Even Villains Fall in Love (10 page)

With a sigh, he collapsed onto a bench, staring
into the darkness as he waited for an answer.

Chapter Fifteen

I can’t recall a time I truly felt
guilty. Even when one of my minions ate all of Great-Grandmother’s
fine china my senior year of high school. Guilt was the same thing
as getting in trouble, and I could always talk my way out of
trouble.

The only person with any measure of
control over my actions was myself. I think that’s true of
everyone, although most people will deny it. There is no angel or
devil sitting on your shoulder telling you what to do. Laws are
there as pleasant reminders of the consequences that await the
foolish, but in the end the only authority a person can rely on is
their own.

And you know what? You can’t sweet
talk yourself. There was no rationalization for what I had done.
Not a single thing I could say that made the situation better. I
had the perfect life, and I’d lost it being stupid.

I could bend the will of anyone I met
to suit my needs, but I could never force them to give me the one
thing I always craved. Even with the Morality Machine, I couldn’t
force someone to love me. I tricked Tabitha into love, but the
emotion was tainted. Seven years of lust with never a moment of
true love. It was the one-night stand that never ended, until the
machine broke and Tabitha walked back to her life with nary a
backward glance.

***

Wind rustled through the pine trees, bringing
the scent of wood smoke and car fumes. Evan sat back in the park
bench with a sigh, watching the sun sink low over the mountains as
he replayed the afternoon’s encounter in his mind. This wasn’t the
end. He wouldn’t let it be the end. Somehow he could find a way to
get Tabitha back. If he couldn’t, what was the point of going
on?

The girls, obviously. They needed a parent,
although a stuffed zucchini would probably do a better job than he
was at this point.

Tabitha’s laugh broke through his misery. He
looked around and spotted her walking into a large, square building
across from the park.

He ran to catch the door as it swung closed and
stepped into what looked like an unused gymnastics center, complete
with a sad pair of rings hanging off to one side over a cracked
mat. He could smell the faded sweat from glory days long past.

A large woman in tight blue spandex walked past,
completely ignoring him. The door shut quietly behind him as he
took in the rainbow array of spandex suits. Apparently Tabitha had
joined an aerobics class for the middle-aged and balding. One
violently yellow suit with red zigzags on the far side of the gym
caught his attention—The Rolling Shock. Evan looked around trying
to find other familiar faces.

When he knew what to look for he could see the
old gymnasium was packed with the full roster of super heroes he’d
defeated. He stepped into the shadows, weighing his options. The
Rainbow Dane was there, standing on the far side under a spotlight
in earnest discussion with Hempman and The Rolling Shock. All three
a good reason to leave. But Tabitha was there too, still dressed in
her jeans and T-shirt, and holding court with Angler Girl, The
Buxom Boss, and The Starlit Starlet near a table of snacks.

Had Tabitha left him for this? He’d been
searching for the complicated answer, but what if the simple one
had been right all along? What if all she wanted was to be with her
own kind? Evan watched her as he leaned back against the door,
casually preventing any more heroes from joining the party.

Tabitha had bags under her eyes, and her
gestures were agitated. At a glance, she looked like a woman under
extreme stress. He’d never seen her miserable before—one point in
his favor despite everything—and now that he knew what it might
look like, he knew he’d never be able to bear the real thing.
Starlit grabbed a cookie and noticed him, his buttoned down shirt
and slacks didn’t help him blend into the crowd. Starlit
straightened, preening and smiling in an inviting way that would
have worked if he were still sixteen, single, and had never seen
Zephyr Girl. Really, the other superheroes should have kicked
Tabitha out years ago for being too beautiful for their collective
good.

Starlit said something, and the other women
turned. Tabitha’s eyes widened. She excused herself from the
others, and made a beeline for his position by the door.

“Professor,” she hissed, grabbing his arm. “What
are you doing here?”

“I was taking a walk when I saw you come inside.
Is this another department shindig?”

Gore Smasher walked past and Evan stopped to
stare at the layer of flab jiggling in purple spandex. “Was I
supposed to wear a costume? Halloween isn’t until tomorrow, but I’m
game.” Bemused and befuddled professor was as good a cover as
any.

“No. This is a private party.” Tabitha was
pushing him to the door. “Professor, please, you need to
leave.”

He caught her hand, warm and soft. Evan couldn’t
look her in the eyes. If he did, he’d be lost. He’d fall right
there, kiss her, steal her away. “You don’t look like you’re
dressed for this party either. Why not come with me? We can grab a
late snack.”

“I...I can’t.” She tugged at her hair nervously.
“I’m sort of...” She rolled her eyes. “I’m playing hostess. My
friends really feel strongly about this, and we’re trying to get
more people involved.”

“Oh, so this is a political thing?” Evan kept
the anger in check.

Tabitha snuck a look over her shoulder at the
Rainbow Dane. “Sort of. It’s almost political.”

Starlit did a wiggly finger wave and motioned
for him to join them.

Evan hit the small Agree-With-Me Ray on his arm.
“Look the other way,” he said, just loud enough for it to
carry.

As everyone else turned away, Tabitha turned
back to him. “You really don’t belong here.”

“The question is, do you belong here?” He
squeezed her hand. “You don’t look happy. To me, that’s a good
indicator that you don’t want to be here. So why not leave?”

“I can’t!” Finally she looked at him, blue eyes
blazing. “I can’t leave. We have a deadline. This is important. Our
group is trying to stop villains. Super villains.”

“And?” Evan asked with deceptive casualness.

“Some of us want to aim for the younger
villains.” The color drained from her face. “They want to stop them
before they can hurt anyone.”

A cold chill ran up his spine. “There’s a lot of
wiggle room in that statement. How young are your friends thinking
of aiming?”

Tears glistened in Tabitha’s eyes. “As soon as
we can find them. A child of a super hero becomes a super hero. A
child of super villain...” She choked.

Evan pulled her into his arms as she started to
cry. “You don’t want to do this, do you?” he whispered in her ear.
Against his shirt, she shook her head. Hot tears melted through the
fabric. “Shhh, it’s okay. You don’t have to do this.”

Tabitha pulled away. “I have to make the world
safe. I have to stop villains before they hurt anyone. It’s who I
am. I...I don’t have a choice. We start tomorrow. The Rainbow Dane
says we can’t wait any longer.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but a person can’t be
a villain until they do something wrong. Innocent until proven
guilty and all that.”

Tabitha shook her head. “That’s not what—”

“Who in the blue blazes are you?” The Rainbow
Dane roared grabbing Tabitha’s arm and pulling her away. “Zephyr,
get over here. Who is this schmuck?”

“He’s...he’s my ethics professor.” Tabitha wiped
away a tear.

“Shock!” the Dane shouted. “Get Zee a drink,
she’s not feeling like herself.”

“I’m fine!” Tabitha protested. She tried to step
away, but The Rolling Shock grabbed her, stunning her still and
forcing a drink to her lips.

Evan knocked it out of his hands. “The lady said
she wasn’t thirsty.”

The collected superheroes stared at him as if he
was a fuzzy bunny that had suddenly turned into a carnivore.

“I don’t know what sort of games you’re
playing,” Evan said. “I see the costumes, and I don’t know the
rules, but I do know that when a lady says no, she means no. Now,
let Miss Perl go.”

The Rainbow Dane chuckled. His laugh rolled like
thunder, and soon the whole room joined in. “Oh, Pops, we ain’t at
the university anymore. This is real life, and around here, we
don’t play games. Shock, show the nutty professor here the
door.”

The Rolling Shock grinned maliciously as he
strutted toward Evan.

Evan pressed the Agree-With-Me Ray just in time.
“I’m not here. Nothing happened.”

The Rolling Shock froze mid-step. The entire
party turned, acting as if nothing had happened.

Evan rushed back to Tabitha. “Sweetheart, can
you hear me?” The sickly sweet smell that had clung to her since
the fight assaulted him. He picked up the cup she’d dropped. Not
perfume, but this. The same smell as the homeopathic lotus wash the
Thane had wiped her cut with.

Cut. Blood. Drug. Blood stream.

Gingerly holding the edges of the cup, Evan
wrapped it in a napkin and tucked it in his pocket. “Hold on,
Tabby-cat. I’ll be back for you.”

Chapter Sixteen

What is the difference between a
villain and a hero? I never thought to ask. As I walked away from
Tabitha that night, I knew one thing: even if she never loved me, I
was going to save her. Tabitha was trapped. My children were
threatened. This meant war.

***

Evan tugged at the cuffs of his tuxedo. “Hert?
How do I look?”

“Charming as ever, Doctor.” The minion ran a rag
over the toe of his shoe. “There, sir. Quite ready to take over the
world.”

“That plan is on hold,” Evan said as he glided
into the garage.

An owl cried mournfully in the distance as the
minions stilled to look at him. “On hold, sir?”

He hit the assembly with the megawatt smile he
hadn’t used in years. “I’ve declared war on the super heroes.”

A purple minion with a yellow Mohawk fell
backward in a faint.

Hert clicked his tongue. “War, sir? Alone?
Against how many super heroes?”

“All of them. Except Tabitha, of course.”

“Of course.” Hert set down his clipboard with
delicate care. “Sir, are you quite sure you’re feeling well?”

He tossed the cup to Hert. “That’s what they’re
using to poison Tabitha. I think it’s a derivative of the lotus
flower, but double check anyway. I want an antidote by morning. The
Rainbow Dane stole my wife and he wants to kill my daughters
because they are the children of a super villain.” Evan’s eye
twitched just a little. “He will not have that opportunity.”

“Understood, sir.” Hert clutched his clipboard
again like a long lost teddy bear. “I think I can find other super
villains, if we have a few days time.”

“We don’t have days. I’m going in alone—”

“Daddy?” a sleepy voice asked from the
doorway.

“Angela? Why aren’t you in bed, sweetie?”

She rubbed sleepy eyes. “You were being loud. Is
Mommy home yet?”

“Um.” He bit his lip as he scrambled for a
plausible lie.

Angela looked at his Dior suit. “Where are you
going, Daddy?”

“To deal with a very bad man, Angel.”

“Are you going to hurt him?”

“That’s a possibility.”

She yawned. “Can I come?”

Evan’s eye twitched again. “No, sweetie. You are
going to stay here where it’s nice and safe.”

In his mind, a vivid image of the Rainbow Dane
attacking the girls while he rushed to rescue Tabitha bloomed in
Technicolor. The minions would do their best to keep the girls
safe, but he hadn’t engineered them for violence. One by one, his
projects would fall, and then his daughters would die.

“On second thought, maybe you can. Go back to
bed. I’ll have a surprise for you in the morning.”

Chapter Seventeen

What kind of father takes his girls to
war? This one. Call child services if you like, but first tell me
where my daughters would be safer when a super hero was hunting
them. I wasn’t letting my children become the nightly
news.

***

“Hert! I need another crystal focus.” Pre-dawn
light refracted off the necklace in Evan’s hand. Sweat stained his
previously flawless suit.

“Sir, we don’t have any other crystals. Not even
small ones.”

“Then break the one in the Election
Machine!”

There was a little gasp.

Evan turned to his minion. “What?”

“We’ll never find another piece of holmium that
size by next week, sir, let alone calibrate it in time.”

He stilled as his mind raced. Everything he had
ever wanted dangled in front of him, but now the road forked. He
could have the world, or he could have Tabitha. Evan looked at the
purple bulb of serum on his worktable sitting next to the four
necklaces with magnetic shields meant to protect the girls. There
were five people in the world who truly mattered. Losing even one
of them would kill him. “Break the Election Machine down. We don’t
need it anymore.”

Hert’s bulbous eyes squelched as they blinked.
“Yes, Master,” he said in a doubting tone.

The door to the basement squeaked open. “Daddy?”
Blessing walked down the creaking wood stairs. “Daddy, what is
that?”

“This is a little machine that’s going to keep
you safe.” Evan pushed back from his worktable with a smile.

“Safe from what?”

“Crazy people, flying trees, dropping houses,
speeding bullets. Anything with mass. I meant to give one to Mommy,
but since she’s working, I decided to make one for each of you
girls first.”

Four miniature pieces of defensive technology
lay in a row on the worktable. If he did decide to give up a life
of crime, he could probably sell the prototypes to the US military
for a reasonably sized fortune.