The Ultimate Superheroines Forum

"Night at the Museum"
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Chapter 1 -- Washington D.C., Halloween night...

The Fuchsia Fox strode through the doors of the Museum of American History and Technology and smiled at the greeting from the young male guard behind the security desk. His eyes were conspicuously ogling her lush curves, sliding across her smooth bare shoulders revealed by her tight reddish-purple halter top, taking in the proud swell of her bust underneath her fox head chest emblem, her slender arms adorned with elbow-length gloves and gold bracelets, then down her bare midriff to her skimpy hip-hugger briefs. As she walked passed, he turned to unashamedly linger on her pert little rear and her graceful, Lycra-clad legs ending in sexy ankle boots. Haughtily she tossed her dark brown tresses and put a little extra wiggle in her step. You have to get used to that sort of thing when you wear a costume like this.

In the main lobby, twenty or so couples were having drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Most had come to the costume party either as historical or mythical figures, apart from one guy dressed like Death in a flowing black hooded robe. The Fox scanned the crowd and almost immediately spotted a blonde girl sheathed in the white, ankle-length gown of a Greek goddess. "JayTee?" she asked. "Is that YOU?"

"Tonight I'm Venus, the goddess of love!" the girl replied as the two of them briefly hugged. "I'm glad you could make it!"

The Fuchsia Fox complacently stroked her elegant silk gloves. "The assistant curator did ask me as a personal favor if I'd drop by. How about you? Are you with someone?"

"My Adonis is around here someplace." She pointed out a lean man standing by the buffet table, wearing sandals, a laurel wreath in his hair and a knee-length male version of essentially the same Greek costume. "That's him. The one with the gorgeous legs."

"Rowr!" the superheroine murmured appreciatively. "It's a good thing I've already got a boyfriend, or I might steal him from you."

"Watch your step, sister," Venus retorted. "Lay one finger on my guy, and we'll soon see how invincible you really are! Hang on a sec and I'll go get him."

After the girl had left her, the Fox stood watching over the party. Suddenly an electrical ZAP! sound came from the entrance hall behind her. Seconds later, six big muscular men charged into the lobby and then spread out so that they could cover the crowd. They were dressed alike in gray jumpsuits and jackets, and carrying automatic pistols. The last two, armed with stun wands, were dragging the desk guard between them. These two dropped his unconscious body on the floor and drew Mini-Uzi submachineguns from under their jackets. "Everybody do as you're told," announced the biggest of the intruders, "and maybe you'll all live through the night!"

Feeling kind of cocky, the Fuchsia Fox launched herself forward, and unexpectedly had her wrists seized by two of the thugs. "Hey! Get your hands off of me," the stunning heroine said, struggling in the strong grip of the two men as they lifted her bodily off the floor. Her long, pantyhose-clad legs flailed as she tried to concentrate on escaping their hold. The leader of the gang jumped into the fray, quickly stripping off her gold bracelets and throwing them aside.

The party crowd watched in stunned silence as the Fuchsia Fox was taken prisoner. As they began to murmur in confusion and panic, the three other museum security guards who were on duty pushed their way through them, drawing their Taser sidearms. The gang leader grabbed the heroine by the waist and spun her slim, scantily-clad body around. As the girl squeaked in terror, he held her in front of him, pressing his Uzi to her head. "Don't try it, rentacops, or the sassy little superchick gets it!"

The guard in front was Artie Zuniga, usually the night watchman. "Okay, okay, don't get excited guy," he said soothingly, as he and the other guards surrendered their weapons. The criminals handcuffed their hands behind them and sat them down against the wall.

The leader of the gang regarded the arrangements with satisfaction, holding his Uzi ready while his other hand idly roamed over the Fuchsia Fox's tight young body, fondling her nubile breasts, his fingers caressing the bumps of her nipples through the thin fabric of her spandex costume. After a while, the hand wandered down her bare midriff and over her scanty little briefs, reaching between her thighs to stroke her snatch. "I've always wanted to take a superheroine hostage," he grinned.

"Please... please don't hurt me," the helpless girl whimpered, shivering with fright. This couldn't be happening to her! Held powerless against his muscular body, she could feel his man sausage getting hard inside his pants, pressing against her butt.

The initial shock of the attack having subsided, the costumed partygoers let themselves be herded into a group, thinking that hopefully the gang would just take their money and leave without hurting anyone else. Teddy Roosevelt, in his khaki San Juan Hill uniform, elbowed his way to the front. "I'm Christopher Grayson, the assistant curator. What do you want of us?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Dr. Grayson?" said a high, nasal voice. The guy dressed as the Grim Reaper threw aside his black robe to reveal that underneath he was wearing a baggy silver jumpsuit, with a bulky black utility belt and a strangely shaped helmet.

Tech Man! Suddenly things were not so simple!

very nice start if you want i could commission some one to draw fushia fox over at deviant art

Kamenrider wrote:very nice start if you want i could commission some one to draw fushia fox over at deviant art

That's an interesting offer. I'll have to take a look.

Er... How can say this? I just looked at some of the deviant art pictures you posted earlier, and they don't really look like my style. Huge boobs are not my thing.

Chapter 2 --

Over by the buffet table, Adonis (otherwise known as Martin Fletcher) took the opportunity to gently take the arm of the blonde girl dressed as Venus. "We're in trouble, angel," he whispered in her ear. "The Fuchsia Fox would come in handy about now... the real one I mean. Who is that in the costume, anyway?"

"Her name is Sharon," Jennifer Traylor whispered back, adjusting the loose strap that kept sliding off her bare shoulder. "She's in one of my classes."

Fletcher had a calculating look on his face. "If I create a diversion, do you think you could make it to the ladies room?"

"Er... I'm afraid not, hon," his girlfriend replied sheepishly. "I left my purse locked in your car, remember? That's where my costume and my bracelets are. Without them, I wouldn't be much help." It was a little bit embarrassing to be the most powerful superheroine in the city and yet unable to do anything.

Tech Man drew a silver ray pistol and took Dr. Grayson towards the main staircase. "Hey you," he called over his shoulder. "Start collecting the loot."

The biggest of the thugs, still holding the frightened Sharon in front of him, spoke up. "Spike! I'm called Spike."

"Whatever," said Tech Man impatiently. For a second, the villain ogled the girl dressed like the Fuchsia Fox as if he wanted to say more, but he thought better of it. "Keep everyone together. Shoot anyone who even looks like they're using a cell phone."

"You heard the boss, guys," said Spike. Setting his Uzi down on a convenient display case, he turned his own attention to the girl in the skimpy spandex outfit. Stripping off the long elbow length gloves that came with her costume, he used them to tie her wrists together in front of her. That done, he snaked his arms around her lissom waist and held her close while he ran his tongue along her bare shoulder, relishing the shiver of fear that rippled through her body. "Oh yeah we're going to have fun!"

Jennifer bit her lip, wishing there was something she could do. "Martin, this doesn't make sense," she whispered softly, as three of the hoodlums began collecting wallets and valuables. "How much money and jewelry do you bring to a Halloween party? Tech Man must be after something else."

Fletcher was staring at the Uzi like a cat at a canary, measuring his chances of getting his hands on it. "It's a museum, isn't it?"

"It's a museum of history and technology," Jennifer replied. "Sure there are a lot of priceless antiques, but how much could six guys make off with while at the same time guarding a lot of hostages?"

***

At the top of the staircase, out of earshot, Grayson was confronting the supervillain. "Don't play games, Tech Man. What is it you want?"

The nerdy supervillain holstered his ray gun. "I don't know... World Peace, a solution for Global Warming, a new Star Trek movie that doesn't suck... but right now I'll settle for the key to the sub-basement."

The assistant curator's face froze in shock. How had Tech Man found out about that? Then he automatically shook his head. "I can't do that."

"It's up to you, doc," the villain replied. "The longer we wait, the more restless those punks are going to get. And they're not known for their good manners. Do you want them to start shooting?" Grayson glanced over the railing. Down in the lobby, Spike seemed to be enjoying himself with the girl dressed like a superheroine.

***

"Please... I'll do anything you want," Sharon squeaked, as the thug hoisted her tail up onto the display case and roughly spread her legs apart.

"That's okay, sweetcheeks," Spike replied with a wolfish grin as his hands roamed up and down her pantyhose-sheathed inner thighs. "I like it better when you struggle."

Jennifer watched Martin's shoulders tense. She knew her boyfriend pretty well. Outnumbered or not, there was no way he was going to just stand by and watch this much longer. After a second he impulsively turned and pressed his car keys into her hands. "Just in case you get the chance, angel," he whispered, and kissed her hand.

"Martin..." she blurted, feeling even more helpless. How could she talk him out of risking his neck for a girl he didn't even know? Should she even try? It suddenly dawned on her that this must be exactly the way he felt every time he watched her change into her superheroine costume and fly off to the rescue. "Um... Be careful, okay? Please don't get yourself killed."

He gave her a wink and turned away.

Spike flicked open a switchblade knife, enjoying the fresh look of terror in Sharon's face as he let the cold metal of the blade slide down the skin of her bare neck. "Now superbabe, let's see about peeling you out of your underoos, shall we?" As the girl whimpered, he slipped the knife blade down her cleavage, slowly cutting through the fabric of her halter top. The other five members of the gang were spread out so that they could guard the crowd, but they couldn't help turning in her direction to watch...

And that was when Fletcher made a grab for the Uzi. As luck would have it, one of the hoodlums shifted his position at random at the last second and stepped in the way. Fletcher caught the man's gun arm, executed a nearly flawless disarm maneuver, simultaneously bringing his knee upwards hard into the thug's diaphragm. "why don't you dorks pick on somebody who can fight back?" Martin announced, as he let him drop to the floor, gasping for breath.

The silence in the room was ominous as the five remaining thugs formed a loose circle around Fletcher. "Look at the pretty boy," said Spike, taking his hands away from Sharon as he sneered at Fletcher's Adonis costume. "I like messing up pretty boys almost as much as I like playing with chicks in spandex."

***

Jennifer saw her chance while everyone was distracted by the fight. Thanks to months as Dr. Grayson's student, she knew the museum like the back of her hand. She slipped through the doorway in a heartbeat. A quick turn to the left, a turn back to the right, and she was in the northeast Age of Industry wing, dodging in and out of antique automobiles. This part of the museum was a dead end; if the intruders noticed she was missing, they could easily find her again. But in the far corner next to the Henry Ford display was a big ventilator duct. Quietly she pried off the cover.

The shaft was dark and scary looking and VERY narrow, but thank goodness Jennifer was thin. She looked down with a heavy sigh. Her Goddess of Love dress was white. Grimacing in dismay at the thought of what all the dust inside the duct was going to do to it, she discarded her blonde wig so that it wouldn't get in her way, shaking out her short brunette hair. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and squeezed herself inside the duct. Trying to keep her butt down, Jennifer inched herself forward with her hands and elbows, her sinuous body wriggling along like a snake in its burrow.

Chapter 3 --

Martin sized up the situation. Even if he got hold of a gun, a firefight would mean someone would surely get hit by stray bullets. He was going to have to use the gang's sadism against them and do his best to keep this strictly a fistfight. Suddenly he pivoted on his left foot and struck out with a lateral kick to the thug behind him. Unfortunately the man was expecting it and blocked his foot.

Rolling with the blow, Fletcher continued his spin into the guy next to him, catching HIM by surprise with a forearm to his throat. As the man went down, two more took his place. Suddenly Fletcher could see nothing but a hurricane of fists in the air. His only chance was to keep moving, desperately trying to twist out of their grasp, hitting back whenever he got the chance, and at all costs keeping their attention on him for as long as possible...

***

Perspiring freely in her thin white dress, Jennifer took a sharp right angle turn and gasped as a hot air current suddenly hit her in the face! It was an updraft from a vertical shaft just in front of her. Holding Martin's keys clenched between her teeth, she painfully worked her lithe body across the gap, wincing as the hot draft seemed to go right through the delicate gossamer costume. Soon afterward she found a grill looking down into the service entrance. Nobody was in sight! Battering at it with the heels of her hands loosened the grill, and the girl pushed her upper body through the opening.

And there she got stuck! The long skirt of her costume had somehow gotten snagged on something. Jennifer tugged and tugged. She could hear the fabric tear but it refused to come loose! She almost cried with exasperation. "Oh I am SO not getting my deposit back on this thing," she muttered, as she reached behind her and unhooked her dress. Desperately she peeled the shoulder straps over her arms, panting from the effort in the enclosed space. Then she slipped headfirst through the opening into the loading dock, wearing only her bra and panties!

***

In the basement, Grayson opened a hidden panel and inserted a magnetic key card. The security door slid back to reveal a staircase. At Tech Man's prodding, he led the way down. Another use of the key card opened a second door which revealed a wide cement-lined tunnel, stretching away into the darkness lit by occasional dim yellow service lamps. On the wall to the right was faded yellow sign with three black triangles arranged in a circle. "I don't know what you want here," the curator said. "There's nothing down here but an old fallout shelter. It hasn't even been used since the 70s."

"You'd be surprised, Dr. Grayson," the villain replied.

***

Martin's face was a mass of cuts and bruises, but inwardly he was feeling pretty good. He hadn't managed to put a single one of his attackers down for the count, because every time he dropped one, the others took over and gave him a chance to recover. But he was holding his own, and that wasn't too bad against men who outweighed him by 50 pounds.

Then Spike waved the others back to a respectful distance. "Okay pretty boy! Just you and me!" He was armed with a stun wand. It looked like a flexible rubberized rod about two feet long, but the business end was a thin blue spark of electricity suspended between two prongs. Fletcher sucked in gulps of air as he stared at it. If that thing touched him even once, he could kiss this fight goodbye!

Spike warily approached, making a series of quick jabs with the wand. Fletcher dodged, watching for any opening he could use to slip inside the hoodlum's guard. A wide overhand swipe very nearly tagged him. Fletcher heard the high whine of the current as the prong passed only inches from his ear. He ducked, whirled around and managed to grab Spike's wrist. But the thug slammed his other elbow into Fletcher's neck, sending him sagging to his knees.

"Don't pass out on me yet, sweetums," said the badguy, grabbing Fletcher's jaw with one hand while raising the stun wand with the other. "I'm not finished with you."

"I'd say you ARE! Stop it right there!" interrupted a defiant female voice.

Everyone in the room turned to look. Martin smiled. Standing framed in the doorway to the entrance hall was an incredibly sexy feminine vision in reddish-purple spandex -- the Fuchsia Fox! Only this Fox wasn't cowering in fright. She was standing with an extremely arrogant look on her face, her long legs planted, her hands on her hips, her lustrous brunette hair tossing around her exquisite shoulders. She looked like a supermodel posing for a Victoria's Secret commercial.

"Another babe wants to play superchick?" Spike sneered. "Micky, Tran, go and drag her cute little ass over here."

But the stunning superheroine haughtily strode across the lobby on her own, her gorgous hips swaying seductively as she walked. The circle of thugs parted in silence and then closed again, entrapping her and Fletcher in the center. The Fox glanced with some concern at Martin, whose face was still held in the gang leader's grip, but he gave her a reassuring nod. "Let him go," she said. "Now you're dealing with the REAL Fuchsia Fox, and you guys don't stand a chance."

The gang stirred uneasily, but Spike himself seemed unperturbed, shifting his position so that he was standing behind the kneeling Fletcher, one hand still tightly gripped around his throat. "Really? You just outsmarted yourself then, superbabe, because I've got pretty boy here hostage!" To emphasize that he meant business, the villain brought the electric prongs of the stun wand within an inch or two of Martin's face!

Jennifer's eyes went wide in alarm! She hadn't bargained for this! Applied to the right spot, the wand could probably cause permanent nerve damage, if not kill him outright! She couldn't stop herself from blurting out, "Please! You wouldn't!"

Spike made a nasty face. "Like you say, I don't have a chance against the real Fuchsia Fox in a fair fight. Trouble is I don't fight fair! Surrender! Take off whatever it is that gives you your superpowers, or I'll hurt him!"

The Fox folded her arms underneath her bust, shifting her weight from one leg to the other as she considered what to do. Anything was worth it if it saved Martin's life! "If... if I do surrender, what are you going to do to me?"

A ripple of nasty lecherous laughter went around the ring of badguys. "What do you think?" said Spike, confident that he held all the cards. "You're going to get gangbanged, superchick! Start taking off your clothes right now! Do it or I'll scramble pretty boy's brains!"

Jennifer took a deep breath, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. There really wasn't any choice! As the criminals, the museum security guards, and the twenty couples at the Halloween party looked on, their eyes following every movement, softly the Fox reached for the nape of her neck where her halter top was fastened...

Chapter 4 --

Nobody could be quite sure what happened next.

Spike had been staring at the Fuchsia Fox's breasts, nearly salivating in anticipation of seeing her luscious pair of B-cups au naturel. The next thing he knew, the hand he was using to hold the stun wand was grabbed and wrenched upwards so hard his shoulder dislocated, while simultaneously a dainty female fist slammed into his abs. The pain was so intense, he hardly noticed when he was picked up and hurled into his gang.

Two of the others grabbed the sexy superheroine from behind, seizing her wrists. With a disdainful smirk, the Fox simply kicked her slim legs straight up, twisting out of their grasp as she performed a perfect backwards somersault and ended up behind them. As they turned to try and nab her again, she punched one in the stomach and brought her knee upwards into the other's balls. They both fell at her feet, groaning.

Another thug charged her with the other stun wand, jamming its prongs into the Fox's chest, where it arced harmlessly against her force shield. Slapping the weapon out of his hand, the sassy superheroine grabbed him by the collar and tossed him across the room, where he crashed into a plexiglass display case.

The men at the party, seeing the tables turned, jumped into action at this point, nabbing the remaining two hoodlums as they went for their automatic pistols. The Fuchsia Fox smiled at them. "Thanks for the help, guys!"

"Not so fast!" said Spike. In spite of the pain of his dislocated shoulder, he had managed to drag himself over to one of the Uzis. He was now holding it with his left hand pointed at the beautiful superheroine. "Do you think you can take an entire clip of 9 mil ammunition, superbabe?"

The Fox turned cautiously to face the gang leader. "Er... I'm not sure," she said uncertainly. "To tell you the truth, I'd rather not find out..."

Spike grinned as he pushed himself to his feet. "Well, unless you'd like me to try it and see... surrender!"

"What happens if I do?" the Fox asked. "Will you let the hostages go?"

"No deals," the criminal replied, holding the gun steady on her. "Crawl over here and beg me for mercy, or I'll blow you away right now."

Just about then, there was a shriek of feminine fury as Sharon launched herself on Spike from behind. "No! Leave her alone, you bully!" Leaping on his back, she looped her wrists, still tied, around his throat, kicking at his torso with her feet. Almost by accident, she slammed his dislocated arm, causing him to drop screaming to his knees.

The Fox darted over to disarm the badguy and pry the girl off of him. "Thank you for rescuing me from that goon," she said, gently untying Sharon's wrists. Actually, she already knew that her force shield could handle up to 50 caliber armor-piercing bullets, but the other girl didn't need to know that.

"Me? Rescue you?" Sharon replied, wiping tears from her face as she sheepishly looked down at the costume she was wearing. "But you're the Fuchsia Fox! I was just..."

"You were a heroine," the Fox said.

"You can say that again," said Fletcher, slipping up beside her.

Jennifer bit her lip, barely holding back a cry of distress at the sight of all the cuts and bruises on his sweet face. If she gave in to her tender feelings, she would be holding him and kissing him all over, but she couldn't let that happen while other people were around. "Are you badly injured, sir?" she asked solicitously. "Should I fly you to the hospital?"

"I'll live," Fletcher replied. "Thanks to you."

"I don't know if I've ever mentioned my theory," said the Fox, "that men tend to lower their guard when a sexy girl is involved. They expect us to be naturally submissive."

"I think you did mention it," Fletcher remarked.

"I mean, I was backed into a corner," the superheroine continued. "If I had surrendered, I would not only have been putting myself at his mercy, I would have been throwing away your only chance of being rescued. Plus the villain could STILL kill you if he felt like it! Faced with that possibility, I had nothing to lose by attacking."

Fletcher realized that she felt guilty for putting his life in danger. "I understand," he said gently. "Really I do."

The other men had released the museum security guards, who were now taking charge of the gang. "Nice seeing you again, Fox," said Arthur Zuniga, the nightwatchman.

"Sorry you had to sit on the floor so long, Artie," the sassy superheroine replied. "Um... does anyone know where Tech Man went?"

***

At the security desk, it took Zuniga only a minute or two to cycle through all the security cameras and ascertain that neither Tech Man nor Dr. Grayson were anywhere in the building. "So they're outside somewhere," said the Fox, her arms folded under her bust.

"Maybe not," Zuniga replied. Minutes later the three of them -- Zuniga, Fletcher (now armed with an automatic pistol taken from the criminals), and the Fuchsia Fox -- were in the basement, where the security doors were still locked in the open position.

"where does this go?" asked Fletcher, peering into the long, dimly lit tunnel. He had taken the opportunity to discard his torn and blood-stained Adonis costume, keeping only the tshirt and khaki shorts he had been wearing underneath it.

"I don't know," said Zuniga. "But it's heading north. And do you know what's across the avenue from the museum?"

The Fox sighed in sudden comprehension, her hands resting on her hips. "The U.S. Customs Service."

and the plot thickens

Chapter 5 --

Grayson was surprised at how far the tunnel went. They had walked past empty storage rooms and barracks rooms, with row upon row of rusting bed frames. Finally they gone through a four way intersection, and just past that the tunnel ended with another security door, which Grayson's magnetic key refused to open. "Dead end, I guess," said the curator.

Humming the "Star Wars Theme", the supervillain unclipped a square black device from his utility belt and jacked it in to the keypad. A few seconds later, having run through all possible combinations, the door clicked and slid back. They found themselves in clean, modern, well-lit bank vault. After Tech Man worked his technological magic, two long drawers unlocked and slid open. "Here, make yourself useful," the villain ordered, drawing his pistol again and tossing the curator a folded nylon bag.

Grayson had no choice. He began to fill the large bag with diamonds.

***

Zuniga hung up his cell phone. "I can't get through to the Customs Service. Can't call the police either. It sounds like the entire D.C. phone system has gone haywire."

"Three guesses who's responsible for that," the Fuchsia Fox commented.

"I suppose it's up to us then," added Fletcher.

By way of an answer, the Fox started running down the tunnel. The two men, enjoying the view of her gorgeous tush bobbing just in front of them sheathed in her tight spandex briefs, tried hard to keep up. But the Fox's long legs quickly left them behind. She got to the four way intersection just as Tech Man was emerging from the Customs Service vault, carrying a bulging black nylon bag.

"You again?" the supervillain whined as he caught sight of her incredibly shapely form. "Can't a guy even steal a measly few million bucks worth of diamonds without a snooty superbabe getting in the way?"

"I guess not, Dork Man," the Fox replied, planting her fists on her trim, seductive waist. "You know how this is going to go. You don't have a prayer. Why not give up and save us both a lot of trouble?"

"Excuse me if I give it the old college try anyhow," the villain retorted. He unclipped a small black object from his belt, about the size and shape of a softball, and set it rolling across the concrete floor towards her.

Expecting a bomb of some kind, Jennifer put up her force shield. But as the object rolled to a stop, it let out an ear-splitting siren shriek of ultrasonic waves. "Unnnnngh!" Wincing from the pain, the Fox clamped her hands over her ears, but it didn't help at all. The very bones of her skull seemed to be vibrating in harmony with the screaming klaxon. Her pretty knees wobbled as her sense of balance went out of kilter. Feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach, the sexy superheroine splayed her alluring legs in an attempt to stay upright, but her high heels skidded. The Fox slammed into the concrete wall and slid face down to the cold floor. She could only watch helplessly as Tech Man, instead of running past her the way she had come, slipped down a side corridor and vanished.

Fletcher and Zuniga arrived, immediately falling victim to the ultrasonic impulses. Because they were at the extreme edge of its range however, Fletcher managed to stay on his feet long enough to bring up his gun. It took him two shots, but he hit the object and silenced it. A few seconds later, he was kneeling beside the Fuchsia Fox, helping her up. "Are you okay, angel?"

"Yeah, I think so," the beautiful superlady panted, briefly savoring the feel of his arms around her lissom body. "That's what I get for being cocky."

Just past the intersection, Zuniga found the entrance to the vault, where Dr. Grayson was tied up with a length of black cable. "Tech Man attached some kind of black box to the computer terminal," the curator said as Zuniga untied him. "I think he uploaded some kind of program."

"That's what we figured," the night watchman said, as he turned to the Fuchsia Fox. "Grayson and I will see what we can do with that, if you want to go after Tech Man."

"I'm on it," the spunky superheroine said, and darted off down the side corridor, with Fletcher right behind her.

The new corrider was much narrower, only wide enough for one person at a time. It was also pitch dark. The Fox had to feel her way slowly so she didn't miss her footing. She could feel the warmth of Fletcher's body just behind her, and his heavy breathing on her neck. "Give me your hand, angel," he murmured.

"Martin, that's NOT my hand," she said wryly. In the dark, she could feel his right palm resting on her bottom, fingers exploring the flimsy spandex valley in between her butt cheeks. His middle finger continued downward into more intimate regions, where his touch made her feel moist and submissive. "How can you possibly be thinking of sex at a time like this?"

"I can't help it! Blame it on your costume." She could hear the smile in his voice as his other hand cupped her breast and he pressed his body more firmly against her.

"Martin, please..." In imminent danger of giving in to him, the Fox was grateful when a thunderous rumbling noise interrupted them. It was the distinctive sound of a subway train passing nearby. "Come on!" she called, breaking out of his clutches.

Abruptly the concrete wall to the left was replaced by a railing. A few seconds later, the tunnel turned right where a short flight of steps led them onto a brightly lit Washington Metro platform. A train was stopped with its doors open, a few late night passengers getting on and off. Far, far ahead, Tech Man was boarding the first car.

Leaving Fletcher behind, the Fox sprinted along the nearly deserted platform, dodging passengers and hurdling over obstacles. Flexing her long, graceful legs, she leaped into the second car just before the doors snapped shut and the train departed. The stunning superheroine caught her balance as she looked around. A handful of passengers looked back at her in surprise. She pushed through the doors into the leading car.

Tech Man, standing by the controls, turned and raised his hands. "Okay okay, I know when I'm licked! I give up!"

The Fox stood in the middle of the empty subway car, planting her hands on her hips suspiciously. Was it going to be that easy? "Drop your utility belt, then."

Slowly the villain unlatched his belt, kneeling down on one knee to lay it on the floor at Jennifer's feet. At the last second, he gave the belt a toss, then stepped back out of reach. Instantly the belt looped itself around the stunning superheroine's exquisite ankles and latched with an electronic buzz. At the same time, two small explosive charges drove anchors into the steel floor of the train. "What do you think you're doing?" the Fox demanded, giving the manacle an experimental tug.

"Don't bother trying to break it," Tech Man said smugly, as his hand returned to the engine's controls. "That's fullerine cable. Even Supergirl would have a hard time breaking that, and you're no Supergirl."

Chapter 6 --

The Fuchsia Fox struggled to break free of Tech Man's manacles, but the trap had caught her with her feet less than three inches apart, and it was impossible to get any leverage. She sat down on the floor to see what she could do, but unfortunately the villain was right -- the synthetic was too tough and the anchors too solidly placed. Tech Man ignored her, fiddling with a black box he had connected to the train's automated control panel. "How do you plan to go back and pick up your henchmen?" she asked.

"Who? Spike and the boys?" the villain smirked over his shoulder. "Their only job was to keep everyone's attention on them, and they did that splendidly."

Having finished what he was doing to the controls, he closed the door to the control compartment and used his laser raygun to weld it shut. He stood there for a second staring hungrily at the superheroine's long, lean, scantily clad body. "You know, all the time I was in stir, I dreamed about what I'd do to you if I captured you again!"

The Fox scoffed. "In stir? You were in a minimum security prison at Falls Church, Tech Man. And you were only there three months before you escaped!"

"The principle is the same," the villain grumbled. "And now this train is about to have a tragic accident. With the virus I put into the control system, they won't be able to shut off the power. It's going to crash through the barrier and plunge into the Anacostia River at about 88 miles an hour. Once they finally sort things out, everyone will assume that poor Tech Man perished in the crash and his body was washed away along with the diamonds... I wonder what kind of obituary I'll get?"

The Fox suddenly stopped struggling and looked up aghast as the downside to this plan sunk in. SHE was manacled to the train! "I don't like the idea of killing you, Fox," the villain went on. "But I can't have you interfering in all my plans like this."

Jennifer frantically yanked at the cable again, but it was useless. She sat there for a moment stroking her smooth bare legs. Her force shield had protected her from bullets, knives, bomb shrapnel, flames, toxic smoke, and electrical jolts. She felt her heartbeat racing as it dawned on her that even she couldn't survive a train wreck! There was a lump in her throat as she realized that she would never see Martin again, never hold him, never tell him how much she loved him. She was blinking back tears now... If she didn't get hold of herself, any second she was going to disgrace herself by blubbering like a baby and pleading with Tech Man to let her go...

"But... the passengers?" she blurted out. "In the train. You can't let them die too, just to get rid of me! Please, I'm begging you! Have mercy on them, if not on me!"

Tech Man considered it. "Okay, just to show you what a nice guy I am..." Taking care to stay out of the helpless superheroine's reach, he walked around her to the rear of the car. He found a control box and threw some switches. "I've uncoupled the other cars. Their own inboard computers will stop them at the next station normally. Satisfied?"

"Thank you," the Fox breathed. At that very moment, it occured to her that there was something she could offer Tech Man in exchange for her life. The very idea was humiliating, but... what did it matter, if she was going to die?

Suddenly the doors behind Tech Man crashed open, and Fletcher came tumbling through. As the villain whirled around, Martin kicked the silver raygun out of his hand, following up with a punch to his jaw. Unfortunately his fist was cushioned by the cheekpiece of Tech Man's helmet. The nerdy badguy stumbled backwards but didn't fall. Instead, he struck back with a flying disc he plucked from his jumpsuit. It caught Martin on the forehead and dropped him to the floor.

"Who are you supposed to be?" the villain said, picking up his raygun and levelling it at the new arrival.

"Are you alright, Martin?" the Fox asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Fletcher replied, nursing the fresh bruise. "My only regret is that I dropped my gun when I jumped for the train."

"Isn't that too bad," Tech Man sneered, raising the raygun and taking aim at him. "But another corpse in the wreckage won't make a lot of difference..."

"Dork Man?" the Fox said sweetly. "You talk too much!" Ripping one of the seats from its moorings, she threw it at him, catching the villain in the chest. His head snapped back and he slammed into the wall of the subway car, already out cold.

"Thanks for the rescue," said Martin, hurrying to her side. His hands caressed her legs and found the manacles firmly clamped around her ankles. "Hey, what's all this?"

Quickly the stunning superheroine explained the situation to him. Fletcher jerked uselessly at the cable. "Wait a second wait a second," he said. "There's got to be a way out of this. How was Tech Man planning to get off the train?"

Just then the electric hum of the train's engine changed pitch. The car smoothly braked to a halt beside an empty service platform, and the doors on either side hissed open. Fletcher raced to the control compartment. Through the transparent window, he could see the device Tech Man had attached to the control panel, but although he hammered on the door, he couldn't get to it. "It's a pre-programmed stop," he said. "Looks like we've got about forty-five seconds." Grabbing the nylon bag with the diamonds, he tossed it outside onto the platform.

"Tech Man too, hon," Jennifer said. "Even he doesn't deserve to die like this."

Fletcher dragged the unconscious villain outside. Soon he was back kneeling at the Fox's ankles, struggling helplessly to get her free. The seconds were ticking by.

Jennifer swallowed hard. "Martin, you've got to leave me! Please?"

The agony in his face nearly broke her heart. "Tell me you can survive a train wreck," he moaned. "Look me in the eye and tell me!"

"Of course I can!" she replied. "I... I'm the Fuchsia Fox!" But her face was looking down at her lap.

Martin tilted her chin up, seeing the wet tracks of tears on her cheeks. "That's what I thought," he said quietly, pulling her close and tenderly stroking her hair. "I can't leave you like this, Jen."

"Listen to me, you big stupid ape!" she blurted, her voice cracking with emotion as she angrily pushed him off of her. "Get off the train! Do you think I want you to die along with me?"

"I'm... NOT... leaving you!"

"Yes, you are," she said, taking a deep breath and shoving him hard. She had timed it perfectly. He sailed through the doorway and landed on top of Tech Man, just as the doors snapped shut again. Through the blur of her tears, she could see him start to scramble to his feet as the train accelerated away from the platform, carrying her away from him into the darkness of the subway tunnel.

Chapter 7 --

How do you say goodbye to your life? Jennifer could feel the train steadily picking up speed, lurching a little as it rounded the curves in the track. She was grateful that she couldn't see the track ahead, or see the speedometer on the control panel. She took one last look at the generic red, white and blue interior of the Metro train and decided that she'd rather close her eyes and wait for the end.

"Oh Ishtar!" she whispered. "I'm so sorry! Maybe your next champion will be smarter than I was! Maybe..."

A female voice answered, not in her head but right there beside her as plain as day. "Do not despair, my daughter."

Jennifer opened her eyes, and she was no longer in the doomed train. She seemed to be standing on top of a Sumerian ziggurant or pyramid, at dusk as the bright evening stars were coming out. And at the same time, she seemed to be inside an enclosed chamber that was neither stone nor metal, but some smooth material in between, with a transparent round window looking out at the stars. Jennifer didn't understand how it could be both at once, but she figured that if she was dreaming, it didn't have to make sense.

The woman who had spoken was dressed in a form-fitting sapphire blue bodysuit, with a necklace of jewels at her throat and a delicate crown on her head. Her hair was brunette, a little lighter in color than Jennifer's. She was so beautiful that looking at her was addictive; you knew that as soon as she was gone, you would ache to see her again. There could be no doubt who she was. Jennifer felt as if she should kneel or something, but her body seemed frozen in place.

All of a sudden, her Fuchsia Fox costume vanished from her body, leaving her standing there totally naked and vulnerable. It reappeared in the hands of the goddess. She casually dropped Jennifer's halter top and briefs to the floor and held up the bracelets, examining them, weighing them. "Why did you not save yourself, my daughter?"

Jennifer didn't understand the question. "What... what do you think I've been trying to do? I'm not strong enough, not good enough, not..." Her voice trailed off rather than say what else she was thinking. Not worthy enough!

"You begged the man to spare the lives of the vehicle's passengers," the goddess said. "Why did you not beg for your own? You could have offered him your body, the pleasures of the flesh. He would have kept you alive as his slave on those terms."

"I... I suppose I didn't think of it," Jennifer said, blushing. But how could she lie to Ishtar? It had crossed her mind, just before Martin's interruption. There was no doubt that a geek like Tech Man would have jumped at the offer... the Fuchsia Fox his helpless, compliant love doll? Why had she not done it? Was it only her pride?

"A superheroine is supposed to protect others," Jennifer said, surprised at the truth of it. "I didn't think I had the right to beg for that."

The goddess smiled, and if she was beautiful before, she was ten times as beautiful now. She tossed the bracelets into the air, and instantly Jennifer was dressed in her costume again. "Go back then, my daughter, and know that Ishtar is pleased."

"But... but I'm going to be killed! Can't you--?"

"The answer is in front of you, my daughter. Right in front of you..."

And suddenly the Fox was back on the rushing subway train, still shackled, still doomed.

***

Jennifer didn't waste time trying to decide what had happened, whether it had been real or a dream. The subway train was moving faster and faster. There could only be minutes to spare now. What had Ishtar said? "The answer is right in front of you."

But there was nothing! Everything was exactly the same as before! The train rocked a little as it rounded a turn, and something slid out from under one of the seats, right into Jennifer's outstretched hand. It was Tech Man's laser pistol! Desperately she aimed the gun at the cable, but stopped short before pulling the trigger. Wait! She remembered an article she had read. Fullerine cable could no more be melted by a hand laser than it could be broken, at least not in the seconds remaining to her! Quickly she pulled out the gun's power supply instead, and used it to short out the electronic latch that held the cable in place.

It fell off!

Now she was free to punch through the roof and fly away... only the train might still endanger people as it crashed! Without thinking, the Fox drove her fist through the welded door and yanked out Tech Man's control box. For a while, the train kept going, but she could tell by the instruments it was gradually slowing. Grabbing the manual brake lever, she braced her high heeled boot and pulled it back as hard as she could...

***

The vari-colored bubble lights of emergency vehicles were lighting up the night. The train had come out onto an above-ground section of track just before crossing the river. It had derailed anyway, but by then it was only doing about 40 miles an hour, so the safety barrier held and no great harm was done. Emerging from the smoking remains, the Fuchsia Fox was surrounded by police, emergency technicians, and reporters before she could get away.

Haltingly she tried to explain what had happened. Most of Tech Man's gang had been caught at the Museum of American History and Technology. As far as Tech Man himself...

"Tech Man was taken into custody by transit cops at the Becker Street Metro station," a male voice called over the crowd. And there was Martin, pushing his way to her side! Jennifer was so relieved!

It was almost an hour later before the two of them could get away. "Happy Halloween," Fletcher said as they walked down the street. "It's nearly midnight. Do you think the party's still going on at the museum?"

"I hope so," the Fox replied. "We'll sneak in by the service entrance. You've got to see if you can get my Venus costume out of the ventilator duct."

Fletcher cocked an eyebrow at her. He wasn't even going to ask. "Are you going to tell me how you got out of Tech Man's death trap?"

"Not just now. I'm still trying to absorb it. Right now I want to dance, stuff myself with horrible Halloween party food, then let you take me home."

"What's the rush?" he asked innocently.

She turned to face him. Standing very close, she touched her fingers to his manly chest, feeling so warm and so sensual under his thin tshirt. "Because, buster, you are SO getting laid tonight!"

>>>>>>>the end