Waiting for a Miracle - Chapter 6

Several hours had gone by, and I had moved back upstairs to eat after I finished work on a few projects. I had just washed the dishes from my snack when I heard Wallace complaining as he and Leona climbed the stairs from my laboratory to my apartment. Though he sounded upset, I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Leona was the first through the door, giving me a wave and a grin. “Bitch and moan, gripe and complain. I swear, Duggan, that’s all I’ve been hearing from this guy from the moment we left.”

Wallace was right behind her with a look of pure fury. His jaw muscles were bulging, and his face was red. He had an eye tic, and bulging veins in his forehead. Not really attractive.

He dropped into my recliner, so I took the couch and once again allowed Leona to lean on me when she sat down. Using what I hoped was the same soothing tone as Wallace, I asked, “What happened that got your feathers so ruffled up?”

“That was some training she gave me,” Wallace said. “She ran from here straight to a hospital and started throwing invalids off the roof.”

“It taught you to move quickly, didn’t it?” Leona said. She tilted her head back to grin at me. “After missing this one old guy with a dirty diaper and a couple of orderlies, he caught almost everything I threw.” Wallace gasped, and she turned her sunny smile on him. “Hey, you caught most of them, didn’t you?”

“What was the final score?” I asked.

“I only got five, and I really had to put some pepper on that last nurse to get her past him,” Leona said with a note of approval. “Oh, and that’s real numbers, not my rounding statistics.”

Impressed with this news, I said, “I guess you took to that fairly quickly, saving those people.”

“How could I not do it?” Wallace asked. “She was chucking old folks at me every second for nearly an hour. Good grief, I’d have just laid one poor fool in his bed when she’d run in and snatch the same guy out of my hands to do it all over again. I’ll be surprised if half those patients don’t die tonight from fear.”

Tittering, Leona waved a hand at Wallace. “Flattery like that just warms my heart.”

Wallace jumped up from the recliner and bellowed, “THAT WASN’T—!”

Coughing, he struggled to get control of himself. Flopping back into the chair, he gave me a miserable look. “She wasn’t done with her reign of terror either. After planting that nurse in the hospital lawn, she jumped down and slapped the taste out my mouth. Then she screamed ‘tag, you’re it’ and took off at a full run. She had me chase her through the entire city. I was doing okay. I mean, she was outpacing me by about twenty yards, but I could still see her. All of the sudden, she hits the sound barrier in a residential section and the sonic boom started flipping cars towards the houses. I had to fly around and catch them before they crashed into the houses, and even then the windows were all exploding.”

Leona patted my chest to get my attention, “Yes, Duggan, but the real kicker is this.” Grinning at Wallace, she said, “Tell me, Doc; how many cars did you miss?”

Wallace’s face lost its angry look, and he blushed. “None,” he whispered.

Sitting up and perking her ears, Leona commented, “I’m sorry, mouse man, did you say something?”

“Not one car hit a house, or anything else for that matter,” Wallace said, this time sounding appropriately proud of his accomplishment.

“He’s faster than you?” I asked Leona, who nodded. Laughing, I said, “Apparently the collar has calibrated itself to your nervous system perfectly.”

Wallace smiled and gave a tired sigh. “It did seem fairly easy to follow her wherever she went after that, but I did run into problems trying to search the top fifteen floors of a sky scraper for its cleaning crew as it plunged to the ground. Once I found one of them, I found I couldn’t run or fly very fast without popping their eardrums. All in all, I saved ten janitors before the section of the building hit the ground, and Leona told me she’d counted twelve. I still wish I could have saved those other two—”

“Um, Wallace, there weren’t two others.” I interrupted him, trying to put my reminder delicately. “You keep forgetting that Leona has a tendency to round numbers down a bit.”

Wallace looked from me to her, the color draining from his face. “How many did I miss?” He asked in a sad sounding voice.

“Seven.” Leona answered, giving a small sigh at his sad expression. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up, Dr. Cornwall. You were awesome out there, and you saved a lot of people. Heck, even Miracle Man has lost a few people to me, and he never let it get him down.”

Wallace nodded, looking from her back to me. “If it wasn’t for those people dying, I’d have almost called the evening fun.”

“It seems you’re comfortable enough with your powers to lead this plot, but there are still some things you need to know,” I said. “First of all, we only use code names in the field. Have you come up with a good name for yourself yet?”

Wallace shrugged. “Not really. I was just going to have you keep calling me Wallace. I mean, I’m only a temporary super villain anyway, and if the plan screws up really bad we’ll probably end up killing anyone who could connect me to you.”

“Good point,” I conceded, moving on. “You will be in charge, which means of course that you also have to look like you’re in charge. Even though I could act as the mouthpiece for this caper, you would still have to give orders. It’s important that you never defer to me once we get the plot moving, or we’ll lose the respect of the victims. People have no fear of criminals that don’t have a clear chain of command. It makes us look unprepared.”

I leaned forward to pick up a memo pad from the coffee table. I tossed it to Wallace, resisting the urge to laugh when his hand blurred up to catch it before it hit his face. “That pad contains a list of menacing sounding commands. They’re just suggestions to get you on the right track, so don’t go trying to memorize them or anything like that.”

“We’ll be staying for only three hours,” Wallace said. “If Miracle Man hasn’t shown up by then, he never will. That way we can avoid slaughtering half the National Guard on our way out.”

I nodded my approval, glad to see that Wallace was putting some thought into his plan. “That’s good thinking, and it will help to cut the plan short instead of waiting until our hostage situation becomes a standoff with a media frenzy. The downside is that we’ll still have to kill everyone at the city council building or risk costing me my position as the crime overlord. Even one witness left alive could ruin me, Wallace. If double M doesn’t show up to save them, the stain of failure will be have to be in your hands, not mine.”

Downcast by my reminder, Wallace whispered, “Why?”

I said, “Because if someone looks up and says, ‘this is a stupid plan,’ I’m going point the blame squarely at you.”

We went through the plan several times before I tried having him practice speaking in an evil voice. He failed at it miserably, sounding more like a self-righteous and pissed off super hero rather than a gloating megalomaniac. I insisted we try it several times, but he ended up getting frustrated.

“Damn it, Duggan! Maybe this ‘pathetic excuse for evil’ is the best I can do!” Wallace shouted. “Has it ever occurred to you that I might have a problem sounding evil? Perhaps it might even be because I’m not?”

“Fine, then I’ll lead the plot,” I said. I raised my hand to rub my forehead. I was tired, but by then Wallace was too. “But if double M doesn’t show, this was your mess, not mine.”

“This is a sticking point with you, isn’t it?” Wallace commented dryly.

He got up and went to my wet bar, mixing us some drinks. He returned with a tray and set it down, passing the glasses to us.

“It’s an interesting choice,” I noted before sipping my bloody Mary.

“Yes, well either way this plan will get messy,” Wallace said. “I guess this is symbolic of what will be all around us tomorrow.”

Leona lifted her glass to search the bottom, speaking in a disappointed tone of voice as she asked, “Where’s the chunky bits?”

Wallace blinked at her, and then smiled. “That would be the ice.”

“Oh,” Leona said. She shrugged before emptying her drink in a single pull. She handed him back the glass and emptied mine just as quickly. As she handed him the second glass, she smiled sweetly. “Would you mind just filling a pitcher for me, pretty please? Those were really good.” She watched Wallace move back to the wet bar before she leaned against me hard, clinging to me like a strip of toilet paper on a high-heeled shoe.

“I am so horny right now, it’s not even funny,” she whispered as she tugged at my mask.

I hadn’t yet shown my face to Wallace aside from the lower half, and I admit I felt a bit nervous as she peeled it off of me. “You wouldn’t want to waste your kiss right now, would you?” I asked, hoping to distract her.

“I’m getting more than one tonight, Duggan,” Leona whispered firmly, looking over her shoulder to make sure Wallace was still busy. “Watching him move tonight was like watching double M do his thing. The only difference between them was that your shrink wasn’t trying to catch me. He was just behind me, flying every which way to undo the damage that I was causing.”

She gave a small shudder, and the oddest thing happened as she moved against me.

I got a hard-on.

Leona was practically nibbling my ear while she hissed, “Oh, Duggan, he was breathtaking, and if he’s going to be here much longer tonight, I need something to keep me off of him. Come on, I just need something to relax me,” she pleaded.

I smiled at her and nodded my consent, letting Leona lean forward to kiss me. I slid my hand down her spine until my hand touched her tail. Closing my fingers around it, I gripped it softly and gave it a small stroke, causing Leona to grind her hips against my body.

I suppressed the urge to laugh when I realized that my ‘tail’ and hers were about the same length. Though my arm was farther away from my body than it normally would have been, stroking her tail almost felt like I was jerking off.

Leona’s reaction was immediate and intense, as she began to rub her body more firmly against me. Seconds later she started to purr quite loudly. The vibration carried through our kiss, and the sensation was quite pleasant. It’s kind of like...well no, I don’t suppose there is any kind of equivalent to French kissing a very happy cat woman. But if you ever are presented with the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend it.

“Get a room,” Wallace teased as he set a pitcher in front of Leona and refilled my glass for me.

Leona gave a tiny sigh and got off of me, giggling when I didn’t release her tail right away. I finally did when I noticed that Wallace was staring at me and remembered that I wasn’t wearing my mask.

“Um, I’m not that ugly to you, am I?” I asked, smiling when Wallace shook his head, his mouth still hanging open. I looked across the den to the mirror on the wall to check my reflection. That is what the mirror is there for, after all. Well, that and practicing monologue poses. What, you think those speeches come off the cuff? Hell no, super villains practice speeches as often as we train our bodies.

Checking my reflection, I found my short black hair tussled from being under my mask, but nothing else seemed out of place. My eyes were still grey, and my face was what most people would call handsome. I had always thought my jaw line was too square, but Leona tells me I’m being judgmental.

I turned to look back at Wallace and felt a bit annoyed that his mouth was still hanging open. “I’m not that good looking, so you can close your mouth and stop drooling now.” I commented and took a long drink from my bloody Mary.

Wallace shook his head, sitting down in the recliner. “No, it’s not that. I didn’t expect you to trust me with this. Not even the heroes let me see their faces. Well, I mean the masked ones anyway.”

“Ah, well.” I glanced at Leona. “It was something of a group decision. Since you’re going to be closely involved with our plot tomorrow, I should give you some sign that I have faith in you.” I emptied my glass and joked, “So as Leona would say, what the hell, you know?”

Wallace refilled my drink again, and Leona snorted laughter. “Why do you do that?”

“What do you mean?” Wallace said.

It was my turn to laugh. “You know exactly what she means. Why are you acting like our host? Is it because I’m paying you?”

Wallace shrugged. “Not really, I just like doing things for people. Can you believe this annoys my wife?”

“It can be disconcerting at times,” I said.

Wallace smiled at that and set his glass on the coffee table before he stood up. “I should be heading home.” He chuckled, winking at me. “It’s going to be odd flying home on my own tonight.”

“I’ll race you there,” I offered and got up from the couch.

Wallace waved his hands. “No thank you. I’m tired of catching cars tonight.”

“No, we’ll go really high up in the atmosphere,” I assured him. “We can make it a real race and do one lap around the planet.”

“How long would it take?” he asked, his curiosity piqued.

“If you’re as fast as I think you are, ten minutes.”

He laughed with delight and nodded, walking to the front door. As I followed him, I was stopped by Leona, who slid her arms around my waist, nuzzling her lips on my ear.

“Get back soon, or I might have to start another spree,” she whispered, A soft purr rumbled her chest as she slipped my mask into my hand.

“Oh baby, I just love it when you talk dirty to me,” I said before I joined Wallace on the deck outside my front door.

Shutting the door, I fixed him with a half mocking glare. “See what you’ve done?” I asked, pulling my mask on.

“Uh-huh, I made her like that all right. If I didn’t don’t know better Duggan, I would have gotten the impression that you were enjoying yourself, what with you groping her tail and that bulge in your bodysuit.” Wallace laughed when I dropped a hand to cover my crotch. “But of course, I know you were miserable with her ‘mauling’ you the way she did.”

“Well, just so long as we’re clear on that,” I said. “It could be worse, I suppose. Come on, let’s get this race started.” I activated my suit.

“On your mark,” Wallace called out, crouching as if he intended to leap straight up. “Get set,” he said, and then he disappeared.

I looked around, needing a second to find him five hundred feet above me. “GO!” he bellowed and took off.

Chuckling, I jumped up and flew after Wallace, catching up with him easily. I flew around him in a circle several times. “That was really cheap Wallace, not to mention pathetic. So this is the best you can do? Resort to cheating?”

Wallace’s grin only got wider as he shook his head. “Oh, I think I can go a wee bit faster.” He laughed, and then he was gone.

I almost missed his trail, and I never saw anything, not even outlines of him during my entire eight minute lap around the planet. I landed on his doorstep to find Wallace buffing his nails on his chest.

“Show off,” I muttered before chuckling to show him I had no hard feelings.

“Oh, are you finally here?” Wallace asked with mock surprise. “I thought you gave up and went home, since I’ve been waiting here for five minutes.”

“That’s—” I said, checking myself before I could say that it was impossible when it clearly was not. “Don’t get too cocky, Wallace. Tomorrow you’ll watch a lot of people die, and you will be their assassin in many cases. I need you to understand that, and that’s why I’ve kept reminding you that this is your idea. It sounds far too easy to say we’ll kill everyone if Miracle Man doesn’t show up, but I assure you, there is no joy in killing normals when you know there won’t be a hero showing up to save any of them. In other words, I need you to realize how many people could die in vain for your plot.”

“It can’t be helped,” Wallace said, his scowling face showing his conflicting emotions. “Without Miracle Man, this city is doomed anyway, so losing the city council won’t mean much.”

“Now you’re beginning to understand the bigger picture,” I said. I turned to leave before he could tell me what a nice guy I was.

I knew that after his plan failed, he would have that illusion forever shattered.

I arrived at my apartment and opened the door to find Leona standing just a few feet away, a smile stretching her lips the moment our eyes met.

She whispered in an excited voice, “He beat you, didn’t he?”

“He did,” I confirmed, allowing her to lead me to the couch and remove my mask again.

She let me sit down before she slid up next to me eagerly, her tiny hands running over my chest and shoulders in circles. “Tell me every detail, and be brutal about it.”

I did as she asked, though it was more than a little difficult with her kissing my neck. I concluded by giving her his final words before I left.

Between kisses she asked, “Do you believe he’s ready for this?”

“He thinks he is. Only time will—hey!” I cried as she grabbed my dick.

Leona just giggled. “You may not want to switch teams, but I have given you a rather impressive bat.”

“It’s late,” I said. “Let’s make you happy so you can make it home without killing too many people.”

“I don’t know,” Leona murmured, smiling at me wickedly. “That could take a while, since Wallace ended my streak early tonight. Maybe if you kissed my neck a few times it might help me relax.”

I stared at her helplessly for a while, cursing Wallace for his stupid ideas. Laughing tiredly, I leaned over and kissed Leona’s throat. “Like this?”

“Wetter,” she requested in a husky whisper.

I parted my lips to suck at her skin, pivoting my head a bit as Leona leaned in to do the same to me. Reaching behind her, I started to stroke her tail, and she petted my side as we made out on my couch.

It really wasn’t bad, to be perfectly honest. So when she fell asleep in my arms, I just closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with her.