? A sonic boom will tell them you''re still living that life of crime here in Obsidian City. This is a bit risky." Elijah chuckled, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. "Risky? Emily, darling, when have we ever been afraid of a little risk? Trust me, I''ve got this. The cops won''t know what hit them." "Trust you again? Another haha!" I sighed, knowing there was no other option. I had to trust Elijah, even though it went against my better judgment. I took the steering wheel, the leather warm beneath my palms, and Elijah held his arms out the window, giving a mighty clap. The sonic boom that followed was like nothing I''d ever experienced. It rattled the windows, set off car alarms, and sent a visible shockwave rippling through the air. The authorities were momentarily stunned, and we seized our chance to escape. Elijah took control again, turning down one street, then another. We sped out of downtown, leaving the cops and our problems behind. The bright lights and towering buildings blurred around us, the city becoming a kaleidoscope of color and motion.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I had to admit that it was exhilarating. For a moment, I forgot about all my doubts and fears, and I just focused on the rush of the escape. As we raced down the streets, a small sense of admiration for Elijah grew in my chest. He was smart, resourceful, and he protected both of us. And it was nice to be taken care of for a bit. Even though we all knew I was a strong, capable woman who could fly circles around him. Literally. But our narrow escape didn''t last long. The authorities were hot on our heels again, and I could see Elijah''s grip on the steering wheel tighten as he navigated through the crowded streets, dodging cars and pedestrians as we made our way to the outskirts of town. "I''ll shake them." But his tense voice betrayed his words. I rolled my eyes, not impressed with his attempts at bravery. "Don''t worry, Darling. In the past year, I''ve learned a thing or two about shaking the authorities." Elijah chuckled and grinned. "That''s because you had a fantastic teacher." The red and blue lights grew brighter in the rear-view mirror, their reflections dancing across Elijah''s face. "I have an idea," I said, my mind whirring with possibilities. Elijah raised an eyebrow, a sly smile on his face. "Oh? Talk to me." I glanced over at him, judging that the cops were less than fifty yards behind us. "Not now. I need to focus. You''ll just have to trust me." "Haha. Throwing my own words back at me. Well done. I have to admit that I love it when you take charge." I reached into the back seat of the car, my hands shaking as I struggled to change into my leather supervillain costume. Elijah was driving like a madman, swerving through the streets as he tried to dodge the sirens that were hot on our tail. I stripped down to my bra and panties. Elijah''s eyes darted between the road and me, his adam''s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. "Are you intentionally distracting me? I might pull over and ravage you. Even if I get caught, the few minutes of bliss would be so worth it." I couldn''t help but laugh, even as I struggled with my costume. "Not tempting you on purpose. Damn, this leather is so hard to change into. I see why the Superzeros wear spandex." I pulled on my gloves, my heart racing with adrenaline. "Ready for some excitement?" The hint of a smile hung on his lips. "Every day with you is exciting." I blushed, feeling a goofy smile spread across my face. "Likewise." A surge of affection for Elijah filled my chest despite the chaos of the situation. Something inside me changed, and I blame the next move on the adrenaline. I leaned over and placed a sweet little peck on his cheek, my lips tingling at the contact. "What was that for?" he asked, his voice husky. "In case I never see you again." "After that little display of your Victoria Secret shopping habits? You''ll see me again. I promise." "At our evil lair." My heart pounded as I gripped the door handle. "As soon as possible." "You''re taking off on me again?" But when I glanced back, I saw his full smile. This time, he knew I was only leaving him to help our situation. With that, I opened the car door and launched myself into the night sky, the rush of wind drowning out Elijah''s final words. As I soared towards the authorities, I knew I had to distract them so that Elijah could escape. The wind whipped my ponytail, and I couldn''t help but feel alive. This was what I was born¡­err made to do. As the cop cars veered away from Elijah, I swooped down, ensuring they got a good look at me. I then turned and headed in the opposite direction to our lair and away from Elijah. Many of the cars followed me, and I knew Elijah had a chance with only one car still after him. As I flew faster and faster, my heart raced. This was it, the moment of truth, but it was anticlimactic. I flew and flew, adding more distance between me and the city. The sirens faded into silence. The lights became mere pinpricks in the distance. The city shrank to nothing more than a speck on the horizon. Maybe I got carried away, but my mind was replaying the nearly five years Elijah and I had spent together, dwelling on the first time he met my sister. She told me to watch out for that guy, and I spent the last year wishing I would have listened, but now, all I remember is how Elijah won her over with one simple sentence: "I promise to love Emily as passionately as you hate me." And she laughed. And Elijah had only spoken the truth. He proved that to me every single day with small favors, such as bringing my favorite chocolate home from the confectionary or a simple phone call telling me he was thinking about me, to his grand gestures like a romantic escape to a Caribbean Island or renting an entire restaurant just for us to wine, dine, and dance. That was until the last few weeks when Doctor Quackery had hunted us down. The rest of the time together was good. Great, actually. The best years of my life. He was my partner. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of flying, I returned to the city and entered our evil lair with a racing heart. This time, it wasn''t from the thrill of the escape, but rather the excitement of seeing Elijah''s handsome face. But as I flew back towards Hannah''s garage, my heart was heavy with worry. I couldn''t shake the feeling that something was off. As soon as I saw my little silver SUV safely inside the garage, relief washed over me. I landed softly, my legs wobbling slightly as I touched down. I was panting and covered in sweat from my most exhilarating flight ever. "Elijah?" I called out, walking around my car. But it was empty inside. Of course it was empty. How long had I flown away from the city? Plenty of time for Elijah to sit around Hannah''s kitchen table and relay all the details of our little escapade. When the door to the garage opened, I expected to see my husband, but Natalie peered at me instead. "Emily, you''re back." I nodded towards my SUV, my stomach churning with anxiety. "Where is he?" "Elijah''s not here." Her solemn face told me something was wrong. My heart sank, a cold dread seeping into my bones. He didn''t wait to make sure I was okay? My voice cracked. "He took off already?" Did he go back to our place or did he finally flee? Natalie shook her head, her normally tan skin ashen. "Oh Ems, he didn''t come back. He called, letting us know where to pick up your car. Madison and I rushed right there, just in time to get a quick view of him being driven off in a police car." I gasped, my heart plummeting to my feet. "What? No, that can''t be right. We were just together. It couldn''t have been more than a half-an-hour ago." Natalie nodded; her face grim. "I''m sorry, Emily, but it''s true. At least he helped us with the plan, right?" "Right." My word had no emotion, but just something I said to give my mind time to process what was going on. I closed my eyes and listened to my heavy heart. The high I had been on from the thrill of the chase and the hope of a repaired relationship just came crashing to the ground. The entire time I had been soaring through the air, my mind had been dwelling on how good it felt to be Elijah''s partner again. Perhaps not in marriage, but at least in villainy. Either way, I just got him back. I might not have known where our relationship was going, but what I did know was that I wasn''t ready to lose him again. The Drunk Tank Something about Elijah''s capture didn''t sit right. I had led all the cops away from him except for one car, and with his superb driving skills, he should have easily escaped. And during the high-speed chase, when did he have time to call my fellow Ladies in Leather to let them know he was stashing the car somewhere safe so the police couldn''t connect me to the vehicle? If he had enough time to stash the car, how could he have been captured? He had clearly shaken the police for my car to make it home. Did he do something dumb like walking down the street yelling, "I''m the notorious SuperBoom, an escaped convict! Come and get me!" The girls and I sat around the table at Wine a Little, Laugh a Lot, but my glass of Zinfandel tasted sour. How could I be here, enjoying myself while Elijah sat in jail? Two days ago, the police apprehended him and his face was plastered all over the news. Every time I turned on the TV, it haunted me. Jasmine nudged me with her elbow, her eyes twinkling mischievously. A napkin on the table fluttered slightly. "Cheer up! We got the information we needed from Elijah and he''s back where he started from. He had a little adventure and our mission was a success. It''s a win-win." I nodded halfheartedly, fighting the urge to float a few inches off my chair. Sure, he gave us all the information he had to help us peel back the superhero''s identities and expose their secrets to Obsidian City, but things were not back to how they were a few weeks ago. I had learned more about Elijah and the events that went down almost a year ago, and I realized that all this time, I had misjudged him. He wasn''t a completely self-centered asshole. In fact, everything he had done had been out of love for me. Yes, his choices weren''t the best, but how long did I want to hold a grudge? My stubbornness was only hurting me. It was time to let go and move on, but I couldn''t do that with Elijah behind bars. Hannah raised her glass of chardonnay, her cheeks flushed from wine. A cool breeze mysteriously ruffled her hair. "Here''s to being so close to finishing step one of our plan." Madison giggled, her fingertips leaving faint scorch marks on her wine glass. "And by so close, she means not close at all." Hannah''s eyes narrowed. "Be positive. I have a program running right now that''s cross-checking all the employees of that office building against a spreadsheet of who purchased boxers with heart shapes on them." "How did you get that?" Jasmine''s eyebrow quirked up. "A little magic," Hannah puffed out her chest. "And by magic, I mean illegally connecting to the only company I could find online that sells such ridiculous boxers and downloading their customer file." She polished her nails on her shirt, a small static shock jumping between her fingers. "We''ll have his identity in no time flat¡­ without having to do any more of those stake outs that Emily calls, ''boring-ass''." She winked at me. I rolled my eyes, suppressing a smirk. When Hannah jokes around, it means she feels sorry for someone. And that someone was me. I was a little lost puppy at the moment, and I didn''t know what to do about it. I wasn''t breaking back into prison and taking another bullet to my buttocks until this one completely healed. And it''d be way more difficult now, with them expecting the Ladies in Leather. We had already made our big debut and I''m sure the police had entire files on us already. And did I even want to break Elijah out? Maybe it was best he finished out his prison sentence, and then we could talk. If I was supposed to break him free, there would be a sign, right? Something compelling that told me it was what I had to do. The TV in the little sitting area of the corner of the dim wine bar kept drawing my attention. Every now and again, I glimpsed at Elijah''s face, haunting me. And then, the story changed to images of him I hadn''t seen yet. As the girls chit-chatted and planned the next step of our plan, I rose from my stool and took my glass of wine over to watch TV, my feet barely skimming the floor. I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes, my heart suddenly racing. The images they were showing of Elijah weren''t in prison. They were in the city''s jail. Holy shit. I could easily break in and get him out. It was only the jail. It was the sign I had just been thinking about. Jasmine joined me next to the TV, a concerned look on her face. "You want to go get him again?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "It''d be easy. He''s literally only two doors away from freedom. There''s not even a perimeter fence, guards, or searchlights. It''d be nothing compared to what we''ve already done." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Are you contemplating doing it alone?" I rubbed my sore butt. "I think I''m a changed woman. I''m seeing value in the team. Besides, being out on my own got me shot and captured." She laughed, smugly. I''d let her gloat a bit because I had been foolish, even considering doing things on my own when I had such wonderful women as friends. There was a reason we were a team. "Then let''s do it," Jasmine said, nonchalantly, like we were talking about something as simple as going out for dinner. "With the entire team. If nothing else, it''ll be good practice for what''s coming in the future." Natalie joined us in the TV nook, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. I hadn''t known she had been listening. "Oh great. Breaking Elijah out of jail was exactly what I had in mind for my Thursday night." Madison giggled, nearly spilling her wine. A wisp of steam rose from her glass. I felt back on my game, a familiar rush of excitement coursing through me. "I mean, we already have enough wanted posters of our faces plastered around the city. Why not add ''jailbreak'' to the list of our crimes?" "Because nothing says ''I''m really the good guys'' like busting someone out of jail." Natalie''s lips curved into a sly smile. Jasmine''s voice softened. "Well, at least this time we have a legitimate reason for breaking the law. I mean, Elijah may have done some questionable things in the past, but he doesn''t deserve to be locked up for something he didn''t do. He is serving a murder sentence, but he never killed anyone." A sense of determination settled in my stomach. "True. And he did already serve nearly a year in the penitentiary. I think we should consider that his sentence is served, and he''s a rehabilitated member of society. He deserves to be free." Madison giggled again, I¡¯d swear she had more wine than she said. Hannah joined us in the corner, her perfect eyebrows raised in curiosity. A faint rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. "What are you gals scheming about over here?" "We''re going to break Elijah out of jail." Jasmine''s voice was matter-of-fact. Hannah looked at me, and when I nodded, she asked. "Are we doing this before or after we expose the superheroes?" "As soon as possible.¡± I said, firmly. ¡°Before they move him out of jail and back into maximum security." Hannah blew out a breath, clearly calculating our next move. "Okay. Tomorrow night?" "Not tomorrow.¡± I shook my head. ¡°It has to be tonight. They might move him in the morning." "But I''ve had an entire glass of Merlot," Madison giggled. Jasmine grinned. "And I''ve had three. But I think the alcohol makes my superpower even better." A fork on the table wiggled slightly. Hannah''s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Looks like we''ll be pulling off the ultimate ''drunk and disorderly'' jailbreak. This is going to be an adventure." I laughed, feeling more alive than I had in days. "But we can do it!" Hannah pointed her index finger at each of us in a fake scolding. A static charge made her hair stand on end. "And as soon as we''re done, we go back to our master plan. No more diversions, okay?" "Aww, come on!¡± Jasmine playfully whined. ¡°I was hoping we could take over Willy Wonka''s Chocolate Factory next and convert that place to our new evil lair. I mean, who wouldn''t want an endless supply of chocolate while planning to take over the world?" "We''re not taking over the world," Hannah said, rolling her eyes. "Just making the heroes pay for what they did to our loved ones." And with the mention of our real purpose, we all focused again. The room was silent for a moment while we all watched some medication commercial on TV. Finally, I spoke up. "I mean, it''s not like breaking out of prison is a hard task for a group of highly trained and skilled crime-fighters like us. It''s practically child''s play. Piece of cake. Elijah will be free in no time." Madison finished her wine with a flourish, steam rising from the empty glass. "Well, we better get moving if we want to make it home in time to see our faces on the news again." Hannah''s voice held a hint of excitement. "Well, I guess we have our plan for the evening. Time to add ''jailbreak'' to our resume." Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her pocket. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh ladies, tonight is getting better and better! I have good news. My program just identified employees of Sure Thing Insurance with everyone who ever purchased boxers with heart shapes from Amazon." Her face was stuck in astonishment. "I really didn''t think that''d work, but I know exactly who Captain Celestial is. I think that deserves ice cream for dessert." The room filled with chirps of glee. Jasmine playfully rubbed her hands together and flashed us an evil grin. A nearby chair scooted an inch to the left. "Step one of our master plan is now completed." I shook my head and emptied my glass of Zinfandel. "Nope. It''s not completed yet until we have our entire team here. We''ll celebrate in the morning, assuming Madison doesn''t get lost by doing donuts in the parking lot, or that we end up in the drunk tank, right besides Elijah." "Hey! I''m driving again?" Madison''s lip jutted out in a pout. "You are the one who said she only had ONE glass of wine tonight,¡± I smirked. ¡°The rest of us wouldn''t want to get drunk driving added to our growing rap sheets." Jasmine''s eyes twinkled. "Ah come on! I''m treating my rap sheet like a resume. I can''t wait to whip that puppy out when I look for my next nursing job." I sat back, admiring my team, willing to risk everything to support my crazy detour to our plan, and I couldn''t be prouder. The warmth of camaraderie filled my chest, pushing away the doubts and fears that had been plaguing me. Hopefully, we didn''t regret this in the morning. Sweaty Leather After all five of us Ladies in Leather stumbled home and changed into our villain outfits after our evening at Wine a Little, Laugh a Lot, we sobered up as Madison drove us to the Obsidian City Jail. The imposing concrete structure loomed before us, its dull gray walls a stark contrast to the vibrant night sky. Jasmine tumbled out of the minivan, her normally graceful movements slightly off-kilter. "Don''t worry," she laughed, steadying herself against the vehicle. "I''m not tipsy at all anymore. Just seeing double and a bit dizzy." She hiccupped, then playfully winked, causing a nearby trash can to wobble. I stretched my arms, feeling the familiar tingle of my flight powers itching to be used. "The guards are no match for our superpowers. It makes no difference if we''re a bit intoxicated." Hannah''s eyes darted around, scanning the perimeter. A light breeze ruffled her hair as she whispered, "As long as we go fast enough that we''re gone before the superheroes arrive. Okay, remember the plan. Jasmine and Natalie will distract the guards in the front while Emily and I disable the security cameras." Madison slumped against the steering wheel, her fingers leaving faint scorch marks. "And once again, I stay back with the evil minivan." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Nothing says evil supervillain like a ''mom'' van." Ignoring Madison''s theatrics, Hannah continued, "Once that''s done, we''ll all meet at the cell block and break Elijah out." We nodded in unison, adrenaline pumping through our veins. I rubbed my sweaty palms on my leather pants, suppressing the urge to hover a few inches off the ground. "Because who needs a well-thought-out plan when we have costumes and a bit of liquid courage, right?" This was it. No turning back now. Jasmine and Natalie sashayed towards the front entrance, their leather outfits creaking softly. They exaggerated their confused expressions, asking the guards for directions with exaggerated innocence. Yeah, having two women wearing leather and masks wasn¡¯t at all suspicious, but men sometimes thought with their other brains. While the guards were distracted by the leather-clad duo, Hannah and I snuck around to the back of the building. She placed a device Jasmine charmed out of her mad scientist electronics expert friend on the Wi-Fi box outside the jail, her fingers dancing over its surface with practiced ease. Within seconds, the security cameras went dark. "We''re getting good at this," I whispered with a big smile, allowing myself to float an inch off the ground in excitement. Natalie''s voice crackled through our earpieces. "Guards are sleeping. See you inside." Hannah and I circled the building once again, following the path of destruction left by Natalie and Jasmine. Sleeping cops and the aftermath of a mini-tornado marked our way down the hallway to the cells. We joined our fellow villainesses at the last door. Jasmine''s eyes sparkled mischievously as she gestured towards the lock. "We saved the last door for you. Would you like to do the honors?" Grinning, I pulled my lock picking kit from my evil utility belt. The lock clicked open with satisfying ease. Elijah sat on his bunk, hands bound, a smug, knowing look on his face as we burst into the room. His eyes locked onto mine, a mixture of amusement and admiration dancing in their depths. "What took you so long?" My heart raced as I met his gaze. "You know us. Distracted by a little wine." I felt a familiar warmth spread through my chest. In that moment, I knew I still wanted to be married to this infuriating, charming man. Hannah cleared her throat, breaking the moment. "Come on, lovebirds, we don''t have much time." I quickly picked the lock to his cell door and the simple handcuff device keeping Elijah''s powers under control. As the cuffs fell away, I could almost feel the energy radiating from him. We made our way through the jail, Elijah''s presence adding an extra thrill to our escape. Finally reaching the exit, we burst into the cool night air, collapsing onto the grass in a mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Natalie sprawled dramatically on the ground, her perfect hair somehow still immaculate. "That was easy," she panted, sweat beading on her temples. "We should get going," Elijah said, his eyes darting around nervously. I laughed, relishing the familiar rush of danger. "Don''t worry, sweetheart. Breaking you out was only the first thing on our agenda for the evening." "Second," Natalie corrected. "The first was drinking enough wine to make this plan sound good." We all laughed, the tension easing from Elijah''s shoulders as I gave him a reassuring nod. Elijah''s lips quirked into a grin, his eyes sparkling with pride as he surveyed our team. "I have to give you all credit. You managed to distract the guards better than I ever could." "Yeah, well it helps to have a pretty face on your side," Natalie quipped, tossing her hair. "But let''s be real. It was really our sparkling personalities that the guards paid attention to." I raised an eyebrow at Elijah, memories of past escapades flooding back. "Oh, I don''t know about that. I seem to remember a certain someone using their charm to get out of a few sticky situations in the past." He chuckled, his voice low and smooth. "Yeah, well. I guess I learned from the best." The familiar banter sent a shiver down my spine. I smiled despite myself. Despite everything that had happened between us, it was hard to deny the chemistry that still existed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not over yet. Time to put the rest of the plan into action.¡± Hannah pulled a device from between her breasts, her fingers hovering over a comically large red button on her phone screen. "Time to make our grand escape." She pressed it with a flourish, triggering the jail''s alarm and the security cameras to turn back on. "Let''s hope Captain Celestial is still the superhero on duty," Jasmine said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. We had spent nearly a year tracking the superheroes every move. They tended to take week-long shifts as first call. I smirked, confidence surging through me. "No worries. If we get caught and thrown in jail, that''s okay. It''s just the life of a supervillain, right? Jail is no big deal?" Elijah laughed. "Going to jail is just another Tuesday night." Right on cue, Captain Celestial arrived, the bright blue of his costume shining in the moonlight. "What''s going on here?" he demanded, his cape fluttering dramatically in the non-existent breeze. Natalie examined her nails, the picture of nonchalance. "Oh, just a little jailbreak. I''m sure you can help us out with that, can''t you?" Captain Celestial tilted his chin at us, confusion evident even behind his mask. "What are you talking about?" I gestured to Elijah, who was leaning casually against a nearby tree. "Come on, we both know you''re the one who broke Elijah out." Hannah stepped forward, her voice sharp. "We have all the evidence we need to expose you and your secret identity." Captain Celestial''s jaw clenched, the veins in his neck bulging. "It doesn''t matter. I''ll uphold the law either way." I shrugged, fighting back a grin. "Suit yourself. But just so you know, we left a little calling card in the jail before we left. If you don''t break in and get it, everyone will know who you really are, Dwayne.¡±." ¡°How¡ª¡± Captain Celestial''s face paled and eyes widened beneath his mask. "You wouldn''t." "Try us," Natalie smirked, examining her reflection in a compact mirror. ¡°We¡¯re ready for you Scorch,¡± Hannah discreetly signaled Madison through our earpieces. Moments later, the screech of tires announced our getaway vehicle''s arrival. As we piled into the minivan, I couldn''t resist one last taunt. "Are you coming after us or clearing your name?" Captain Celestial stood frozen, indecision written across his face. Madison rolled down the window, her giggles filling the air. "Welcome to the team!" As we sped away, I scooted closer to Elijah. ¡°That was pretty good, wasn''t it?" I laughed, my body humming with adrenaline. "Pretty bad, actually," Elijah said, but his eyes danced with amusement. "Either way, you''re now part of the team. You''re stuck with us for the long haul." His lips curved into a smirk that made my heart race. "I wouldn''t want it any other way." He winked, sending a jolt of electricity through me. "But for the record, I still think your plan was too close. All you had to do was get away, but you risked your freedom to what? Taunt Captain Celestial? What if all three Wonderful Wons came?" I leaned in closer, my breath tickling his ear. "Oh, come on, where''s your sense of adventure? Besides, the thrill kinda turns me on." Elijah''s eyebrows shot up, a devilish grin spreading across his face. "Turns you on, huh?" Our moment was interrupted by the sound of approaching sirens. Madison giggled maniacally, stepping on the gas. "It looks like the party''s over. Time to split." The minivan lurched forward, leaving tire marks on the pavement. Elijah leaned towards me, his warm breath caressing my ear as he whispered over the revving engine, "Danger turns you on?" I traced a finger up his bare arm, nodding innocently and suppressing a shiver as I felt his muscles tense under my touch. He pulled me closer, his eyes darkening with promise. "Then this is going to be fun." As we sped into the night, the thrill of danger and the heat of attraction coursing through my veins, I couldn''t help but think that being a supervillain had never felt so good. And that heat didn¡¯t disappear even when we glanced at the silhouette of the next superhero flying our way in the rearview mirror. This wasn¡¯t over yet. A Brewing Romance "Crapola!" Natalie exclaimed, her eyes widening as she peered out the window. The familiar silhouette of the Golden Guardian soared towards our minivan, his golden wings glinting in the moonlight. "Another Wonderful Won is here and we don''t have any dirt on Mr. Feathers, do we?" Of course, Captain Celestial would alert the rest of his gang after our brief encounter at the jail. We''d barely had time to catch our breath, and now this. Outside the van''s side windows, the Golden Guardian drew closer, giving us the perfect view of the bright light emanating from his hands. "Don''t worry, I think it¡¯s time to play with fire." Madison lifted one hand off the steering wheel, her palm beginning to glow with an intense heat. The air inside the van grew noticeably warmer. Before we could argue that driving and fighting superheroes simultaneously was a spectacularly bad idea, The Thunderbolt appeared out of nowhere. A crackling bolt of electricity arced towards the minivan, lighting up the night sky. Elijah''s super reflexes were amazingly fast. In a blur of motion, he crawled up between the front seats and jolted the steering wheel. We were sent flying all over the inside of the van, bumping into each other and grasping for handholds. Somehow, we narrowly escaped the initial jolt of electricity. But while our backs were turned, The Thunderbolt got us with another zap. The minivan lurched violently, tipping to drive on two wheels. Time seemed to slow as we all held our breath, hoping against hope that we''d regain balance. No such luck. With a sickening crunch, the van toppled over. For a moment, all was silent except for our heavy breathing and the creaking of metal. Then Jasmine sprang into action. She had the sliding door open ¨C now on the ceiling ¨C in no time. "Everyone, hold on!" I shouted, my heart pounding. I flew up through the door and grabbed Elijah''s outstretched hand first, helping him out of the van. Together, we got the other four Ladies in Leather out. Hannah wiped a trickle of blood off her temple, her nose wrinkling as she sniffed the air. "Smell that? Gas!" "Get away from the van!" Madison yelled. We dashed away from our beloved escape vehicle, our feet pounding on the pavement. We''d barely made it a safe distance when the minivan exploded in a ball of flames, the heat searing our backs. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what I call trial by fire,¡± Madison managed to giggle. As we ran, the Golden Guardian was swooping down, his wings casting an ominous shadow. Apparently, we were all looking over our shoulders because Natalie, not watching where she was going, ran smack dab into The Thunderbolt''s chest. "Fuck!" I muttered, skidding to a stop. "She¡¯s caught." The rest of our team scattered, but not before witnessing the intense gaze Natalie and the Thunderbolt shared for the moment in each other''s arms. Superhero and supervillain, frozen in what looked almost like an embrace. "Maybe she grabbed his ass," Jasmine threw out there, making Elijah and I chuckle despite the tenseness of the situation. I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "I have to go back for her." I turned towards Natalie and her superhero arm candy. After lifting off the ground, I flew towards my friend, the wind whipping through my ponytail. Halfway back, Golden Guardian blinded me with a bright light. My flight slowed, and my feet hit the ground. I pushed forward, one foot at a time, but it felt like I was walking through quicksand that only grew thicker with each step. This wasn¡¯t the power absorbing orb¡­this was something different. When strong arms enveloped me, I thought I was captured. My heart raced, panic rising in my throat. But then the sweet, yet spicy scent of my hubby sent my panic away. When a mighty clap filled the air, I relaxed into his arms, knowing he would protect me.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Elijah''s sonic boom shattered the light and freed me from Golden Guardian''s trance. The sound reverberated through my body, leaving my ears ringing. It was also the wake-up call Natalie needed to tear herself out of The Thunderbolt''s arms. She stumbled back, looking dazed. "Ahh, sweetie. Thanks for the rescue," I quipped to Elijah, trying to catch my breath. "How about we get out of this clown show and somewhere more private?" He kissed my neck in a way that sent a tingle down to my toes, momentarily making me forget about the chaos around us. "Nothing like a little violent foreplay to win a girl''s heart, but first, I think we need to lead these clowns away from my friends." I wrapped my arms around Elijah and shot up into the sky. The cool night air rushed past us as we ascended. As the scene beneath me came into focus, I could see my fellow villainesses on the ground, fighting off The Thunderbolt. But the Golden Guardian had hit the sky and was hot on our tail, determined to capture us. ¡°Hold on,¡± Elijah said. ¡°I need both hands.¡± I tightened my grip around him, and I enjoyed the delicious squeezing of his thighs around my hips to help. He clapped, sending another sonic boom flying. Golden faltered and fell back to the earth. The force of the boom rippled through the air. But the backlash from the sonic boom sent me tumbling out of control, unable to fly straight as I plummeted towards the ground. The world spun around us, buildings and sky blurring together. "Breathe," Elijah whispered, his voice surprisingly calm. "You got this, darling." And I did what he said. I focused on my power of flight, pushing away the panic and chaos. Somehow, magically, without letting Elijah go, I stopped our downward spiral. We hung suspended in the air, both of us panting. "Well, that was close," I chuckled. "I''m just glad we weren''t impaled by the road''s guard railing. It would have been a very Romeo and Juliet way to go." "I knew it was in you all along." Elijah''s voice was filled with pride. "Right. As we were falling to our deaths, you had complete faith in me." I rolled my eyes, but couldn''t help smiling. Elijah brushed the stray hairs that fell from my ponytail behind my ears, his touch gentle. "I did. I guess we completely trust each other again." He grinned, his eyes twinkling. I laughed, more out of habit than anything else. "Not quite." But Elijah was completely serious. "I disagree. Out of everyone trapped in the minivan, it was my arm you grabbed first, and it''s not that I''m valuable to the team anymore. I''m valuable to you. Then, it was me you swooped up to fly to safety¡­ and when you were spinning out of control, you focused on my words and trusted me." I bit my lip, really thinking about what he was saying. "Maybe it''s that I know my team can handle themselves. And you? You have this nasty habit of getting caught. But at least you''re consistent." I paused, letting out a small sigh. "Fine. You win. You''re valuable to me¡­ and I trust you¡­ at least a little. I mean, you put yourself into harm''s way, jumping into Golden Guardian''s paralyzing light to save me instead of running away to safety. You earned one point back." Elijah laughed, the sound warm and rich. "I think I earned more points than that." Down on the ground, the rest of the girls had distracted the two superzeros who were scanning the wreckage to figure out what had just happened. The burning flames that used to be our escape vehicle lit up the night. "See. They can handle themselves." I shook my head at the scene below. "Well, I guess we can finally get a vehicle more fitting of our evil ways. Do you think they need a ride?" I nodded to the team of four heading towards the bus stop a few blocks away from the flaming minivan. "It looks like they have it handled." Elijah nodded to the approaching bus, its headlights cutting through the darkness. "It''s nice they found their own rides. Who wouldn''t want to escape using public transportation? It makes a statement about how they care for the environment." "Where else could they disappear wearing their ridiculous leather costumes and nobody would even think twice about it? I''m sure they aren''t the oddest ones on that thing." I paused, a thought occurring to me. "But I have one unanswered question about tonight." "Just one?" Elijah chuckled. "Let me guess: is it¡­ Do Natalie and The Thunderbolt have a thing?" "You saw that too?" I playfully asked, remembering the charged moment between them. "All I know is that those two will be interesting as your plan unfolds." "Our plan. Remember, you''re part of the team. And if by interesting, you mean a complete disaster, you''re probably right." As we flew off into the night, the city lights twinkling below us, I couldn''t help but wonder what other surprises and twists were in store for our team of supervillains. We couldn''t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all as we soared through the damp night air. Despite the chaos of the evening, we knew we were in this together and nothing could stop us. Except for maybe getting caught again.