Even Villains Fall in Love (11 page)

“They aren’t very pretty, are they?” his
daughter asked.

“No, not really. I haven’t gotten that far.”

Blessing poked at one. It scooted away from her
finger before she could touch it.

“Magnets,” Evan explained. “Once you have it on,
it should repel everything away from you. Right now, they’re
repelling everything away from the table. I need to find a better
power source.” Kinetic energy was his first choice, with a backup
battery of some form.

The other three girls wandered into the
basement, joining Blessing in giving his work skeptical looks.

“Why do we need this?” Angela asked.

Evan sighed. He put his tools down and tried to
find an answer. There wasn’t a good one. “Mommy is undercover.”

“We know that,” Maria said.

“And she’s run into a little trouble.”

Angela smirked at her sisters. “I told you
so.”

“Daddy is going to help Mommy out. While I’m
doing that, I need to keep you girls safe. I’m making you some
shields. You will wear these while the minions watch you and Daddy
helps Mommy.”

“I want to help Mommy,” Maria said.

Evan smiled. “That’s very sweet of you, but this
is grown-up stuff.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. Little sparks of solar
heat coalesced around her. “I want to help Mommy!”

“We can be super heroes too,” Blessing said. “I
can fly, just like Mommy.”

“Uh huh.” Evan nodded. “Except the people Mommy
is having trouble with are, technically, super heroes.” The girls
stared in shock. “They’ve gone rogue,” he explained.

Delila wrinkled her nose. “Then we can be super
villains.”

“Not a good idea!” Evan sprang to his feet in
alarm. “It’s not safe. Very, exceptionally, really not safe. I
can’t begin to describe how not safe that is.” He took a deep
breath and looked down at his little girls. They were children.
Little children. “Shouldn’t you be playing with dolls?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “We won’t get hurt,
Daddy. You’ll protect us. You never got hurt as a super villain,
did you?”

“Um...”

“See? We’ll be safe.”

Delila raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“Can we have costumes?”

He was blindsided with nowhere to run. “Sure.
I’ll have a minion get right on that. You do realize that if I let
you near a fight, your mother will kill me. She will skin me alive.
Literally. This is a very bad idea.”

“Mommy doesn’t like you leaving us alone
either,” Maria said.

“Minions don’t count,” Angela added.

Hert gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m afraid
the genetic programming on these specimens is flawed, Master.”

Evan collapsed back into his chair with a sigh.
“Control models, Hert, they never do what you want them to.”

Chapter Eighteen

In the end, the minion programmed for
color and spatial coordination was given an hour to
watch
What Not To Wear
, a credit
card, and free run of the local sewing shop. The girls talked
dresses, designed costumes, and I changed the defensive shields to
match Locke, Rage, Strike, and Curse, the newest super villains in
the world’s pantheon.

Delila was my perfect walking
Lock-pick, all jazzed up in a Victorian suit of copper and black.
We added ruffles to the sleeves, and a little top hat. I turned her
shield into a watch and she was ready to unlock every secret in
existence.

Angela, who could manipulate emotion,
chose Rage as her name. She could make people happy, but as a
villain, she was going the other way. I dressed her like a young
Harry Dresden in a black leather duster, a black fedora, and armed
her with a small walking stick. Instead of the pentagram Harry
wore, I gave her a heart inscribed in a star for her defensive
charm.

Maria became Strike, a dark princess
with velvet gown, puffy sleeves, and a choker that held a black gem
covering the shield. Very much what I pictured Galadriel wearing if
she took the One Ring.

Last of all was Blessing, who changed
her name to Curse. We went for a mystic-in-the-desert look with a
red robe and hood, except we split the skirt and gave her tennis
shoes so she could run.

I never believed in impractical body
armor, despite how much I love it on Tabitha.

***

The girls ran around the small backyard,
throwing fire at the minions and practicing shielding against water
balloons.

Evan held up his last trinket against the
setting October sun: a dark gray handgun. The Neanderthals who
called themselves superheroes would never realize the true threat
the weapon represented—at least he hoped so. Feeling a twinge of
fatalistic ennui, he loaded everyone into the minivan. Hert
strapped himself into the passenger seat.

“Are we clear on the plan?” Evan asked.

“Yes, Daddy,” the girls chorused.

At least it was Halloween. They didn’t look too
out of place. Yet. He glanced at Hert.

“Yes, Master. The minions are in place. The area
has been fully explored and we’ve set up the ‘distraction’ for
local law enforcement.”

Running a hand over the lump in his pocket, Evan
took a deep breath. “Very well then. Ladies, let’s make this a
night to remember.”

The twenty minute drive to the warehouse
district where the minions had tracked Tabitha to lasted just long
enough for Evan to regret everything he planned to do, but not long
enough to think of an excuse to back out. He parked across the
street and adjusted the cuffs of his Dior suit. “Hert, send in team
one.”

With a curt nod, Hert sent the outer perimeter
team of minions scrambling into place.

“Ladies?” Evan twisted in his seat so he could
see the girls, their costumes squashed by their booster seat
straps. “You stay with Hert. Move to the upper deck, and locate
Mommy. Blessing—”

“Curse,” she corrected from under her red
hood.

“Of course, excuse me. Curse, you take this, and
drop it on the floor in front of Mommy.” He handed her a round
sphere of purple glass with the antidote to the lotus poison. “The
fog from that should clear Mommy’s head. Then I want Strike to lay
a line of fire between everyone in the building and Mommy. It’s
okay if I’m on the other side. Rage?” He looked over at Angela.
“Keep them confused. And, Locke, you keep the doors open. Once
Mommy is with you, get back to the car. Don’t stop for
anything.

“I’ll go in and keep them distracted.” And it
would probably hurt. But how else could a man prove his love?

He stepped out of the car, snagged his
sunglasses, and gave himself one last look in the side mirror.
Devastating. Doctor Charm, dressed to break hearts. “Give me five
minutes to get their attention, then start the fireworks. Hert,
keep them safe.”

“Yes, Master.”

Striding across the empty road, Evan tried
to remember the logic behind this insanity, if there’d been any in
the first place. Save Tabitha, keep the girls safe. At least the
goal remained beyond reproach. Alas, noble didn’t mean
actionable
. So he was winging it. Taking
it on the fly. And really hoping he’d get a chance to punch the
Rainbow Dane in the balls.

The door swung open with ease. All the
superheroes had assembled, dressed in full costume this time. To an
outsider it probably looked like a regular Halloween party—if you
ignored the fact that the punch smelled of lotus flowers, everyone
looked tense, and the conversation was less than convivial. Phrases
like, “Kill them all, it’s doing the world a favor,” floated past
and made his blood boil.

Angler Girl nodded to him vaguely, as if she
couldn’t quite place his face. Rolling Shock scowled in confusion
and whispered something to the Rainbow Dane.

Hempman pivoted. “Doctor Charm? Where?”

Evan smirked. They deserved everything he was
here to dish out.

The Rainbow Dane turned around. “You?” he
roared. “What are you doing here?”

“Me?” Doctor Charm asked with an easy laugh. “I
was in the neighborhood. The Peerage asked me to stop by to welcome
you to town.” He held out a hand to the Rainbow Dane.

The Dane scowled at him. “Who are the
Peerage?”

“Why, my dear boy! The Peerage are the criminal
royalty. The movers and shakers of the underworld. I must say, we
are all very impressed with this scheme of yours. So original. One
hundred percent shock value. I, myself, am merely a plotter. I
don’t do the violent crimes. I find it ruins your suits. Blood
stains on Dior? You can imagine the dry cleaning bill. But this?
Dane! This is perfect. Deliciously evil. You are to be
congratulated.” Doctor Charm mimed doffing his hat as he gave the
Dane an elaborate bow.

The Dane wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about.”

“Why, the murder of all those innocent children.
Quite ingenious. You’ll be the most wanted man for decades to
come.” Doctor Charm turned to a passing super-heroine in a
frighteningly short skirt. “I say, old chap, are all of these
delicacies for your enjoyment, or would you mind if I took
something home with me?”

Starlit Starlet, stunned by his boldness,
stopped to gape.

Doctor Charm lifted her hand to his lips.
“
Enchanté
, madam. May I have the
pleasure of your company this evening? Do say yes.” Overhead light
winked off his watch.

“Y-yes,” she stammered.

“Charming, absolutely charming.” He tucked her
arm into his. “Have a fabulous evening, Dane. Remember, the Peerage
is only a call away if you ever need some advice.”

The Rainbow Dane stamped the floor, enraged.

Time was running out. The superheroes were
stunned now, but in a few moments they’d shake off the stupor and
attack. “A tip, gratis: the name will have to go. The LGBT
community has never fully embraced the villains of the world and
you don’t want a lawsuit from them over the use of the rainbow when
you start murdering children. Come to think of it, I suspect the
Danish will be highly incensed when you start portraying them as
wanton killers. All around, a name change will do you a service. If
nothing else, you need to let the public know that you’ve changed
sides.”

“I am a super hero!” the Rainbow Dane
screamed.

Doctor Charm laughed. “Naturally. Naturally. A
super hero who murders children. Isn’t he a gem?” he asked
Starlit.

The Rolling Shock pushed forward. “We aren’t
murdering innocent children.”

“No?” Doctor Charm smiled. “That’s not what I
heard.”

“We’re stopping the children of super villains,
and super villains themselves.”

He laughed. “The children of super
villains? Oh my. Do you know how many super villains have children?
Anyone?” He scanned the crowd for an answer. “Anyone at all? No,
and rightly so. Super villains don’t have children. It’s called a
condom. We keep things under wraps. Now, super heroes?
You
have children.”

There was a gasp from somewhere in the
crowd.

“All those adorable little tykes dressed up this
evening as they go begging door to door. I suspect there’s even one
or two dressed as Doctor Charm. They’ll make easy targets for the
Dane here, and you have no way of knowing who they belong to.”

“Super villains have children!” the Rainbow Dane
shouted.

“Really?” Doctor Charm caught the hand of
another passing heroine. “Stay with me, darling,” he whispered.

Zephyr Girl stepped closer. She’d added a small
blue mask to her costume, but otherwise looked unchanged. He tried
not to show how much it hurt to look at her.

“The Rainbow Dane is leading us on a noble
quest,” she said.

“Zephyr? Is that really you?” Doctor Charm
leaned forward. “Not so girlish anymore. A bit of weight gain? A
pregnancy or three perhaps? I hear you have a boisterous husband
back home, or was that a rumor?”

Tabitha’s back went stiff.

“She doesn’t have any family,” the Rainbow Dane
said. “She has—what in the blue blazes is that?” He pointed up to
the ceiling.

Doctor Charm cocked his head at the lights,
ignoring the floating purple glass. “Light bulbs. Invented by
Thomas Alva Edison in 1879. They turn electric energy into light
waves. Really quite an ingenious design, but not new. You’ve never
noticed them before?”

“I meant the purple bulb, you frakkin
idiot!”

“Frakkin?” Doctor Charm laughed. “You need to
stop watching science fiction shows. I don’t see any purple dots.
Perhaps it’s time to get your eyes checked? Ladies, shall we leave?
I fear our host is less than Charming.”

The women hanging on his arms tittered
appreciatively.

The Rainbow Dane roared, ready to charge, and
the anti-lotus bomb dropped. Purple smog filled the air around
Tabitha.

“Zephyr Girl! Get away!” the Dane shouted.

Tabitha coughed, but started moving backward,
her heels dragging on the floor.

Time to move the party to the next level. Evan
was wondering when Maria—Strike—would lay down the cover fire when
a voice boomed through the room.

“You stole my mommy!”

Rage and anger made his blood boil. He wanted to
break heads, rip the stone from the foundation. He shook his head
and focused on not listening to Angela’s mental suggestions.

Overhead lights burst, falling from the ceiling
as sparks of flame encircled the room.

“Time to leave. Ladies, it was a lovely thought.
Another time perhaps?”

“Who are you?” the Dane demanded.

Evan turned to see him pointing at the girls.
Frozen in terror, he barely noticed Hempman closing in on him.

“I’m Rage,” Angela said.

“Strike.”

“Curse.”