Minx Ep. 04: The Sphere, Mesozoic Zone

"And I haven't thanked you properly for saving my life, Dragon."

She ran her hands along his arms, then up over his shoulders. Leaning toward him, she kissed him. His arms went around her waist and he pulled her tightly against him. His fingers ran up her back so one hand could play with her long, brown hair. The other hand slid down her spine and finally came to rest on her bottom, with his index finger slipped under the cloth.

Minx's hands slowly slid over his shoulders, then up to his throat. Her deft fingers manipulated the seam of his black uniform, opening it. She ran her hands down his chest, spreading her fingers occasionally, as she opened his clothing.

They tilted their heads to opposite sides, not breaking lip contact. Dragon liked this eagerness Minx was demonstrating; it promised a future to their relationship. He could feel his erection growing and was eager to see exactly what she intended to do. Breaking the kiss, he took in a deep breath, sucking her pheromones into his lungs. As the chemicals took over his conscious mind, he found himself clutching her body against his with a sudden strength that he knew couldn't be comfortable for her. Minx gasped in surprise.

She pushed him away a little. Dragon was taking in great breaths of air and smiling as Minx ran her fingers over his abdomen. She took in a deep breath, and felt a sudden urge to have him in any way he wanted, and as often as possible. Every part of her screamed to be owned by him. Her stomach quivered. She licked her lips, then went to her knees and opened his uniform down to his thighs.

His erection bounced up and hit her on the cheek. All she wanted was to touch him and be touched by him in return. Minx put her mouth over the head of his penis and sucked loudly.

Dragon's hips moved forward, quite against his will. He desperately wanted her to continue pushing himself deeper into her mouth, but didn't want to do anything that might make her hesitate and rethink the situation. His hand was still in her hair and he gently encouraged her to take more of him into her mouth.

Minx felt the pressure on the back of her head and she looked up at Dragon's face. His eyes were closed. He was putting all of his trust in her, forgetting everything he'd told her about the behaviour of his past hyperwomen lovers. She extended her tongue along the bottom of his erection and tickled him with the tip.

Dragon gasped and shook briefly. Then he pulled her head closer.

Minx hummed, surprising herself with how much she was enjoying this. She kissed the tip, then licked around the head. Wrapping her fingers around the base, she began to pump. Dragon's eyes opened momentarily, and Minx merely opened her mouth wide in front of his cock and continued pumping with her fist.

He closed his eyes again, and leaned back against the column. It was taking a great deal of his willpower to remain standing. His legs began to shake as he felt a pressure build up within his balls.

Once his eyes closed, Minx put her open mouth over his erection and pushed herself forward, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could. She held this position as his penis quivered. Then she backed off and licked the precum and saliva off the tip. She stared at the tip, hungrily. She so wanted him, any part of him he was willing to give to her. She felt so female and animal. She closed her lips and gave the head a soft kiss. Her lips opened and she took him in, deeper than she had before.

Dragon's breath started coming faster, and he felt light-headed. His other hand went to her head and he pulled her hard against him, forcing his cock much more deeply into her mouth than either of them had planned. His buttocks clenched and he held her in place as his hips thrust several times.

Minx was ready for him and pushed her lips as far down his length as she could. There was a spasm, then something hot filled her mouth. She swallowed, taking whatever he offered to her. He thrust into her mouth again and came again. Minx swallowed and hummed an approval. He tasted so good that she briefly wondered if it were possible to survive on ejaculate alone.

Dragon pulled out of her mouth. Ropes of cum hung between his softening erection and her red lips. They stared at each briefly, a smile on both of their faces.

"Wow! That was some thank you, Minx. I'll have to make sure I make a habit of coming to your rescue."

"I'm not done yet."

She put her mouth back over his length and began to suck and lick him clean. All Dragon could do was grab the column behind him to steady himself. The pheromone-induced lust had taken hold of both of them and there was nothing to do but ride it out to the very end. Thanks to Minx's oral attention, he could feel his erection resurrecting in pulses. When she had coaxed it into a rock-hardness once more, she started kissing her way up until at last she reached his mouth.

Dragon grabbed her arms, twisted around and pushed her against the column. Then he leaned into her, giving her no room to manoeuvre. She moaned in pleasure as he took control of their love-making. His hands were on her hips. Her bottoms loosened, and she wiggled to help the cloth slip down her legs to the ground. She let out a small squeal as he put his hands on her hips and lifted her. Kicking away her clothing, she wrapped her legs around his hips, crossing her ankles behind him.

He could feel something wet and yielding at the head of his penis. He forced his way in, not caring which orifice he had encountered. Minx let out a grunt at the suddenness of his thrust, then tightened her muscles and squeezed him. He withdrew and pushed in again, and Minx's body let his length go reluctantly then welcomed it back with a wet, squishy sound.

His hips pumped without conscious thought, as his legs began to shake again. There was something building within him that was beyond his control. He didn't care. She was his, even if it was just for this moment, and his animal mind planned to use her.

With her eyes closed and teeth gritted, Minx tried to time her breaths with the thrusts, and then gave up. Everything was happening too fast, but, paradoxically, things seemed to be taking far too long to climax. She was gasping and nodding, and wanted so much to stop and reposition to a more comfortable arrangement, but her body refused to respond to her conscious mind. There was that familiar focus of warmth in and around her pussy. Her arms and legs seemed disconnected. Then the explosion somewhere deep inside shot through her, heightening her senses. Her muscles clenched, and she could feel her fingernails scratching Dragon from his shoulders down the length of his arms.

For him there was the dim sensation of her fingers squeezing just as the pressure within him built to its maximum height. He shoved against her as hard as he could, pinning her against the column, as liquid pulsed through him and into her pussy. He grabbed the stone behind her and pulled, almost bending her double and bringing forth a startled grunt from Minx's lips. The head of his erection pushed against something soft and pulsing, and Minx nodded and bit her lip as a second orgasm ripped through her.

It was several seconds later that Dragon put his hands flat against the stones of the column and pushed himself away, allowing Minx sufficient room to drop her legs and take in deep gulps of air. Her toes barely touched the ground. She leaned forward and put her head on his shoulder as her arms fell to her sides. She tried to speak, but couldn't say anything coherent.

For both of them it had been just as good as their first time together, aboard his ship Hephaestus months earlier. Dragon had answered something within her and had exhausted her, without resorting to a marathon sex session. For him, once again, Minx had given him that combined feeling of masculinity and completeness that he had longed for. It made him feel vulnerable, but he had no fear that she would use his vulnerability to gain power over him.

By mutual and unspoken agreement, they disengaged. Fluids dripped out of her. They half-collapsed to the ground and sat together with their backs to the column, his arm around her as one of her hands idly played with his flaccid penis.

"I'm glad to see that you haven't decided to have nothing to do with me, Minx."

"That wasn't anything." She removed her hand from his groin and shuffled a short distance away from him. "That was just thanking you. There's nothing between us. I don't need you."

Dragon raised an eyebrow. "Ship? What's your assessment of the situation?"

"She has it bad for you, but there's a command locked away in her subconscious that won't let her go beyond a certain point," came the telepathic response.

Minx stared at Dragon angrily. Then, she calmed. "I'd forgotten that you built a telepathic link with her."

"And what about you, Minx? Do you feel any connection with her at all?" he asked.

"No. Nothing. Not since that storm."

"There was something there while you two were having sex, Dragon," advised Ship. "Maybe you two should go at it a few more times?"

"I'm game," he responded.

"You're game for what?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Well, Ship felt some rudimentary connection with you as we were engaged. I suspect that the link is still there but damaged. It might self-repair, or it might not." Dragon looked at the sky. "Ship is suggesting that our love-making may help rebuild the link, or believes it might be worth testing that theory."

"You have a dirty, dirty mind, oh master of my love," teased Ship. Dragon chuckled in response.

Minx picked up a small stone and threw it away. "I never realized that these one-sided conversations could be so rude."

Inside, she was angry at Dragon for his intimate relationship with her friend Ship, and she was angry at feeling angry about a man she didn't care for. Had Ship been correct? Was she programmed to behave in a certain way? More importantly, if she had been programmed then why had it been done to her?

30

Rod and his group of cutthroats walked boldly down the hallway. They had yet to encounter anything dangerous and all of them were becoming overconfident.

"If we find her we should kill her!" spat out Vanessa suddenly.

"Will you just shut up about this Minx person for five goddamn minutes!" barked back Rod. He had been hearing this from her in whispers at first, but since they had separated from the captain an hour earlier she had become increasingly insistent.

He ordered the group to halt. The others glared at Vanessa. None of them had met Minx, but they all feared the anger of the hyperman should they harm someone he was searching for.

Vanessa stamped her bare foot upon the floor. She was still naked, having grown accustomed to it and to having the men, and the odd pirate woman, stare at her breasts, groin and butt.

"She's going to turn the hyperman against all of you and..."

"Shut it!" shouted Rod. "I protected you from the captain when he wanted to throw you overboard and use you as bait. I could have done whatever I wanted with you and no-one would have said a thing. I've been very nice to you, Vanessa, and all you've done is harped on and on about this Minx woman!"

She crossed her arms across her chest and pouted. Looking from face to face, she realized she had finally gone too far.

"Stay here. I don't want to see you again." Vanessa opened her mouth to protest. "And I won't stop the captain from skinning you alive if he finds you. I suggest you leave the tower and run as fast as you can."

She opened her arms and stared at Rod in shock. "What? Naked and weaponless? In a world filled with monsters that just want to eat me?"

"Not my problem."

Rod turned and walked away. The other pirates each gave Vanessa a quick glance, then shrugged and left with the second mate.

She watched them disappear down the hall and then turn out of her sight. Vanessa shivered. She hugged herself. She debated chasing after Rod and offering him anything to take her back, but she had heard the finality in his voice and she'd previously noticed the look in his eye when he managed a covert glance at Alice. What was far worse to Vanessa though was that she was convinced that Rod would never kill Minx while he believed it would anger Dragon.

She walked down the hall, then turned the opposite way from which the others had turned. It wasn't long before she came to a doorway. She stood in front of it wondering how to get it to open.

"What are you doing here, naked and alone my dear?" asked a man in a deep and hypnotic voice.

Startled, Vanessa grabbed her chest. She turned her head to see a blond-haired man in a cloak standing very close to her. There was something about him that made her forget about any other man she'd known.

"I did ask you a question. Are you mute?"

She shook her head, drinking in his eyes, nose and chin.

"You might as well come with me. Perhaps you can offer me some diversion once I've dealt with Dragon."

She heard the door behind her slide open. She stepped out of the man's way, suddenly realizing that this was Mahar. Another hyperman, she thought, and one who intends to do something to Dragon. She followed him into the room.

There were bodies in the room, people she recognized as being the pirates who served Dragon. Mahar walked over to a wall covered in paintings of spiders. The spiders appeared much like the spider that Minx had tamed, and Vanessa scowled.

"I'm looking for your help," she offered.

Mahar froze in surprise. "You do know that I'm a hyperman, do you not?" He walked up to the wall and touched a number of images. A portion of the wall swung out, revealing a secret storage area with bins, vases, and fist-sized glass balls of different colours.

"I know. That doesn't matter to me. I want to kill Dragon and Minx."

"I don't wish to kill them. I wish to teach Dragon a lesson. Minx will entertain me."

Vanessa could imagine what Mahar meant by the word entertain. "Could I help you?"

He selected a number of small containers and secreted them away in his cloak. Then he turned to face her. He looked her over very carefully. "You're fit enough, and pleasing to the eye. As human females go you're interesting. What do you have to offer?"

Vanessa's eyes gleamed. "I offer you my body. Whatever you wish me to do, whatever you wish to do to me, I will accept. I will follow your orders. But you must torture and kill both Dragon and Minx."

Mahar smiled. "I have no interest in touching you, human. The idea of engaging in sexual relations with one of your species sickens me. However, your breasts are full and bouncy. Your hips are pleasantly curved. Your scar detracts from what would otherwise be something pleasant to look at every once in a while. You will do whatever I order you to do. In exchange, both Dragon and Minx will suffer torments worse than you can imagine, and then they will die."

"I accept."

He shook his head. "It is a pity you aren't a hyperwoman."

He walked over to her, then placed his palm over her scarred face. Vanessa trembled, but then forced herself to calm, realizing that she had placed herself entirely within this man's power knowing he could have worse things intended for her than anything Dragon had wanted to do. It didn't matter because she would have her revenge.

Her face warmed. She felt nauseous. The flesh on her cheek seemed to wiggle and squirm, but she stood where she was as she had not been given permission to move. At last, Mahar took his hand away.

"That's better. Now there are no imperfections upon your appearance." He put his hand on his hips. "Yes, you will be pleasant enough to look at. At least until you start to age. Then I'll probably have you stuffed, preserved and mounted to ensure I can keep you looking this way for decades to come." He eyed her, searching for regret or fear upon her face.

"I will bring you the tools to do so when it is time, Mahar. As long as Dragon and Minx are dead." His eyes narrowed slightly as if in disbelief, but she kept her own eyes locked on his.

"Now, I have to capture Dragon. Pick up that bin over there and follow me."

31

Both Minx and Dragon examined the outer wall of the tower as carefully as they could. There was no entrance that they could find.

"Obviously this technology is not so different from that of my people, but I cannot find the clues that reveal the presence of a portal. Or a control panel." Dragon ran his fingers through his dark hair, and gave Minx an encouraging smile.

"We'll keep looking, though?" she asked.

Something hit the dirt behind them with a heavy 'thump'. Turning about quickly, they both spied a perfectly round glass ball less than a second before it exploded with a bright light and a flash of smoke.

Minx's senses were overwhelmed and she fell to the ground, awake but helpless. Her head lolled to the left and she was able to see Dragon in the same predicament. She felt like she was lying on marshmallows, and her every movement seemed to be delayed.

The blond-haired Mahar came gliding out of the sky toward her and Dragon. He landed a short way off, then walked over to the other hyperman. There was a flash of something like a small glass vial as he pulled something out of his cloak, then Mahar bent over Dragon.

"Mrrrooooaaaaw," said Minx, through lips that weren't obeying her.

Mahar stood, pocketed the device, and then turned his face to her. "Now that Dragon is incapacitated for a long duration I can say hello to you again, Minx."

He bent down, picked up Dragon and threw him over his shoulder. Something hard hit the back of Minx's head. A woman groaned in pain.

"Now, Vanessa. That wasn't very bright. If you insist on doing tiresome things, then I will just have to rid myself of you sooner rather than later." Mahar walked over to Minx, carrying his load easily. "You're still conscious. Good."

Minx struggled to focus her eyes on the hyperman, but her gaze kept shifting. The pain in the back of her head made her wonder if Vanessa had driven a knife into her skull.

"Minx? I am taking Dragon to the tower in the Paleozoic Area. You'll like it there. You'll meet all sorts of deadly creatures and plants that your human mind could scarcely imagine. I believe it to be far more dangerous than either of the two other zones. Dragon will be waiting for you there. I intend to torture him. When he ceases to amuse me I will kill him."

He looked at her as she lay before him, his eyes lingering on various parts of her anatomy.

"You're certainly more beautiful than Vanessa, but I still don't understand why Dragon insisted on actually coupling with a lower life form." He shook his head sadly. "However, I know you are his now, and that Dragon's pheromones have made you so obsessed with him that you will do everything in your power to find him. Vanessa and I will be watching your progress. Try to make sure you don't get killed too early in your quest. It will make for poor entertainment."

Mahar stepped around Minx, and left her line of sight. She heard two people walk away, the dirt crunching with each footstep. Then the compound was silent, except for a slight breeze and the buzzing of insects that were beginning to feast upon the dinosaur corpses nearby.

32

Half an hour later, the humming of a spacecraft that was launching into the sky filled Minx's ears. She tried to turn her head to look around, but had no luck.

A minute or two later the humming had faded, but she heard the sounds of something moving across the dirt. She tensed, expecting to become a feast for some scavenger.

A familiar clawed foot at the end of a black-furred spider's leg reached over her. Arachne scuttled around her until she was before Minx's face. She tried to give her arachnid friend a smile, but couldn't manage it. Arachne settled down into the dirt and waited.