The town car pulled up to the curb outside McCormick Place, Chicago's biggest convention center (and the largest in North America, besides) and Megamind emerged from the back seat with head held high and a casually ee-vil smile on his face.

There was a smattering of uncertain applause, and someone booed, but from well back in the crowd.

The three superheroes guarding the convention center, Nebula, Speedster, and Jet Girl, moved to take up positions in the entrance.

Megamind turned to the car with slight bow and offered his hand to Miss Roxanne Ritchi, to assist her out of the back seat. She, too, held her head high, and if her own smile was a bit strained, only Megamind noticed. There was a moment's silence, then several cheers and loud applause broke out.

"Woooo, Roxanne!" a woman shouted. "You go, girl!"

People craned their necks to see, some blinking with uncertainty, and then, moved to join in, several applauded.

Megamind held Roxanne's hand lightly in the crook of his own arm as they made their way to the doors.

Roxanne spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "You didn't happen to plant a few cheerleaders, did you?" she murmured, looking at the mixture of frowning faces and cheerful smiles. Most people just looked wary, as if they weren't sure if they should show enthusiasm for a fallen Damsel or not.

Megamind blinked at her. "What, you mean hire a bunch of actors and actresses to encourage the wavering sheep to show their support? Doesn't hurt to nudge a situation into a more pleasant experience."

From the back, someone hollered, "You suck! Cunt!"

Roxanne's expression turned wooden, but Megamind, without pausing or looking around, snapped his fingers.

Two brainbots swooped down over the heads of the crowd and zeroed in on one man. Bright flashes erupted as they snapped photographs. The man cursed and ducked, trying to cover his face.

The reporter covering the entrance of the Damsels stuck out her microphone. "Megamind, what are you going to do with those photographs?"

"I plan to find out who that is," he said.

"And the reason being..." she prompted when he didn't elaborate.

"Well, he seems to know who we are, so I'd like to meet him. It seems like the friendly thing to do." He ran his gaze over the crowd. "Anyone else care to meet with me? In private, of course."

The people at the front of the crowd edged back.

"That sounds ominous," the reporter said suspiciously.

Megamind put a hand to his chest. "What could be ominous about having a friendly chat with a total stranger? In a non-evil way. I'm giving up villainy."

"Wait. What? You're giving up villainy?" The reporter drew herself up. Usually she got fluff pieces. Was this a serious breaking news story?

The heroes, who had begun strolling down the walkway in a slightly menacing manner when the brainbots started swooping, paused and glanced at each other. Jet Girl scowled and shook her head. Speedster narrowed his eyes, but Nebula looked thoughtful, at least what little expression could be seen under her half mask looked thoughtful.

The reporter stuck the microphone in Roxanne's direction. "Roxanne, what do you have to say about all this?"

"I'd say it's a worthy end to my career as a Damsel," Roxanne said with a smile. "After I fulfill my obligations here in representing Metro City, of course. He's been reformed."

Megamind lowered his head humbly. "I am a changed man, thanks to Miss Ritchi."

They looked at each other, smiles at once bashful and adoring. Megamind leaned in and quickly gave her a peck on the lips.

"You heard it here first, folks, on KFAM," the reporter said, a little breathless at being the one who got to announce two breaking news items in one day. "Having reformed the supervillain Megamind, Roxanne Ritchi has just officially retired! This is Bonnie Beakman, reporting."

Still smiling, Megamind and Roxanne proceeded to the entrance.

Which was blocked by the three heroes.

Nebula, the senior hero, nodded at Roxanne. "Miss Ritchi, welcome to the Damsels' Convention. Do you require assistance?" Her gaze moved pointedly to Megamind.

"Oh, come on," Speedster said with a scoff. "Of course she does."

"He's made a formal declaration," Nebula said. "Allegiance matters. Otherwise any villain can make up whatever story they want and words would lose all meaning."

"He walks in here armed," Jet Girl said, gesturing at the de-gun at Megamind's hip. "With his robot troops. Of course he's up to something."

"I regret the necessity," Megamind said, touching the de-gun's handle. "But I've made many enemies, and it would be the height of foolishness if I were to think that they'll leave me in peace simply because I've renounced my ee-vil ways."

"If I were to walk up to the League of Evil," Nebula said, "and claim that I wanted to join, I would have to prove that I had, in fact, turned evil."

Her cool gaze returned to Megamind. "It's more difficult when it's the other way around. What is your business here, Megamind?"

He inclined his head. "Merely to escort Miss Ritchi to the door, after which I'll peacefully take my leave."

"You expect us to believe that?" Speedster narrowed his eyes.

"Even if I were to try to pull off some scheme, what could I possibly do with three sterling heroes in attendance?" Megamind said.

"Two heroes, anyway," Roxanne said, directing a bright smile at Jet Girl. "What's the stance of the Heroes' Alliance on sneaking and spying?"

Jet Girl flushed. "I had a job to do."

"To protect the Damsels, yes," Nebula said dryly. "If you had concerns about Miss Ritchi's safety, it should have been brought to the attention of the League of Heroes rather than announced to the world at large."

"This is the twenty-first century," Jet Girl said defensively. "All this Damsel crap has to stop sometime."

Slowly, Nebula turned to stare at her younger colleague, the corners of her mouth tightening.

Jet Girl lowered her eyes, working her jaw.

Speedster wiped a hand over his mouth. "She meant well, Nebula," he muttered. But he couldn't meet Nebula's gimlet stare, either.

"And I'm the sacrifice you're willing to make, is that it?" Roxanne said.

"You're leaving this business behind anyway," Jet Girl muttered.

"A truly worthy endeavor," Megamind said. "Ever thought of going into villainy?"

Jet Girl's eyes widened. "I won't be made the bad guy, here." Her hand dropped to her gun.

"Jet Girl," Nebula said. "Stand down."

"Walks right in here, doesn't even bother concealing his weapon, his robot slaves take control over the entire area, and you tell me to stand down?" she snapped. "This villain strews chaos wherever he goes!"

There was a brief silence, except for the bustle and applause of a cheerful crowd greeting the latest Damsel.

As chaos failed to erupt, Jet Girl's face slowly flushed a deep pink.

"To be evil, all one has to do is shove a bus full of cub scouts over a cliff," Nebula said. "Allegiance to good requires consistence, and, perhaps, a rescue in the nick of time, which is impossible to manufacture. At least if one is truly good. Megamind's true allegiance will reveal itself over time."

Roxanne turned her back on Jet Girl, to greet her sister Damsels. "Shall we go in, girls?" After exchanging a brief kiss with Megamind, she went in.

Nebula made a show of inviting Megamind to a nearby pub, and clearly it was an attempt on her part to determine how sincere he was, but he didn't mind. There would be plenty of challenges to his allegiance change. Getting the support of Nebula, a long-standing superhero and well-known for not putting up with any bullshit, would go a long way toward convincing people of his good intentions.

Jet Girl called in her jet, and seemed prepared to have it hover right over the convention hall, no matter that it would kick up a dust storm over most of the block, but Nebula lambasted her for it.

"Get picked up somewhere else," Nebula snapped. "Before I get you in front of the disciplinary board."

Jet Girl left in a huff.

Megamind sat in the back of the pub by himself, nursing a beer. There hadn't been an attempt to arrest him. No one had even told him to get lost, maybe because Nebula, one of the original members of the Tri-State Alliance of Heroes, seemed to have given tacit approval to his presence.

Some of the Chicago cops nervously watched him as he made his way to the pub, but they kept their distance, reluctant to tackle him on their own without the superheroes to lead the charge.

A truce of sorts was in place.

The heroes grouped by the bar mostly ignored him, except for Speedster, who seemed to have something on his mind, and was getting increasingly drunk.

"Know anything about football?" he shouted across the room at Megamind.

Megamind stroked his chin. "Hm, let's see, I take it that now it's the turn of the guys in the pretty green and gold outfits to try to advance it ten yards. And then the guys in the red and white get a shot at advancing it ten yards. And then the other guys get it back and try to advance it ten yards, and so on and so forth."

Onscreen, a referee blew a shrill whistle and the play ended.

"Probably should have run the ball, they haven't completed a pass since the first quarter."

They turned to stare at him. He shrugged. "I know what the rules are. I just don't care."

Speedster stood up, swaying a little, then stabilized. "Yeah, I can see that. Plain as day.'' He shook off a restraining hand from one of his friends and stalked across the room. "You don't care about the rules. Anybody can see that."

He stopped by Megamind's table. "Come have a drink with me."

"Thank you, but no. I've had enough."

Megamind kept his attention on the belligerent hero in front of him, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that the other bar patrons had drifted back to the walls, and the few heroes in attendance were watching with interest from their chairs.

Nebula was absent. Even superheroes had to use the bathroom once in a while.

If it got physical, the other heroes might or might not interfere. He was betting they'd take Speedster's side, though.

Speedster, damn him, noticed his sweep of the room. "Nebula's not here to protect you."

"Do I need protecting?"

Speedster smiled, thin-lipped. "You really changed? Really? Prove it. Come have a drink with me, friend."

Yeah, real friendly. Getting drunk would escalate the stupidity of the situation. "I've had enough. I don't want to be inebriated when I pick up Miss Ritchi later."

Speedster's face twisted into a sneer behind his mask. "Still 'Miss Ritchi', huh? Old habits die hard?"

"Some habits." He palmed a buzzer. Nothing serious, but it would startle, give him a slight edge. Mentally he took stock of other items on hand, as it were, on his person. Baton, de-gun set to de-hydrate, ice-'em caplet, grappling hook, smoke bomb...

The brainbots awaited him outside, keeping an eye on the street in case the cops decided they better do something after all about a supervillain (recently retired) roaming freely through their fair city.

Speedster's hand was a blur. The beer mug flew across the room and smashed into a wall, shattering.

People yelped. The other heroes leapt to their feet, hands lifting to activate powers or dropping to weapons. The air thrummed with conflicting super powers.

One of the heroes cried, "Speedster, quit it!"

"Shut up, Eagleman," Speedster snapped. His eyes gleamed with malevolence. "He's not one of us."

Megamind raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a compliment."

It was foolishly provocative, but Speedster was getting on his nerves.

"You ought to be in jail," Speedster said through gritted teeth. He glanced at his colleagues and there was an uneasy shuffling of feet. Their attitude was, Megamind sits quietly in a corner all afternoon and now you want to arrest him?

Megamind rose to his feet. "You're drunk, Speedster. And I don't want to keep Miss Ritchi waiting."

Getting to the door without turning his back on anyone would be tricky, and there was really no way to do it without looking a little silly, but damned if he was leaving himself open to attack. He spared a moment to wish Minion was there, but the loyal henchfish was disguised as a janitor at the convention, there to give assistance to Roxanne if needed.

Megamind only got a few steps before Speedster moved.

The man caught Megamind a glancing blow in a blur of superspeed.

Megamind couldn't hold back a yelp at the sharp pain in his upper arm.

Speedster rematerialized by the bar, grinning.

"Geez, man, what the heck," Eagleman protested.

"You're going too far," another hero said.

"You snooze, you lose," Speedster crowed, and moved again, shooting past Megamind.

Megamind was nearly knocked over by the backwash. He banged his hip against a table, right on a bruise he'd gotten from the rookie villains' attack the night before, and he hissed in pain.

Speedster ran up to him again. "Boo!" he shouted in Megamind's face, and pushed him before racing off again.

Megamind flailed and caught at a chair to keep from falling. Damn it!

Okay, he mustn't lose his temper. Speedster couldn't get up to full speed in this confined space, especially with so many tables, people, and other obstacles.

The world went dark as Speedster flicked Megamind's cape over his head and spun him around.

Gritting his teeth, Megamind righted himself and shoved his cape off, resisting an almost overwhelming urge to punch Speedster in the face. He would miss, and end up flailing at the air like an idiot. This was no time for wild theatrics or temper tantrums.

He'd defeated this second-rate hero before, a few years ago when Speedster substituted for Metro Man one summer and he would defeat him again, even without the full might of his arsenal.

Even as Speedster raced by in a blur of limbs, cackling at him, Megamind focus narrowed, growing colder and more calculating, until the patterns of Speedster's movements all but glittered in the air before him with diamond sharpness.

And there were patterns. The fool had learned nothing from their past encounter.

Okay, judging by the blurriness, say it's about one-quarter of his top speed, and, yes, he's using the same damn attack pattern. How the hell no one's picked up on that I'll never know.

As Speedster whirred by him, delivering infuriating shoves, blows, and flicks to the ear, Megamind reached for his weaponry. He got out the ice caplet and put away the buzzer. Too great a chance of accidental electroction, based on what he planned to do. Potentially melting ice and all that. He didn't want to kill the bastard.

That open area, there. On Speedster's next pass, he'd be on the left.

Megamind drew the de-gun and fired, throwing down the caplet, which broke open and sent a sheet of ice unfurling across the wooden floor.

Speedster, anticipating the de-gun shot, dodged.

His foot came down on an ice rink.

Megamind got a glimpse of his shocked face a split second before the hero shot across the room on his backside and slammed into the bar with a thundering crash.

Bottles rattled on the shelves and glasses fell over.

After a few moments, people uncurled from their protective positions over their drinks.

The other heroes looked at Speedster, looked at Megamind, then exchanged uncertain glances

Eagleman's wings folded up along his back and he lowered his fists a little and shifted his weight, apparently about to say something, but another hero snapped, "Maybe you should leave, villain."

Megamind let a thin smile stretch across his face. "That's ex-villain, Crimestopper. But perhaps you have a point."

The air glowed from conflicting colors of various super powers, waiting to be put to use.

Megamind kept the de-gun at his shoulder as he walked across the room toward the exit, keeping the lot of them in his sight.

Almost in the clear, Megamind turned to find Nebula standing behind him, arms loose at her sides, on her toes, the taut angle of head and shoulders showing she was prepared to attack.

Riding high on adrenaline, he almost aimed at her. His hand twitched with the urge to bring the de-gun into play, but he checked it.

Nebula was the most dangerous of the bunch. Her martial arts skills were legendary. If he brought the de-gun down she'd have it out of his hand before he could complete the movement. More than a match for his own knee-to-the-groin fighting style, which was decidedly unpolished. He'd be lucky to land even one blow.

He wondered if she knew it. Undoubtedly she did.

Nebula's sharp gaze travelled the room, taking in the overturned chairs, the other heroes' battle-ready stances, Speedster slowly righting himself with the gracefulness of a turtle.

Tension thrummed in the air.

Then Nebula shifted and settled onto her heels, relaxing her shoulders. The entire room seemed to heave a sigh, whether of relief or disappointment, Megamind couldn't tell.

Nebula's gaze lingered briefly on the groaning Speedster, who was getting onto his hands and knees, then returned to Megamind. "I think I missed something," she said.

He holstered the de-gun. It would have been insulting not to. He could return courtesy for courtesy. "I've had enough socializing for one day, Nebula. Now that I know what the hospitality of heroes is like, and how much honor means to them."

Nebula's face hardened as she glanced at Speedster and the other heroes again. No one would meet her gaze. She turned sideways and stepped back, leaving Megamind a clear path to the door. "I wish you well, then."

Megamind looked at her outstretched hand. People were watching. Probably with cell phones in hand. He took her hand, and shook it.

Hero and ex-villain looked each other firmly in the eye. "It takes time, Megamind," she said.

"I appreciate that, Nebula, I only hope your colleagues agree."

Roxanne greeted him. "You have fun? I know I did," she said grimly, dragging a hand through her hair.

He took her hand, twining their fingers together. "A marvelous time, as a matter of fact. Ran into an old friend."

She put her hand to his chin and gently turned his head to look at the new fingertip-sized bruise on the side of his jaw. A tap from Speedster. "Yeah, I'll bet." She ran her hands up and down his arms as if to make sure he was in one piece, a slight frown marring her lovely brow.

Gently he took her hands. "I'm fine, my love. Truly. You oughta see the other guy." He swept her into his arms but couldn't hold back a wince of pain.

She clucked her tongue, her eyes full of sympathy. "Oh, honey. You're in pain. I thought you were moving kind of stiffly. You need to lie down."

"So you can have your way with me?" God, he ached, the events of the last few days were catching up to him, but he could muster up the necessary energy.

She gave him a stern look. "Very tempting, Megs, but you need rest."

"But I can...if you want we can..."

"Megs." She studied him, a concerned frown wrinkling her forehead. "It's okay for you to say 'no,' too, Megs."

He stared at her. Honestly, that had never occurred to him. Men were supposed to want it, all the time, in any way, shape, or form. "Well, I may not be as full of vim and vigor as I should be," he admitted. "Maybe a rest would do me good."

"Let's go back to the hotel," she said.

Minion offered to vacate the room for a while, if they needed some quality time, but they assured him it wasn't necessary.

"He's going straight to bed to rest," Roxanne said. "I need to talk to my boss anyway. There's going to be a meeting to discuss my contract."

Later as they were lounging around on the beds watching the news, one particular item caught their attention. The banner at the bottom of the screen read "Schenectady, NY."

"Local heroes are battling a fire that has set most of the eastern half of the city ablaze. Arson is suspected. The fire is believed to have started at a private residence, and authorities have a suspect in custody," the reporter on scene said.

The camera cut to a shot of Destruction Worker, tied up and cursing on the ground, while the grim-faced, white-clad superhero known as Lightwave kept a foot on his neck. There was no sign of Hot Flash or Psycho Delic.

Megamind shook his head. "Destruction Worker. Ought to change his name to 'Fall Guy.'"

He blinked as Roxanne turned a raised eyebrow on him. Honestly, sometimes he suspected she had undeveloped psychic powers. "You knew about this?" she said.

"I might have said a few words helping the Doom Syndicate in making up its collective little mind." He smiled, and settled back more firmly against the pillows. "We won't have to worry about Monocle for a while."

Lightwave spoke. "The suspect appears to be the villain known as Destruction Worker, whose usual sphere of activity is southern Michigan. Caught a glimpse of his cohorts before they took off. We don't know why he attacked this particular house." He glowered at the villain squirming under his boot. "But we will."

Destruction Worker craned his neck to spit at the camera, "It's Doc Monocle's hideout! We're gonna get him, the rat bastard. You hear that Monocle? We're gonna get you! Me and the rest of the Doom Syndicate!"

Lightwave blinked and looked at the reporter. "Oh. Well, that was easy."

Megamind and Minion groaned and clapped their hands to their faces in various poses of agony.

"What? What'd I miss?" Roxanne asked.

"Destruction Worker made a serious faux pas, revealing Dr. Monocle's secret identity on national TV. There are certain rules, you know."

The shot cut away to another reporter. "The house's owner, Mildred Schultz, and her grandson Sherman, escaped the blaze unharmed."

There was a shot of Dr. Monocle, soot-covered, monocle-less, and looking distinctly alarmed by the camera, hurrying away.

"Mr. Schultz, is there any truth to the..."

"No!" Dr. Monocle snapped. "He's lying. The Doom Syndicate? Never heard of 'em. They got the wrong guy."

Another superhero appeared in his path, blocking his hasty exit. "Excuse me, sir. Would you mind answering a few questions about a robbery in Rochester last Friday?"

A second superhero stood in front of the camera. "No more pictures, please."

As the scene went back to the news anchor's desk and her solemn face promising that superheroes were actively in pursuit of Hot Flash and Psycho Delic, Megamind's cell rang. They all looked at it. There were only three people who had his number and two of them were in the room with him.

He huffed out a sigh and picked it up. "Ollo, Metro Mahn. What's the occasion? Going to throw me a surprise retirement party?"

"Are you nuts?" Metro Man snapped. "Beating up the Speedster? You know what a hot-head he is."

"Your concern for my well-being melts my heart," Megamind said. "How'd you find out?" He cocked his head, remembering the customers in the pub holding up cell phones. "Someone recorded the glorious incident?"

"I'll say. It's all over Youtube, trending on twitter. Speedster falling on his butt."

Megamind threw his head back and laughed and laughed.

"What'd he say?" Roxanne demanded. "That's Wayne, isn't it?"

"Indeed, my love." He repeated Metro Man's news. Minion guffawed while Roxanne chuckled ruefully.

Megamind put the phone on speaker.

"Yeah, it's hilarious," Metro Man said, deadpan. "Thought you should know, little buddy, Nebula called me. There's an emergency in her city and she had to go. Didn't have time to warn you herself. The Speedster's putting together a task force to come get you. She said, and I quote, 'I say task force, but that may be giving them too much credit.'"

Megamind rubbed his eyes. "Now there's a sore loser. What's he going to do, storm the hotel?"

"You're at a hotel?"

Roxanne snorted. "Where'd you think we were, a treehouse?"

"I thought your boyfriend would be smart and have a safehouse or something. Roxy, a bunch of heroes with chips on their shoulders are coming over to beat him up. A notorious criminal. I don't think you're gonna have a whole lot of allies."

Megamind glanced at Roxanne, a prickle of concern stirring in his gut. If it were just him and Minion, then...

Roxanne put her hands on her hips, nostrils flaring. "What?" she snapped. "You think I'm the weak link here?"

He smiled apologetically. "I wouldn't want you to be in harm's way."

Metro Man heaved a sigh. "If you want, I can fly over there and..."

"Perfectly simple solution here, guys," Roxanne said. "We find another hotel. They're not running us out of town. Thanks for the heads up, Wayne." She nodded curtly, and Megamind clicked off the phone.

Roxanne tapped her chin. "You know, I've never really seen you in action against Speedster. Could be interesting."

To Minion's horror, Megamind and Roxanne exchanged ee-vil smiles.

Megamind narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Call up the reserve brainbot squads, have them bring an assortment of ray guns, it could be quite interesting indeed. I wonder which heroes have rallied to salvage Speedster's pride?"

"Ooo, you could use the Slow-Mo gun on them," Roxanne said excitedly. "Like that one time when Metro Man..."

Megamind snapped his fingers. "Oh, I remember that! Back when I..."

"Sir! Miss Ritchi!" Minion cried. "It'll take the 'bots over an hour to fly here. Who knows when the heroes will attack?"

At Minion's urging, they activated their disguise generators and slipped out the back.

The next day Megamind casually escorted Roxanne to the conference again as if nothing had happened, except that he had fully half of his considerable brainbot army with him. "For Miss Ritchi's protection, of course," he said, smiling congenially into the camera. "I feel the coverage provided by the heroes is somewhat...lacking, in certain areas."

Speedster and the other thuggish heroes he'd recruited to his cause fumed but did nothing. There were a lot of brainbots, too many civilians with cells, and a total lack of hostile behavior from the villain. The story of Megamind's renunciation of evil had taken hold in the public mind, most of the coverage focusing on how the love of a Damsel reformed a hardened criminal, and wasn't it sweet?

Public opinion always was a major factor in superhero behavior.

A week later, back in Metro City, the furor was already dying down.

An emergency meeting between Roxanne and the higher ups at the station resulted in a paid suspension for a time while they ran surveys and scrutinized the mood of the public on how they felt about Roxanne apparently dumping Metro Man for the notorious Master of All Villainy.

So far, it was looking good for Roxanne, as said public appeared to be holding steady to the impression that she'd reformed Megamind, and KCMP continued to enjoy high ratings. She felt she might even have a shot at an anchor position at the station when one of the regulars retired in a year.

Hot Flash and Psycho Delic resurfaced, joining up with some other supervillains who were irked by the conquer-another-villain-and-take-their-place contest set up by the Triad. Lord Kaos's fortress was destroyed and Cat Lady was on the run, after mutilating a villain from Dallas and five of his hapless henchmen, reminding the rest of villains of her formidable cat powers. No one was very eager to catch up to her.

The superheroes had their hands full, taking Lord Kaos into protective custody and trying to round up the villains, some of whom had grown bored with their vendetta against the Triad and were currently laying waste to certain sections of California's wine country.

Megamind and Roxanne settled on her couch to watch the news. Some of the heroes were manhandling collared villains into reinforced police vans. "Just think," Roxanne said, snuggling against Megamind's chest. "That could have been you."

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Ah, the good old days of last spring."

Minion came in from the balcony. "All done with the security sweep," he said. "Brainbots and brutebots on guard, everything's secure. Have a good night."

They waved to him and called their goodnights.

After Minion flew off on his hoverbike, Roxanne didn''t waste any time.

"And now for my reward," Roxanne said, pushing Megamind onto his back. "Just lie back and relax."

"Relax?" He gave her a devilish grin.

"Mm-hm. Well, not too much." She reached behind him and he arched his back to allow her to unzip him. He wore his usual villainous attire, though he'd long since removed his gloves, cape, and weaponry.

She'd put in her diaphragm earlier, in anticipation of some lovemaking to celebrate his return to full health and to relieve the stresses of the challenging week.

She planted little kisses on his mouth, which he returned with enthusiasm before turning his head to offer his neck for attention, and she let her lips wander across his cheek and ear, and, finally, as he arched more desperately against her, mouthed the sensitive skin of his neck.

"Mm, that's good," he murmured, closing his eyes. He tugged the hem of her shirt out of the waistband of her jeans and she climbed on top, straddling him.

She sat back. "Let's get that tunic off."

He sat up to comply, stripping off tunic and undershirt, baring himself to her, then slid his hands under her shirt, pushing the material up.

She pulled the shirt off over her head, and after it had dropped to the floor she saw he was round-eyed with wonder, staring at her new bright red bra. "You like?"

"Very much," he said hoarsely, nuzzling the lace trim on the cups. Lightly he seized one of her hardening nipples with his teeth through the fabric, his breath hot.

Her pulse beat faster, her clitoris throbbing. She could feel his bulge between her legs as he wiggled a little, pushing up against her. His hands, running smoothly up and down her sides, slid down to plunge into her jeans, grabbing double handfuls of her ass.

They kissed again, pressing lips together, tongues flickering and darting. She pushed at his shoulders to get him to lie down on his back again.

Panting, he looked up at her, bright-eyed. "What are you doing to me, Miss Ritchi?"

"Enjoying my prize," she said, standing up for the express purpose of pulling off his pants. His tight, streamlined, battle-wear pants, she thought, grinning.

He lifted his hips so she could yank them down, and lifted one foot after the other so she could get them all the way off. He groaned as she took his erection in hand, rubbing her thumb over the moist tip. "Here I thought..." He swallowed hard. "I'd gotten the prize."

"Oh, you did," she said. "Make no mistake." She stroked him until he was moaning again, rocking his hips into her hand.

He reached for her. "Roxanne, please."

She stopped her ministrations to shuck off her bra, jeans, and underwear. She climbed on him again, but straddled his thighs. "Tell me how you fought Speedster," she said.

He blinked at her. "What, now?"

She edged further up his thighs until she was settled against his balls. He tried to wriggle further under her but she held him in check, squeezing her thighs. "Tell me," she said breathily.

"Oh, God," he whispered, and did as he was told. "The fool. Thinking he could best me. As if his feeble wit were any match for mine."

She licked her lips and ran her hands over his chest, down the flat plane of his stomach, until she took him in hand again. "Then what?"

He drew a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. "His pathetic jabs and jibes, tried to make me look like an idiot, but-ahh!-ohthatssonice-then I-I-I iced the floor and sent him flying."

A shiver ran down her spine and she knew she was wet. She stroked herself, then crawled higher onto his lap, and lowered herself onto his erection. "God, you're amazing. So gorgeous," she moaned.

And he was, too, with those flushed pink cheekbones against his blue skin, and the pink tips of his ears all but glowing, his mouth open and panting, his eyes half-lidded as he gazed at her, hips thrusting into her.

"Do what you did before," she gasped, lifting herself and lowering back down, again and again. "Touch me." Her clitoris was throbbing and stimulated from her exertions, bobbing against him. She only needed a little more to push her over the edge.

He laid the pad of his thumb over her sweet spot and stroked her, keeping his other fingers against the soft skin of her groin to keep his hand syncopated with her movements as she moved up and down. He cupped her breast with his other hand, twirling her nipple with his thumb.

She closed her eyes, feeling the pressure build inside her abdomen, the pulse building with his hard shaft sliding in and out, the rhythmic stroking at nipple and clit at last sending her into her climax. She cried out, throwing her head back, then dropped onto her hands over him, head bowed.

Panting, he seized her hips and thrust into her more quickly, more urgently, and she came out of her lethargy to help him along, matching his up and down movements, making little noises.

"That's good, Megs, that's so good," she whispered, kissing his lips.

He came with a cry, grinding his hips into her, gripping her ass. Slowly he softened and slid out of her, and she lay next to him, squeezing against the back of the couch. He turned onto his side to hook his leg over her and they wrapped their arms around each other. They exchanged little kisses, and he let his lips move over her face to kiss her eyelids.

He sighed with contentment. "Oh, what an Evil Queen you would have made."

She smiled and nuzzled him. "And don't you forget it."

At last, after much too long a wait, we have reached the end of this story. I had great fun writing this tale, and I hope you found it enjoyable.

Once again, many thanks to joanhello (joanhello2 of tumblr) for coming up with the idea of a Damsel for every city! If I have made missteps along the way or failed to delve deeply enough into this world of Damsels, Heroes, and Villains, that's on me. But it truly is an excellent idea perfectly fitted for a superheroic universe. Thank you again, joanhello!