The Lewd Age of Superheroes Pt. 07

All characters are eighteen years of age or older.

***

The halls of Justice Tower were empty.

Well, near empty. As Grey Sentinel strode through the bare hallways, past unused sparring chambers and empty monitor halls, he thought he heard the occasional giggle or moan from some distant room.

He stepped into the conference room, with its twelve-seated table. The core of the tower, where heroes gathered to plan, to discuss, to prepare for their duty to protect the world.

Also near empty.

Exiled Prince sat upon his old chair, his pale skin bathed in a pale blue radiance. Sitting atop his lap- entirely naked- was Chain Devil, her eyes the colour of dying embers. One chain wrapped around her body and neck; the end was held in Exiled Prince's hand.

Grey Sentinel drew himself up. "We need to talk about-"

"Wait," Exiled said. "Please, sit down."

"I need information concerning-"

"Oh, sit down," said Chain Devil. "Is he always his stuffy?"

"Peace," said Exiled Prince, running a finger down her neck. She sighed and leant into the gesture.

Grey Sentinel pressed on. "There was an incident five years ago, where-"

"Sit down, Nathan. You worry me," said Exile.

"I'm not the one who's cursed."

Exile exchanged a sad look with Chain Devil. "Cursed with love?"

Grey shook his head. "This isn't you, Exile. Your will has been forced. This isn't natural."

Chain Devil murmured, "You want to undo the way we are?"

"Yes."

Chains flared into existence in a heartbeat, darted forward like murderous serpents. They lunged at Grey Sentinel, wrapping around his throat-

"No." The chain in Exiled Prince's hand jerked; the others vanished. Chain Devil looked down and murmured, "Sorry, sir."

"We can discuss your punishment later."

"Yes, sir." She sighed happily.

Exiled Prince turned to Grey. "Have you talked with Endless?"

"No."

Exiled Prince stared at Grey for a few moments, his expression unreadable. Then he said, "I will tell you what you want to know, Nathan. Because I trust you. I trust you to think hard about the consequences for your actions before you act." He sat back on his chair, pulling the chain with him; Chain Devil followed, snuggling. "Now. What do you want to know?"

***

"I found him." Grey Apprentice sighed. "He's local. In Epoch city. An apartment near Green Lanes."

Grey Sentinel sat back on his chair in the warded conference room deep within the Tower. He had called them in after Exiled Prince and Chain Devil had left. So far as he knew, the tower was completely empty. "Any signs of wards or defences?"

"Nothing. Some alarms, but even I could bypass them without any trouble."

Grey Sentinel sat back. "Then we've found the cause of the curse."

Barrow Witch leant forward, her eyes grim. "And not too soon, sadly. I believe that we three represent the last of the uninfected heroes and villains."

"Seriously?" said Apprentice. "Just us?"

"If there are any others then they're in isolation." She looked at the two heroes. "It's staggering to think about, isn't it? There were dozens of us. Hundreds. A community of warriors and champions. How long have we been fighting this our epic wars? And this is how it ends. Reduced to mindless sluts."

"Not mindless," said Apprentice. She saw the way they were looking at her. "I mean, there's a lot of free love shit going on, but have you noticed how a lot of them are settling down? Like Exiled Prince and Chain Devil. I mean, Neon and Windshear are getting hitched, and Beacon and Brightblade-

"Would you call that settling down?"

"I'd call it stable, and everyone seems kinda happy with the situation. Um. It's not traditional, but-"

"It is," said Barrow Witch, "not the way things should be."

"But the way things should be is everyone fighting each other!"

"We're heroes," said Grey Sentinel. "Protecting the world is our duty."

"But..." The blonde girl sighed. "What if we didn't need to anymore?"

Barrow Witch smirked. "I have no interest in ending up as a slut with no greater ambition than attending to whatever gormless hero the curse decides to inflict on me." She drew out an object covered in linen cloth and unwrapped it. "Thus, the end to the curse."

The two heroes stared at the knife. Grey Sentinel asked, "A rather abrupt method, isn't it?"

Barrow Witch laughed. "Did you expect some sort of curse-breaker or gadget? I am the priestess of the dark realm, Nathan. I offer you the means to cut through pretty lies with harsh truths."

"Do you honestly expect me to-"

Barrow Witched smiled slowly. "You wish for the curse to end? Use the knife."

Grey Sentinel drew in a deep breath, his expression grim. Grey Appentice murmured, "Can't we just-"

He picked up the knife. "There's no reason to delay. We need to-"

Alarms blared through the complex. He froze.

"What is it?"

"Invasion."

***

Two heroes and a villain ran through the Tower.

"What about the satellite ward defences?" said Grey Apprentice. "They're meant to be automated!"

"They're fine," said Grey Sentinel, striding into the situation room. His hands danced across the keyboard in front of him, bringing up status trackers, maps, sensor feed. He snarled, his hands tensing on the keyboard. "A Fellion armada."

"Why now?"

"The Fellions are predators and invaders," said Barrow Witch. "They must know about the curse."

Apprentice said, "We need to get the others here. We can mount a proper defence-"

Grey Sentinel sighed, lowering his head. "They're not coming."

"But-"

"In the event of a catastrophic attack, an automatic recall signal is sent out to every hero loyal to the tower. A legion of champions." He turned and saw her flinch from his expression. "They should be here by now."

"But-"

"They aren't coming, Tanya. It's just us."

Barrow Witch spoke. "The satellite wards?"

"Will ward the Earth from heavy ships and bombardment," said Grey Sentinel, "But not forever, and not from infiltration parties. The most obvious move is to teleport troops down onto the planet and deal with the source of the orbital wards- shut it down so they can begin a more thorough cleansing."

"Where is the source of the ward?" asked Barrow Witch.

"Here."

More alarms rang throughout the tower.

***

They ran for the ritual room as the Tower shook around them. Grey Sentinel's cloak trailed behind him as they passed through corridors and down stairs. Somewhere beneath his feet was the unmistakable murmur of a teleportation circle.

They were nearly there when he turned to see Grey Apprentice missing. "Where did she go?" He panted to Barrow Witch.

"I don't know!" She said. "How much further?"

"Just up ahead!" They entered a massive chamber. At the far end a ritual circle contained a globe of the earth, around which points of blue lights connected to trace esoteric symbols in low orbit. Behind them a pair of massive doors groaned shut.

"That won't hold them for long."

"The plan," Grey Sentinel said, "called for heroes to defend the tower. And to launch assaults on any invading fleet in the meantime. It was never meant to be the only defence."

"I suppose that the assault teams are-"

There was a rumble beneath their feet.

"Already here," said Grey Sentinel. "The countermeasures will slow them for a while. They're probably spreading throughout the city, too. The innocent civilians..."

"We could leave."

A thrum of electricity and a flickering of lights.

"If the tower falls, Earth will fall."

"The tower will fall."

A great booming sound.

"The tower won't fall for a little longer at least."

"Nathan..."

Grey Sentinel began to draw upon the Dark Stone. The room faded into darkness.

"We could go. Into the Dark Dimension. Just because the Earth falls doesn't mean that we need to fall too."

"I'm staying."

The chatter of auto-turrets.

"Why? Why do this? Why spend years of your life fighting the inevitable? Why not join me before?"

"Why are you here? Why haven't you fled? Once I'm dead, the barriers between Earth and the Dark Dimension will weaken. So why fight?"

Barrow Witch eyed the Grey Sentinel for a moment.

Then she sighed. "You maintain the wards. I can strike them down with curses."

The great metal doors to the room shuddered and bent. They began to glow with impossible colours.

"I just want to say-"

The door ripped itself apart. Armoured figured stepped into the unnatural gloom, clutching guns and wands. The Fellion soldiers' eyes glowed in the darkness, and at their head-

"Pit Mistress."

"Amazing! Grey Sentinel and Barrow Witch. Are you the last, I wonder? The last champions of Earth not rutting each other into oblivion." She laughed. "Give up. I will allow you the privilege of serving my king as slaves while your planet is sterilized from orbit."

Neither of the two sorcerers moved. Pit Mistress nodded. "Very well. This will be quick, I think. End their lives and destroy the array."

The Soldiers moved forward, beams of red flame lancing out from their weapons.

A moment later dark tendrils lashed out of the darkness, engulfing them. A pulse of shadowy energy followed soon behind, reducing them to ash and shadows.

Pit Mistress snarled and an aura of red flame flared around her; the shadows retreated, the light covering a third of the room. Shadowy tendrils still lashed out, and soldiers still sickened and collapsed at the edges; but those in the centre, protected by their fiery mistress, began to return fire. Beams of red light curled and lashed against the Grey Sentinel's protective shadows. The red, awful light pushed the shadows back, back until it curved away from Grey Sentinel; until he and Barrow Witch were the ones cowering in a patch of shadow while the light pressed against them. The wards around them began to shudder, began to fail-

Chains appeared to bind Pit Mistress from head to toe. A blue blade scythed through the ranks of the Fellion soldiers, killing half of them with a single swipe.

Exiled Prince leaped into the room, even as more chains darted out from behind him. Within moments the remaining Fellions soldiers were dead, bound or cowering, even as their mistress screamed and writhed in her metal prison.

Exiled Prince said, "Sorry we took so long."

Chain Devil sauntered into the chamber, smiling. She prodded the glowing, writhing mass of chains that held Pit Mistress and laughed. "Sir? I have another naughty girl for you to correct." She looked at the cowering Fellion soldiers. "Lots of naughty boys and girls."

Grey Warden sagged, releasing the spell. "I thought you were-"

"Too horny for justice?" Exiled Prince laughed. "I'm horny for justice, as Chain Devil will attest to."

Barrow Witched said, "There are others in the tower. More strike teams in the tower-"

"And in the city below," said Grey Sentinel.

"That's not an issue," said Endless as she strode into the room, a pair of blades in her hands. "The other Fellion forces are being taken care of."

"The other heroes came?"

"Not just the heroes."

***

Neon Hound laughed as he ploughed through the ranks of the Fellion soldiers, leaving a trail of glowing lines behind him. He darted away and down the street, looking around him.

It was chaos- utter chaos- but it was also clear that they were winning. His fiancé floated above him, conjuring dark tornadoes to smash any place the enemy attempted to concentrate. She caught him looking and winked even as she conjured another twister. Three points of light, gleaming metallic dots, darted past her, while a hunting howl roared above the clatter of weapons and screams of the casualties.

Skiffs full of armed minions floated overhead, training plasma weaponry on the retreating Fellions. The largest bore two women dressed in fetish gear. One of them was screaming, "They interrupted my bachelorette party! Bring me their heads!"

A wave of cold swept over him, and he turned. Another portal had opened and a dozen women riding phantom steeds rode out, accompanied by a hoard of screaming phantoms. As the army of the dead descended upon the enemy, two men strode out of the portal, yelling at each other.

"No, your phantom army doesn't add to your kill count."

"You're just jealous!"

"I'm not. A real man doesn't need an army of spectres to kill his enemies!"

"I am so sick of your wimpy excuses!"

"Loser!"

"Coward!"

There was a rumble like the angry voice of a god, and the skies darkened within seconds. Moments later rain slammed down on the ground and Windshear's tornadoes where joined by a half-dozen twisters. Neon Hound stood in the pouring rain as lighting lashed down to strike at the enemy's dwindling defensive positions. Someone groaned next to him; a girl dressed in a green bikini and a domino mask.

"He got it fixed," she said. "The pervert's going to be so smug next time."

Max shook his head as she zoomed away at an inhuman speed. Then he leapt into the sky, ready to finish the fight.

***

The Hellfire King watched from his throne room, deep within his flagship. "IT SEEMED," his voice rumbled, THAT OUR DEAR SPY'S REPORTS WERE LITTLE MORE THAN LIES."

"It's treachery," said his admiral, the scarlet-eyed Ship-Princess. "Or possibly she has been bewitched by the planet's curse. I advised a more thorough investigation before the assault-"

"BE SILENT."

"Of course, my King."

"WE ARE COMMITTED. IF WE WITHDRAW, THE LOSS OF PRESTIGE WILL HAVE MY SO-CALLED RIVALS SNIFFING FOR WEAKNESS. I SEE NO OTHER RECOURSE BUT TO PROCEED-"

"We are being hailed, my Triumphant King."

The Hellfire King shifted his immense, muscular bulk and narrowed his blazing eyes. "FROM MY TREACHEROUS CAPTAIN?"

"No." The Fellion messenger shifted uneasily. "At least- not alone."

The screen opened. Pit Mistress, appeared on screen.

She was naked and gagged, chains coiling around her body. Her expression was equal parts terror and hungry need.

She moaned through her gag, eyes pleading, and then her face was jerked aside. A maskless woman, brown-skinned and ageless-eyed, smiled at him.

"Oh Great King," she said. "I would like to discuss a certain matter of interest to you."

"THE ONLY MATTER OF INTEREST," said the Hellfire King, "IS YOUR IMMINENT SURRENDER."

The woman's smile widened.

"That is precisely what I wish to discuss."

The Hellfire King leant forward.

***

The Hellfire King leant back.

All in all, he reflected, it could have gone worse. Earth- a strange, barbarous world, full of dangerous magics and the focus on wild and treacherous powers- had at last agreed to submit to his rule.

It was not a total surrender, of course; not what he had set out to accomplish. The planet had not been bombarded into total compliance; the population not culled. A garrison had been left behind- in their great Epoch City no less- but it was a token thing, hardly the legion that he had hoped to use to cow the remaining inhabitants into submission.

It was a face-saving surrender, a surrender in name only, but it was the start of something more. His garrison would slowly learn more about the secrets of the inhabitants- while resisting this pathetic curse, of course, as any true Fellion would- and then they would spread like a plague throughout the planet, and in time he would return-

"Mmm."

He looked down as he reclined in his pleasure-quarters. The alien hero- dark-haired, with exotic pale skin- eyed him lustfully as she bobbed her lips down along his cock.

"Do you like that, Kingy?"

The Dread Lord of the Fellions felt the embers of his rage stir at the insolence of this slave, this spoil of war that was bartered off to him by his own people, this worthless-

-She did something with her tongue and his snarl turned into a squeak. Another earthling- a male, lean and muscled and pleasantly handsome, curled alongside him. "Are you enjoying your gifts?"

He rumbled his grudging assent. The others- once champions of their kind, now little more than his pleasure slaves- leant around him. "We'll take good care of you," one of them said. "Just lie back and relax, while we take care of everything."

The Hellfire King paused and frowned. Wasn't there something he was meant to be doing? He-

The world shuddered around him and his burning eyes blinked.

Whatever it was, it could wait.

The chain lashed mercilessly across the back of the Ship Princess.

"Naughty! Naughty! Naughty!"

"I'm sorry!" She whimpered. "I'm so sorry for trying to conquer humanity!"

"And?"

"And..." the master of ships paused. "I...I won't do it again?"

"Mmmm." Chain Devil frowned. "An acceptable start."

"I-"

"I forgive you."

"Well-"

"But Sir here," she smirked, turning to look at Exiled Prince, "might need more convincing."

Exiled Prince attempted to look stern- as stern as one could look while receiving a blowjob from a naked Pit Mistress- and sighed. "Send her away to think about what she's done. We'll deal with her punishment later."

He watched serenely as the admiral was lead- on her hands a knees- out of the room. Chain Devil sighed, sauntering back in, a serious look on her eyes. "I can't believe this went as well as it did."

"Endless always did have a knack for coming up with strange plans."

"Hellfire King's already infected. His garrison won't last a week before they're happily settled down with local heroes. His high command is already being compromised. And after that..."

"It will spread like wildfire. In every interaction, every battle." He watched her closely. "Are you comfortable with that?"

"Yes." She smiled. "These last few weeks...there's nothing about it I regret." She gave an evil little smirk. "What about you, captain?"

"Mmph." The would-be conqueror of Earth bobbed her head faster, one hand dipping between her thighs.

"I suppose that's a ringing endorsement. And once the Fellions are infected..."

"We move on to the Archons." She sighed and leaned against him, one hand cupping his chin. The other pressed lightly against Pit Mistress's head, forcing her to deep-throat the Archon's cock. "And the entire galaxy will understand our love."

"It will be the work of a lifetime."

"But worth every moment."

"Glug! Glug! Glug!"

They kissed gently, fingers twining. Beneath them, Pit Mistress diligently adjusted to her new life.

***

Grey Sentinel walked down onto the darkened street. The neighbourhood was poor, if somewhat respectable; the sort that had seen better days but who's residents still thought of themselves as acceptably well-off. The house was small and simple and fraying at the edges.

He knocked. A man came to the door and wordlessly ushered him into the room.

The house had been turned into a magical laboratory. There was a little left over for personal touches; a stained coffee mug. An old tablet, the screen scuffed around the edges, lying atop one of the work-benches.

The ritual circle took up most of the room. It was silent and drained, the spell long-since released into the world. The man shuffled over to a chair and sat down, the motion slow and heavy. He looked up at Grey Sentinel and gestured to the one other seat in the room, an ancient stuffed old couch.

He looked older than Nathan expected; much, much older than the arrogant, cocky man who had expected to cow the world with his genius. There was no arrogant grin. There was no sense of savage pride.

Cody took in a deep breath. "I thought it would have been Endless."

"She's busy," said Grey Sentinel, "offering sex advice to the Fellion garrison."

"I see."

The two men sat in silence. Then the ex-villain said, "Aren't you going to ask why?"

"I know why." The hero looked at the walls. "You don't keep any pictures?"