Chapter One
January 5th, 11:05 AM
Everything about this morning was perfect for graceful, glamorous Erin Steele, who sat in the big chair of her apartment reading a pulpy romance novel. Outside, it was snowing, and inside, she had a cup of tea and a fluffy purple bathrobe to keep her warm. She looked up from the book and sipped the hot beverage, casting her gaze to the scene beyond her window. It was almost completely silent in this moment-- only the faint sound of Margot of taking a shower could be heard-- and Erin sighed peacefully as she took it all in. Fighting crime was great, but sometimes... Rest was best.
She felt like she deserved it. For months now, she had been chipping away at Hammerson's operation, shutting down drug houses and putting suppliers in jail. She had watched him on TV looking more nervous and disheveled by the week. He must have known that, eventually, the Blue Lynx would get him. The thought of it made Erin smile to herself. The work she was doing as a superheroine was hard, and the times she had failed-- those days of being captured, nearly unmasked, poisoned, and beaten up-- still haunted her at night. But now, at the start of this new year, Erin was clearly winning. And that felt good.
She had tried several times to get her dad's opinion on the Blue Lynx, but he was always dodging the question. As soon as she brought up the subject, he'd say, "Sorry, hon, I gotta go," or brush it off with a "Yeah, she's great." It made Erin wonder: did he suspect that his daughter was the Blue Lynx? She had been extra careful with all aspects of her secret identity, but she knew there were some things that she couldn't hide: her shining black hair, her silky voice, her slender but powerful physique. Her dad knew about these traits probably better than anyone else. But if he did know Erin's secret, he wasn't saying anything, which was strange for someone as forthright as her father. It was like he recognized an ally in his quest to make a city crime free; a partner in his battle against Brent Hammerson.
Erin sipped her tea. That's right. She and her dad were partners. They were each doing something great for the city, just in completely different ways. While he ran the government, she ran the streets. Poor Hammerson didn't stand a chance.
The sudden knock at the door startled Erin, pushing her out of her reverie. She set her book and tea on the coffee table and stood up. "Margot," she called. "You expecting anyone?"
A muffled voice came from the direction of the bathroom. "No."
Erin heard the shower turn off. "Well okay," Erin said. "I guess I'll get the door then."
Erin re-tied the sash of her robe so that the garment was snug around her body. She walked to the door and opened it a crack, leaving the chain lock in place as she looked outside. And then she jumped back into the apartment as the lock exploded and the door flew open, revealing two figures: a tall, broad man (Erin assumed it was a man) in a form-fitting black ninja costume, and a slim blonde-haired woman dressed entirely in leather.
"Greetings," the woman said. "The name's Sunny."
Erin knew that. This was the woman who had almost blown her and Margot up in the factory a few months ago. She gritted her teeth.
"You must be Erin Steele," Sunny said, looking Erin up and down. "You are a tasty treat, aren't you?"
"Who are you?" Erin said, defiantly. "What are you doing here?"
Sunny and the ninja walked into the room, pushing Erin to step back. They had come dressed in full on supervillain attire, and they had just kicked down her door. If Erin had to guess, she'd say they weren't looking for an awkward date, a la Hammerson.
"Me and my partner here-- call him Steve-- just wanted to see how you were doing, sweetie. See how you were doing, and then kidnap you."
Erin blinked. She could feel her fingers form into fists. "Kidnap me?"
Sunny nodded. "You're about to become a hostage, missy."
Erin couldn't believe how quickly this serene morning had turned into... This. More than anything, it made her angry. All she wanted to do today was sit and read. And now these clowns were forcing her into a fight.
"Why don't you just go quietly," Sunny said, pulling a moist rag out of her pocket. "It'll be best for all of us if nobody gets hurt. Just walk into this rag of chloroform here, and we'll get going."
Erin scoffed. "I don't think so. If you want me, you gotta come take me." She raised her fists in the air and struck a fighting pose.
Sunny slipped the rag back into her pocket and sighed. She turned around to the door, closed it, and locked it from the inside. "Fine," she mumbled, "Come on, Steve, let's kidnap the princess."
Sunny and Steve moved toward Erin slowly and with little enthusiasm. Had they really expected her to just, surrender? Who did they think they were dealing with?
Erin decided to show them. When Sunny moved within a couple yards of her, Erin made the first move, darting toward her opponent and punching her in the face. Sunny cried out and stumbled backward. The attack seemed to catch Steve off guard, too: he stayed motionless as he watched Sunny hold her cheek and attempt to collect herself.
"Ouch," Sunny said, eventually returning to a stationary position. "That hurt."
"I know it did," Erin said, smiling.
Margot suddenly arrived on the scene in her red bathrobe, her hair still wet, her skin still glistening with soapy water. She gazed into the main room in horror. "Erin? What's going on here?"
"Margot!," Erin cried, "Go back to the bathroom and lock the door!"
"Steve! Get that bitch!" Sunny yelled, as Margot turned around and fled. In an instant, the ninja was gone from the room in pursuit of his quarry. Erin was taken aback by his speed-- nothing he had done thus far indicated he was actually a ninja. When she tried to follow him, Sunny stepped in her way.
Sunny shook her head. "Oh no, Erin Steele, we're not done here yet."
Erin went to deliver another punch, but Sunny blocked it. So Erin tried to bring her knee into Sunny's stomach; Sunny deflected that attack, too. Erin then attempted to slap Sunny across the face, but just as she was about to make contact, Sunny had grabbed her by her robe-clad arm.
"Not the best fighting attire, is it?" Sunny said, gesturing at the robe. She yanked on the sleeve, and Erin spun backward, letting the robe fall to the floor. Erin's face reddened: she was now dressed in only a lavender silk bra and panties. She tried to glare at Sunny, who couldn't help but laugh in response.
"There, that's better," Sunny giggled. Once more, she scanned Erin's body from head to toe, lingering on her muscular legs, her womanly hips, and her ample breasts. "The boss was right," she said. "You really are a sexy bitch."
Erin charged Sunny, taking her off guard, and shoved her to the ground. Before Sunny could collect herself, Erin pounced on top of her, fighting of Sunny's flailing arms, trying to hold her in place.
"You're a fighter, too," Sunny muttered, struggling underneath Erin's weight. "The boss didn't tell me that."
"And just who is your boss?" Erin said. But she already knew. This home invasion had Hammerson's name written all over it.
Sunny shook her head and smiled. "I can't tell you that, Miss Steele."
Erin heard steps on the floor. She looked up to see the ninja, the one Sunny had called "Steve," back in the main room, with the robe-clad Margot draped over his shoulder, her head hanging inertly near his waist, her medium-length reddish-brown hair swinging slightly as he walked.
"What have you done?" Erin yelled. "Did you hurt her?"
The momentary change of focus allowed Sunny to kick Erin off her her body. Erin landed on her butt, and both women quickly scrambled to their feet. Sunny walked over to the seemingly lifeless Margot and placed her fingers on her neck.
"She's just unconscious, that's all," Sunny said. "Throw her on the couch, Steve, and help me kidnap this bitch."
Steve walked over to the couch and carefully set Margot onto the cushions. Her robe fell open as her unconscious form settled in, revealing white slivers of her still-wet, naked body. In perfect silence, Steve seemed to acknowledge the exposure, but soon turned around to face Erin. His face and body were almost entirely obscured by the black ninja costume. The only part of him that Erin could see was the small strip of skin featuring his piercing blue eyes.
Erin took a deep breath. She wasn't scared of this masked man, exactly. But there was something definitely strange about him. "Oh well," she thought. "Guess he'll be just one more Rogue for the Gallery of freaks the Blue Lynx has beaten."
"Come get me," Erin said, beckoning with her hand. "Come on, Ninja boy."
Steve walked toward Erin slowly but elegantly, seeming to waste no extraneous movement. When he got within a yard of Erin, she jumped at him, throwing both fists toward his face. She missed: with a single, brisk motion, Steve ducked and strafed behind her. Half a second later, he had his arms around her, holding her biceps to her body, lifting her feet inches off the ground.
"Hey!" Erin cried, kicking her feet out. "How did you--"
"He's the fastest man in town," Sunny said, pulling the damp rag from her pocket. "I can't wait to let him loose on the Blue Lynx."
"The Blue Lynx?" Erin said, still trying to fighting off Steve, whose stranglehold was only tightening, second-by-second reducing her ability to squirm. "The Blue Lynx will kick your ass. She kicks everyone's ass."
Sunny laughed and stepped toward Erin, so that her eyes were just inches away from her prey's. "The Blue Lynx is finished, Erin Steele."
What did they have planned? Erin bared her teeth and pushed as hard as she could against Steve's arms, but they were locked tight. She tried bringing her head back against Steve's face, but she was too close to the ninja's body to generate any momentum. She kicked her legs wildly, but they couldn't find Steve or Sunny or anything but air. She was in trouble. And that meant the Blue Lynx as probably in trouble, too.
"Now, breathe deep," Sunny said, placing the chloroform-soaked rag onto Erin's face. Erin exhaled into it, hoping desperately to hold off the effects of the drug as long as she could. But Steve's still tightening grip forced her to quickly concede, and a sickly-sweet taste rapidly overran her mouth and nose. She tried to scream, and she was muffled by the cloth. She tried to push one more time against Steve's arms, but her body already felt slack. Her "mmphs" decreased in volume, decreased in frequency, until she was only letting out a long, sleepy drone. Her arms and legs fell limp, her eyelids fluttered, her mouth fell open. And when Sunny finally removed the rag, Erin was unconscious, a sleepy kitten dangling in Steve's arms, completely unaware of what possibilities awaited her next.
On to Chapter Two
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