Useless: Male Superhero in a Reverse World
Chapter 23

The Bent Quark Collider at CERN was an ambitious project taken on by the European Union.  The project had run its course and it was discovered that bent quarks did not, in fact, exist.  The collider was aimed for shut down in the next three years and Dr. Henrietta Maw was looking for options.

Dr. Maw saw the Large Hadron Collider being developed in Jiangsu China as her prime option.  This collider, which would in fact nearly span the entire province, was now going to be the epicenter of particle physics for some time.    She was a shoo-in as a manager in some respect for the new facility, but the opening of that collider and the closure of the one she was currently working at meant she had a span of two years in which she would do no smashing of anything.

The professor thought about a sabbatical and about writing a pop-sci book about particle physics. ‘Dr. Maw’s Guide To Breaking Small Things’ was the title she had sloshing around in her head.  She wasn’t exactly scared of the future, but it wasn’t exactly a cakewalk.

After finishing her microwaved lunch in the breakroom one night, she reached for the card again.  The card was handed to her when she was at a house of ill repute by a woman named Tanya.  After telling Tanya about her work as a night manager at CERN, she said she could make things happen for Henrietta, and that she had friends in high places.  What struck her was that Tanya seemed rich enough to not have one or two guys, but three fit guys all over her at the club.  She practically talked to Maw while the men crawled all over her.  Henrietta had to walk away after getting her card because it was overstimulating.

The card simply said “Tanya” in bold letters, and a phone number for somewhere in France.  While not a home run, it might just be the bridge to get her enough income to head to China in a few years, when the new collider was complete.

The physicist did a loop of the offices in the control building of the collider, taking a pace that indicated she was mulling over something important and concerning.  Her associates knew to avoid her during these times because she was often so far inside her own head that she simply didn’t respond to questions.

The urge to call rose within her as she ruminated over her future and the course of events that would likely happen.  She catastrophized how awful it would be to not have a job, and how much of a disappointment she would be to her mother.  Just one call could end all that.  After finishing her cup of coffee she went to her office and pulled out her cell phone.

Two rings later that seductive eastern european voice she was familiar with answered. “This is Tanya.”

“Tanya, hi, this is Henrietta.  I was wondering if we could talk about your offer of help.”

“I’ll be down at the end of your shift.  We’ll drop you back after our chat.”  The phone call ended.  Well, that was abrupt.

True to her word, Tanya was there in a stretched SUV limousine.  Henrietta threw her bag in her car and walked to the limo.  When she opened the door Tanya was sitting with two athletic men with long hair that ran down their necks.  While they smiled and looked great, something seemed missing from their eyes.  Next to her she had two thin blankets.

“Come get in.  We have much to discuss.”

Dr. Maw slid into the back seat and the limo drove off.  Tanya didn’t look at all tired this late at night, the sky was turning that grey blue color before dawn.

Maw was a little nervous.  “So I had done some thinking and wanted to hear about your offer for help.  The collider in China is…”

“Cover yourself with this.”  Tanya handed Maw a blanket and then proceeded to cover herself with the other like she was getting her haircut.  She then motioned with her eyes to one man who had curly blond hair.  The man slid under the blanket, not saying a word.  A few moments later, and a few shifts of the blanket, Tanya had a much more relaxed look on her face.

When in Rome… Dr. Maw covered herself in the blanked and tucked it behind her back.  The second man with long black hair and grey eyes crawled towards her and under the blanket.  She was starting to feel this man start to tease her body when Tanya started to speak.

“Dr. Maw, I represent an organization whose mission is to maintain the peace that humanity has known for so long.  That peace is being threatened by self hating women and self righteous men who think they deserve more than all they currently receive.”  Her face went flush.

“I see, some people do have that viewpoint, but I’m not that involved in politics.”  She could feel the buttons on her blouse be popped open one by one.

“And you shouldn’t, you genius.”  Tanya looked out the window. “You are a scientist.  An intelligent woman whose destiny is to unlock the secrets of the universe.  My employer simply wishes to have the opportunity to have access to your facility during certain hours at night.  I’ve heard the collider is barely at twenty percent usage recently.”

“While that is true, it’s highly problematic to have unauthorized access to .. my pussy!  Ah! It feels so hot!”

“Zed is quite the lover, no?”  She sighed. “A few hours once a week for a month.  That’s all we’re asking.  A few of my colleagues want to see your facilities and maybe push a few buttons.  That’s all.  What do you say?”

“Yes!  Oh god yes!”

“Dr. Maw!”

“Huh?  What?”

“I’m willing to lend you some of my boys for your personal use during that period.  I will also offer you one hundred thousand euro when the month is completed.”  She furrowed her brow and then got a stupid grin on her face. “Ah, that was nice Benny, good job.  Right, Dr. Maw, it’s a good deal.  If we are satisfied with the arrangement, we will want to extend the visits into the end of the year.  Your discretion is appreciated in this manner.”

“But there are dozens of engineers and scientists working at the lab.”

“You are the shift manager.  You control the schedule. We ask for a few hours a night.  Everyone loves paid vacation, give them half days.”

“I suppose that could work.”  Dr. Maw was really enjoying what this man was doing under the blanket. She gritted her teeth to not moan.  “I’d get multiple men at my apartment every day during the arrangement?”

“Ha, I never thought you’d be the greedy type.  But yes that can be arranged.”

“Well, I suppose that’s fine then.”  She rolled her eyes and bit her lip.  “When would you need to have the first visit?”

“Two weeks time.  Would Monday at 1 a.m. work for you?”

“That would be fine.”  Henrietta was so very close.  

“Wonderful, and here we are.  This is your car.”  The limo stopped next to Dr. Maw’s beat up hatchback.

“But I’m not finished.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to play when we’ve got our first visit completed.”  Tanya took the blanket off showing the man drenched in sweat and love juice.  “And please send me an address to your preferred crypto wallet.  That’s how we handle things these days.  Keep in touch Dr. Maw.  I think we’ll find this arrangement quite agreeable.”

Henrietta hastily buttoned up her blouse and slipped her panties back on.  The moment she closed the door the limo peeled away.

“Well that’s the biggest case of blue ovaries I’ve ever had.” She muttered as she fumbled for her keys.

…

Sister in Law, Deleria Tremens, and Obsidian walked down a dark alleyway in a grungy part of south side Boston.  Dee and Obi swore up and down to Sister that they knew the right people to talk to about getting information about Hera.  If Hera was active in Boston, these villains would know.  Sister had done her best to disguise herself with subtle prosthetics, while Deleria and Obsidian hoped their cred had not fallen too low since they turned over a new leaf.

Dee was decked out in her full gothic attire and Obsidian got her old biker jacket out of the closet and slicked back her hair with pomade, the chokers they wore complemented their old looks.

Obsidian pointed to a nondescript steel door and thumped it loudly.  A sliding spy hole opened up and a shifty eye darted around.

A voice croaked from behind the door. “I know you two, what about the other one?”

“Fresh meat, old lady.  We’re going to form a trio and this one’s going to be driving getaway and being a lookout.”

“Meh, don’t look like much.”  A sliding bolt sounded in the door and then it swung inside. A cloud of smoke, pink light, and noise poured out onto the alleyway. A woman that looked like E.T. when they crossdressed was silhouetted by strobe lights.  “Come on in, the cover charge is forty.”

“That’s robbery.”  Obi spat.

“That’s what you get when criminals run the club.  Have a pleasant time.”  The old woman waved with too long fingers.

Obsidian came up to the bar and ordered three shots of tequila.  The bartender had that MILF look with a giant rack held up by a skimpy black tank top,  she winked at Obsidian.  “Don’t see you around here much.  Here’s your shots.”

“Do you know if the Vamps are here?”  She handed the two shots to Dee and Sis.

“They’re here every night,  they own the place.  Go to the back behind the bead curtains.” She gave Obi a playful poke.  Deleria glared at the bartender.

“Vamps?”  Sis raised her eyebrow.  “The ones that claim to be vampires?”

Deleria waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about that, it’s all an image.  They’re triplet super villains who just happen to have very acute senses, strength, and agility.  They’re just really sensitive to sunlight.”

“Allright, shots in three, two, one.”  The three covert supes downed their drinks.

Sis coughed.  “Ack, that’s high octane stuff.”

“Baddies hate it when you water down their liquor.”  Dee laughed. “This place is probably the best value in town.”

“I’m sure.”  Sister insta-burned the alcohol and followed her two new friends to the back.  Past the bead curtain three tall women were playing poker.  They were ghostly pale and had hollow cheeks.  Their outfits were made of patent leather and fishnet cloth which advertised their bosom and posterior.  Their haircuts were identical eastern european bob cuts.

“Vat do you vant?”  the left hand side vampire asked.

Deleria scoffed.  “No need for the act Doreen, we know you’re from Dorchester.”

“Fine.”  Doreen now sounded like a local. “What ya want?”

Deleria’s eyes started to shiver. “You three are going to have a civil discussion with us.  We have some questions about a group called Hera.  Would you know anything about them?”

“Sure we do.”  The middle vamp chewed on a toothpick.

Sis laughed. “They’re a talkative bunch.”

Dee cursed under her breath.  “Deep down they know I’m doing something, so they’re only answering what they have to.  Did you help them attack the Institute of Technology recently?   Have they gotten any closer to getting what they want?”

“Yeah we helped them.  We got them the recruits a few months back, but they trained them.  I heard they made them mindless drones.”

“Yah talking out yah ass Doreen.”  The one to the right pointed with a long ruby red fingernail back at Doreen. “Tanya said they just trained them up good.  That’s why they didn’t say nuthin.”

“What have they learned?”

“One of them recruits came back pretty tore up, but still breathing.  Tanya brought her laptop and saw what that girl brought back and ooooh she was pissed.”

“Why?”

“She kept pissing and moaning, that’s not enough!  Not nearly enough, she goes on and on.”

“So they didn’t find anything.”

“Not from the Institute of Technology , no.”  Doreen lit a continental and blew the smoke in Sister’s face.

Sister grimaced. “We’re not learning anything new.”

Deleria leaned into Doreen.  “You have to pee really bad now Doreen.”

“I do, don’t I.”  She started to get up.

“But the urge isn’t going to go away until you tell us if they learned anything since then.”

“Ah crap.”  Doreen started to fidget. “A few days after she said she didn’t need our help anymore.  Said they learned what they needed from someone on the inside.”

“Who?”

“We don’t know, do you think a girl like Tanya would say anything more than that?”

Sister nodded. “Not if they were smart.  Dee, I don’t think we’re going to get blood from a stone.  Let’s head out.”

“Right, Dorren, Iris, Gertrude - it was a pleasure chatting with you.  You don’t have to pee anymore.”  She collected up the deck of cards, shuffled and dealt all the cards to the three of them.  “I want you three to play war.  I want you to keep playing war until the club closes.”

The three vampire poseurs nodded. “Sounds like fun.”

The trio left the club and walked back down the alleyway.  Obsidian kicked a crumpled up beer can down the street as they walked.

Deleria looked worried. “I sorry Sis, that we couldn’t get more intel from them.”

Sis shook her head. “Don’t be so down on yourself.  You got as much out of them as you could, and you’ve given me a lead.  Someone on the inside has been compromised.  Someone with knowledge of Project Equality.  I intend to do some serious detective work to find out who’s been turned.

Just then they heard the old lady yell down the alley. “You bitches!  What did you do to the bosses?!”

Obsidian shook her head. “I knew making them play war was a bad idea.  Why did it have to be war?”

“I felt like they needed to suffer a little after what they did.”  Deleria smiled as the three of them started to sprint to the sports car Sister had brought them in.  A dozen or so thugs ran after them.

“Can I bust some heads Sis?”  Obsidian punched her hand. “I haven’t put the pain on someone for so long.”

Sis shook her head. “Not when it’s easier to just run.  We all need the cardio anyway.”