[ASH] LL&DD Valentine's Day Special - Dark Cupid

[Dave Van Domelen]

Author: Andrew Burton

     The cover shows Doctor Developer shackled and gagged as a shadowy,
winged figure looms over him.

_____________________________________________________________________________
 Coherent                                       LL&DD Valentine's Day Special 
 Comics          | ADY | AWFUL    __        __              "Dark Cupid"
 Presents an     |__   |__     &  | \ OCTOR | \ EVELOPER   copyright 2008
 ASHistory Tale:                  |_/       |_/            by Andrew Burton
_____________________________________________________________________________

[February 14, 1997 - Location Unknown]
     
     The worst thing that can happen to any inventor is to have his invention
used against him, that was Cameron's opinion.  If you were Thomas Edison, it
would be rather terrible to have someone shank you with a light bulb or drop
a cement house on you.  In his case, the despicable turn of fate was that
Cameron, world-renowned super-villain, Doctor Developer, found himself
currently shackled by his own restraints.
     He could tell they were his, specifically by the plastic-lined,
gel-filled envelopes keeping his fists balled to they wouldn't be able to
slip out the metallic cuffs around his wrists.  He would have been able to
verify his guess with a quick look, but the blindfold over his eyes meant he
only had his mental catalog of current restraint technology to go by.  He
supposed someone else could have figured out a way to inject a malleable
polymer into a non-conductive envelope and then apply an electrical current
to create a rigid solid, but he hadn't heard of anyone doing it.
     Cameron let out a petulant sigh.  How embarrassing.
     "I can hear you breathing," Cameron said flatly.
     Heels clicked against the floor.  Stiletto heels by the sharpness of the
clack.  They were moving toward him too.  As the walking drew to a stop,
Cameron felt something grab at the collar of his shirt.  A ripping noise
quickly followed, and Cameron felt air against his chest.
     "This is, ah, new...."
     His first reply came as a pair of hands, gloved by the texture, pushed
against his chest, forcing him against the floor.  Then there was a weight on
his stomach, and a pair of...legs...thighs, maybe, squeezed his side.  The
hands were still on his chest, alternating between gentle, teasing strokes
and firm massages.
     "I...feel, ah, it's only fair to warn you, I am engaged," Cameron
stuttered.  "You might have heard of her...Lady Lawful, she's a super-hero,
and, uh, she's really strong."  Whoever was pinning him down to the ground
let out a sniffling chuckle.
     Cameron felt sure whoever was holding him prisoner was a woman.  The
heels and fingers were his only clues, but he felt sure they were both fairly
solid evidence of a feminine captor.  Unless...
     "Are you a cross-dresser?" he asked.
     That earned him a solid slap across the cheek.
     "That's not an answer."
     That oddly enough earned him a solid kill on the mouth.  The kiss tasted
like cinnamon, and lingered for as long as he could hold his breath.  Just as
he was about to gasp for air, the cinnamon lips moved across his cheek,
kissing a path down to his neck.
     "That's still not an answer," Cameron persisted.  "I don't mind if
you're as cross-dresser...in fact, the whole trans-gender movement is
inspiring.  I realize how limiting the randomness of genetics can be, but..."
     "Shhh," the captor said, putting one of her (his?) hands over Cameron's
mouth.  After a moment the hand moved, but before Cameron could say anything,
he felt something soft-but-firm pressed into his mouth.  Realization hit him
as the hands moved around to the back of his head the object in his mouth was
joined by a similarly textured band around his face.
     "Unf feh," he tried to say.
     The same sniffling giggle sounded off again.
     For a moment, Cameron's mind drifted away from his situation.  He
realized he was strangely enjoying his current predicament.  He knew what it
felt like to be on the other side of this kind of situation, but he'd never
been...he wasn't sure what preposition to use.  Before he could pick one, the
scent-taste of cinnamon smothered him as the familiar lips returned for
another kiss.
     It was then that Cameron felt a stabbing mix of fear and shame.  Fun as
this might be, he desperately wished he were enjoying it with Jennifer.
Whoever was straddling his lap, kissing him, massaging his chest...he felt
himself blushing and, surprisingly, struggling.
     The kissing stopped as Cameron tried to knock his captor off his lap.
She (he?) didn't take very kindly his burst of movement, and with no warning,
he felt a hand pressing down on his chest.  Cameron felt the other hand
against his forehead as it slid the blindfold up and off his eyes.  Cameron
expected his eyes to revolt against the sudden intrusion of light, but was
quite surprised when the room turned out to be darker than he thought it
would be.
     Small, flickering dots of light lit the room.  He realized after a
moment, they were candles.  As his eyes continued to adjust, Cameron
recognized the woman sitting on his chest.  She was wearing a black bustier
on her front; black, Cupid wings were some how attached to her back, and
leather opera gloves covered her arms up to her elbows.  There was a
similarly black domino mask covering her eyes, but it was strictly to
complete the costume.  It did nothing to conceal his captor's identity.
     "Jnufr?" he asked.
     In one of the most amazing displays of someone acting out of character,
Jennifer let out a high pitched, airy chortle, "Ho, ho, ho, ho!"  She leaned
back, and upon standing up, struck a villainous pose: legs spread apart, arms
on her hips, with her head thrown back, eyes closed, and her bosom heaving as
she chortled merrily.  "Foolish man," she declared as she fixed Cameron with
a pretend icy stare, one that was completely ruined by the twinkle in her
eye.  "I am the scourge of romance, the wraith of love...I am Dark Cupid!"
     "Drg'kupud?" he asked.
     Cameron wasn't sure if what happened next was in-character for Jennifer
or out-of-character for Dark Cupid, but with no warning, Jennifer dropped
back down to the floor so she was lying next to Cameron, with her head
propped up on an arm.  With her free hand, she gently ran her fingers down
Cameron's chest.  "So..." she prodded, "am I a great super-villain or what?
You never even saw me coming, did you?"  The latter part, that much he knew
was true.
     He'd been out, shopping all morning, picking up things off a list
Jennifer gave him.  He had just returned home from the excursion, when
someone, no doubt Jennifer, had grabbed him from behind, knocking him out...
he distinctly remembered the sickly sweet smelling cloth over his mouth and
nose.
     "Yr'prighud," Cameron nodded.
     "Darn right, I am!" Jennifer snickered, smiling.  For a moment, her face
softened, and she stopped playing with Cameron's chest long enough to hook a
finger under his gag.  "I didn't scare you too much did I?"
     Once his mouth was free, Cameron nodded.  "Oh, man, did you ever scare
me!" he exclaimed.  He bounced as much as someone bound and lying on the
ground can bounce.  "I'm glad it was you," he said.  "I don't mind being
manhandled, but I'd sure feel like a louse if I got manhandled by someone
besides you."
     Jennifer snorted and shook her head.
     "So..." he said, giving Jennifer's costume, and the contents within, a
thorough examination, "What does Dark Cupid do once she's captured someone?"
     Jennifer smiled and rolled over, so she was one again straddling
Cameron's chest.  She hemmed, "I'm kind of new to this kind of thing."  She
leaned down so the two could share a kiss.  "What would a really nasty
super-villain, like Dark Cupid, do with a helpless captive?"
     Cameron smiled brightly.  "Well, I can tell you," he offered, "but
you'll have to leave the gag out."

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Author's notes: And because Dvandom demanded it...

[FADE IN]

[OUTDOORS: DOCTOR DEVELOPER is standing in front of a silver sedan, LADY
LAWFUL'S car.  He's leaning against the hood, arms crossed over his chest.]

DOCTOR DEVELOPER: Hi.  I'm Doctor Developer, Detroit's number one super-
villain and Chicago's number one science-hero.

OFF SCREEN: Number two science-hero!

DOCTOR DEVELOPER: Chicago's number two science-hero.

[DOCTOR DEVELOPER stands up and walks around the car.]

DOCTOR DEVELOPER: Growing up in Detroit, I had the good fortune of being able
to study under Tinker Tom.  Off all the things Tom taught me about cars and
hotrods, the most important lesson was that you should always buckle up when
you get in a car.

[DOCTOR DEVELOPER stops next to the driver's side door, with one hand on the
door handle.]

DOCTOR DEVELOPER: Hundreds of lives are lost each year because people don't
use their seat belt.

[DOCTOR DEVELOPER pulls the door open and gets into the driver's seat.  LADY
LAWFUL is sitting in the passenger's seat, several extra belts are tied
around her chest.  The shoulder harness is pulled across her front,
completely pinning her to the seat.]

DOCTOR DEVELOPER: So remember, when you get in a car...

[LADY LAWFUL chuckles and shakes her head.]

LADY LAWFUL: A little restraint, can save your life.

[LADY LAWFUL shakes head while DOCTOR DEVELOPER smiles at the camera.]

[FADE OUT]

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Editor's Note:

     I was watching the local news the other night, and they had a police
officer on explaining the importance of buckling up and all that, and it
struck me that Doctor Developer should do a PSA for seatbelt safety.  The
importance of restraints, and all that.  Hence the tag scene.  :)

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