

#

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# T h e D r y a d

# A novella of love, lust, danger, & superheroes

# Nora Quick

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Published by Nora Quick | Smashwords Edition

Copyright Nora Quick 2015

Cover Art Copyright Nora Quick 2015

# Dedicated to the Joss Whedon Girls. The girls who wanted to be Luke Skywalker, who wanted to be a queen and never a princess, who hungered for adventure and glory in their own name. Now that we're grown up, sometimes it doesn't hurt to have a hero by your side after all.

I wish to thank all of Literotica.com, my fans there, and particularly Laurel and Manu, the owners of the site. You are awesome people and a great community! I also wish to thank my best friend Devin, the only person who has believed in me as a writer in all the time she has known me. I love you girl, and know that whenever you come to kick ass and chew gum, I'll leave the gum at home and bring the baseball bat.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

About the Author

Other Works

Hidden Magic

The Violin Case

Wolf Tales: Volume I

Case of the Missing Millionaire

CHAPTER ONE

"So this is what my life has come to," Raven Keppler muttered as she shivered in the cool autumn night.

"Hey, you think you got it bad?" the being on the ledge next to her asked. He called himself Peter, her frequent fellow "night owl," and he was a mourning dove. "I'm up like three hours after bedtime, these damn blue jays are chasing my kids all over creation, and now you want me to fly _how_ far?"

"Hey, if you do this you can hang out on my balcony any time you want. I have good food and no blue jays."

"Lady, I've been to your place; it's a freakin' zoo. No thanks."

She forced a smile at him though the anxiety over the coming night kept it from blossoming. Peter cocked his head, his beady black eyes softening when he saw her own eyes brimming with unshed tears behind her mask. "Oh, hell, since the kids like you so much, I'll do it."

Raven swallowed the tears when she realized there was a chance she could still pull it off. "Great! There's not much time, so repeat it back to me."

"Jeeze, anal much? Okay, Ra-"

"Call me Dryad," she ordered in a loud whisper.

He cocked his head and laughed a little dove laugh, sounding like a keening coo. "You're not the real Dryad, I don't know who's gonna buy it."

"Well, I have the same powers she had and I have her suit. I have the same hair and mask. Who'll know the difference?"

Peter shrugged. "Okay _Dryad_ ; I fly over to the Bank on Ohio. There'll be two pigeons waiting there for me. We all sneak in the open window in the building next door, and there'll be five rats waiting inside for us. Tell them to set off the alarm at exactly eleven thirty. The pigeons and I cover the three exits, I stay on the roof and after twenty minutes when the cops come I fly like hell."

Raven sighed and leaned her head back into the wind coming off Lake Michigan. "You got it."

Peter yawned and shifted against the same wind, looking down off the Tribune Tower where they were perched. It was obvious the lofty height made him nervous. "You mind me asking what you're up to? I know we talk and stuff, but you've never asked for a favor before. And setting off a bank alarm? What for?"

"It doesn't matter. It's not Raven Keppler asking this, Peter, it's Dryad."

His beady little eyes looked her up and down, head cocking to the side. "You look like they rented you the wrong costume or something. I mean, nice suit." He gave a dirty laugh.

She looked down at the black spandex suit straining over the few curves Mother Nature had seen fit to gift her with and shrugged. "It was my aunt's, and she was a little shorter, a little bit...smaller, in certain areas. It's not like anybody's going to see me." Despite her logic Raven felt herself blushing. "And don't worry about the alarm. Normal humans never suspect animals of having any intelligence, and it's not like the bank's actually getting robbed."

"One last thing. So why are we setting off a bank alarm if you're not going to rob it?"

She bit her lip but knew she couldn't involve Peter without telling him the truth. "You're doing it to distract Gryphon."

Peter cursed in a streak she couldn't believe a mourning dove would know. "Gryphon! Are you nuts? He eats little villains like you for breakfast! He's the best damn superhero in the whole country!"

Miffed she raised her chin a notch. "I'm not just any villain, I'm a Supervillain. Bane of Master Bloodless, jewel thief extraordinaire."

He snorted, or tried to, but it came out like a coo. "Don't forget you've also been dead ten years."

Rave started to say something but the thought of her aunt's death brought a lump to her throat. The original Dryad had been everything to her, and her brutal death at the hands of Master Bloodless was still a wound, even after all that time. It didn't matter that Bloodless had turned bad himself and been killed by Gryphon, Raven knew the terrible secret of the walking wounded, that there was no such thing as closure.

Peter edged over and stroked a wing down her thigh. "I'm sorry kid, I can be a real jerk. Look, you can do anything you want, you know that. You're even more powerful than the first Dryad."

She sniffled back the tears. "Oh yeah? And how would you know?"

His head bobbed, a dove version of a smile. "We still talk about her. You don't know what it's like to have someone who understands us, a human who doesn't call me a statue rat and throw rocks at me. We never had that before the first Dryad showed up and since you appeared on the scene and seemed to have her powers you're all we talk about."

"Oh, stop it."

He sidled closer. "We'll take care of Gryphon for you, don't you worry. Hell, all we animals want is to see you happy. You're so quiet, so lonely."

"That's enough, Peter. You make me sound pathetic."

"You are lonely, despite all your animal friends. Carlos tells me you're pining over that boss of yours. Human mating, you people drive me crazy."

"Carlos? My pet Carlos?"

"Yeah, he chats. A lot. You just be careful, kid."

That a ten month old bird was calling her kid cheered her up a little, and she laughed softly. "I will. And when I get home I'm going to tell Carlos to shut up or I'm clipping his flight feathers."

"You sure do talk tough."

"Just talk?"

"Yeah, just talk. That's not such a bad thing, R- Dryad. Your aunt, well, she was one tough cookie, and she was a true villain. You're pretty cool, but you're a nice girl. Are you really sure you're made of the same stuff?"

It was a question she'd wrestled with all her life. Thief and supervillain, or quiet and mousy personal assistant with no life beyond all her pets? Neither choice seemed like much, but it was all she'd ever had. "I guess we'll finally see tonight, won't we?"

Peter thought on it for a moment before sidling towards the edge. "Whatever it is that you do, you do it well," he ordered.

She nodded and pushed away, floating above the bright city. She scratched at the spandex and made sure her mask was on, held in place with the trick her aunt had taught her. No one could remove it but her, but that didn't stop her worrying that someone might try and bring her two worlds crashing together. "Thanks for all your help. You be careful too."

"I always am. Just watch out for the Gryphon, he always gets the girl."

She thought of the powerful superhero, the flying boy scout with super strength who made women's hearts (and lower things) flutter every night. Not only the most powerful superhero of the near dozen in the country, but the poster boy for Supes in general. He'd been on numerous magazines and after eleven years of service he was only getting stronger.

Carlos could blab about her boss James all he wanted, but there was a part of her that would be forever fascinated with the blond superhero. She had every reason in the world to hate him but her body just didn't seem to understand that.

She wasn't worried that he'd catch her; she was worried she might give in to temptation and let herself be caught.

***

He was too tired to go out, and if he had to fight with that little minx again he was sure he'd ruin his good reputation with a serious spanking. He thought of the tight spandex suit and her lush curves and closed his eyes, groaning. Okay, spanking was not the right idea, nor was bondage, or any of the other mental images he couldn't shake.

She'd spent the last two nights trying to break into his house, and tonight, instead of going out to stop her as Gryphon, James McBride was just going to damn well sit there and wait for her as himself. He knew who the would-be villain was, and what she was after, and she'd have to come inside his bedroom to get it.

He made sure the curtains were open, the window too, and he changed for bed as if it were just a normal night. His movements were stiff, and though he had only pure intentions in his mind, his body knew better. Once he had Raven Keppler in his bedroom, he wasn't going to let her go. He would make her fess up, and then he was going to give them what they both wanted.

It was not yet eleven and he poured himself a glass of brandy to pass the time. For two days now he'd waited to see if she knew he was Gryphon, or if she'd admit to it. To see if she'd admit she'd put on her aunt's suit and assumed the dead woman's identity. Not that she had any reason to come clean, after all she was trying to steal from him, and Raven had no idea at all that he knew her aunt had been Dryad.

The world of Supes was a small one, and she had been raised on the wrong side of it. Her damn aunt had used her as a sidekick when she was just a kid, working as lookout while she pilfered banks. No great evil cause, she never tried to take over the world, she just had a need to strike back at a world that had been cruel to Annette Keppler. Pretty young Raven had been caught up in a dangerous game, and when Master Bloodless had killed Dryad, she'd been alone in the world.

Annette had long been James' father's lover, and if Samuel McBride knew Annette's real identity he hadn't let on. Instead he'd taken Raven under his wing after Annette's death and saw to it she had an education, and made his son promise to always look out for her.

She'd been back home now for five years. Five years and he hadn't once seen her use her powers. Five years of tightly wound hair buns, bad suits, and soft smiles that had driven him out of his mind. For five years he'd wanted to touch her but couldn't.

Raven was many things, and the biggest part of her was honorable. She hadn't wanted to repeat her aunt's mistakes, to fall in love with a man she saw as so different, to find herself tempted by a lifestyle that was foreign. For five years he had greatly admired that restraint, but he also had waited too long and now it seemed she'd given in to the dark side.

And that meant she was fair game.

He didn't know for certain if she was there for the key sitting in his safe, or if she was after something else. He didn't have much that would tempt the niece of a great jewel thief, especially not since every day she was in his house, could walk off with a Lalique vase if so desired. Truthfully, he didn't really care why she was trying to break in. He would find out, and James was in the mood to toy with her first.

He wanted that long brown hair wrapped around his fist, to feel those long supple legs wrapped around his waist as he sank into her pale, soft flesh. He wanted to feel her surrounding him, hear her moan and surrender to him, to taste her and feel her as he'd ached to do for so long.

Raven Keppler had been in his blood for five years now, always quiet, always hard working, always evasive. He had ached to tell her his own secrets, to make her share hers, but she was so damn restrained. Now she had given into those secrets, and he wasn't above exploiting her hidden identity to get what he wanted.

Raven Keppler, now Dryad, wouldn't know what had hit her.

CHAPTER TWO

She was trembling. Ten years ago she had sworn she'd never do this again, and yet here she was, about to steal from the man who'd taken her in and given her a chance when the whole world had turned its back on her.

No one knew for sure that Annette Keppler had been the first Dryad, Samuel McBride had seen to it that her aunt's secrets were buried with her. He'd made sure she had an education and a future, and his son James had always been a friend, and after school her boss. And now she had to violate the trust between them.

She had no idea just what she would find in his personal safe, but if she didn't retrieve it, well, her life would be over. The man waiting at home for her would see to it the whole world knew not only Annette's secrets, but her own. If she didn't make it back that night with the contents of that safe...well, she wasn't going to think of what would happen once the world knew the truth.

As she flew into the yard on Prairie Avenue, Gryphon was nowhere to be seen in the skies above. She checked her watch and smiled, knowing he must be across town foiling a nonexistent bank robbery by then. As James' personal assistant she knew he was going to be at the Pediatric AIDS Foundation gala until late into the night, and everyone else in the house was asleep.

The coast was clear.

As far as super powers went, hers were generally considered useless, but as she was the only one around who could talk to animals they were usually happy to help her out. James' dog Zeke was supposed to leave the window open, and his room was dark and the window open a crack.

"Good boy," she chuckled softly under her breath as she floated down and grasped the window. Slowly she pushed it up, checking the dark houses surrounding James', and scanning the sky all the while. Nothing but a few planes headed for Midway, she saw with a smile. No big, flying blonds anywhere near there.

The window was up and she artfully flew in, her flight not like Gryphon's powerful speed, more like the gentle movements of a butterfly. At least she could do it, and while that wasn't an offensive power, it was defensive, and quite handy for a villainess. At that moment she might have been willing to trade it for night vision, since she was cursed with very human night blindness. The light outside was too bright and the room too dark for her eyes, and as she was only James' personal assistant she hadn't spent more than ten seconds in his bedroom in five years of employment.

She tried to navigate by memory and tripped over something on the floor by his chair and went sprawling on the bed. Before she could recover she heard a grunt and then a body was on top of her.

She fought instinctively but the attacker was larger, stronger, and faster. Damn her family for not having any super speed genes, or super strength, she thought as she tried to use her nails to some effect. At last she was pinned down, her arms stretched above her and clamped in a large hand, wrists together.

The attacker moved and before she could say anything a very soft light flipped on by the bedside, and she was staring into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Rave froze as James smiled down at her.

"Hello," he said with smugness in his voice. "What do we have here? The great Dryad, caught by a- what did you call me the last time we met? Oh, yes, a 'pampered rich boy'."

She gulped. Had her aunt really called him that? James might be rich and he might be male, but pampered was not the right word. Nobody she knew worked harder or had better ethics than James McBride, or a better body. Well, perhaps Gryphon, but he had super genes.

"So easy to catch, and such a treat. No one's seen you in years. Shall we just see who you are?"

He reached for her mask and she struggled against him, but he was like a rock. To keep her from kicking him he settled between her legs and the intimate pose made her freeze. She didn't trust her voice to speak, and she just had to trust that the live saplings would hold the mask in place.

His free hand found her mask and tugged but it wouldn't give. She smiled at him then, relieved to know her third power worked. The ties on the back wouldn't give up their hold on her mask until she ordered it or they died. Or until he cut them with an iron knife, but she knew for a fact he didn't have one handy.

"What is this? Superglued?"

She wanted to laugh at his puzzled expression but then he glared at her. Even irate he was still the most handsome man she'd ever seen. His face belonged in a museum, on a statue, from the thick, sensual lips flat-lined in anger to his patrician nose, and those eyes of his, jewel blue, thickly lashed, and large.

She stared into them for a breathless moment, terrified they could see more than she wanted, terrified that all her secrets were laid bare. Worse, that he could tell her body was reacting to him with all the pent-up need she'd held in check for five years.

He shifted, grinding his hips against hers, and her eyes flared. Oh, yeah, he could tell. "The mask isn't coming off," she finally whispered.

The hand tugging at it dropped to her shoulder. "I can see that." Somehow he found the zipper beneath her arm and yanked. She gasped but it was no use, the left side of her suit was opening, the spandex eager to return to its naturally smaller state, leaving her skin bare in the night air.

What the hell was he doing?

"If I can't see under the mask, I'll see under the suit," he said in a low voice.

She blushed, hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud. She struggled but it was impossible. The man was pure muscle and she wasn't getting up until he let her.

"You don't want to do this," she said on a breathless whisper.

"Don't I?" He lowered the zipper to her hip and the only thing keeping the top covering her chest was the press of his body. "I seem to think we both want this."

She tried to still her breathing but it was too hard. Even with everything that was happening, all she could focus on was his eyes, those large hands, his warm skin, and the scent of him. For far too long she'd wanted this man and here was her chance to take what she didn't dare in her alter ego. She didn't care that he didn't know who she was, if it gave her a chance, she was going to take it.

He lifted his chest and the spandex pulled back, exposing her breasts held only in her bra. Thank God it was decent, she thought. Even if it was the plainest one Victoria's Secret sold, it wasn't grandmotherly at all. He picked her up like she weighed nothing as he peeled her suit off and then dropped her once more on the bed, claiming her wrists again before she could move.

Something almost feral flowed into his eyes and he licked his lips slowly. Her body shuddered in response and at long last he lifted his gaze to meet hers. "Tell me to stop and I will, Dryad."

She winced at the name, but her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. Every inch of her felt alive and needy, straining to touch him. He lowered his chest and she felt the press of flesh and crisp hair to own soft skin, realizing he was most likely naked. He didn't stop until his lips hovered over hers. "Tell me to stop," he repeated.

She shook her head and he pinned her with a kiss. Her body sizzled with heat and need at the press of lips, and then he opened her mouth and slid inside. Her body damn near exploded at that, and she moaned while her legs wrapped around him to press them closer together.

For five years Raven Keppler had desperately wanted James McBride, but she didn't dare cross the lines between him. He was rich, and she owed his father her life. Raven Keppler was a glorified secretary, a non-entity in his world. But Dryad... If James McBride, the richest man in the city wanted a walk on the dark side, the only female Supervillain in the country was an excellent choice for a night. She gave into her secret identity then, let herself become Dryad, master thief caught by her own target, and let go.

There was shifting and she felt something complicated happening with her arms but her brain didn't register, all she felt was James, all she tasted was him. Her eyes closed long after his to savor the taste of man and something darker.

Then the sensation of cold against her wrists made her tear away from the kiss. "What the hell?"

He smiled down at her and she looked up, but could only see her arms were bare, freed of the suit. Her wrists wouldn't move, not even when he slid the hand that had been holding them down to cup her face. She really wished there was more light.

"You handcuffed me, you bastard."

"You didn't say stop." He grinned triumphantly while she just glared at him.

He rolled off her and peeled the suit down slowly, feeling in the material no doubt for keys or a wallet, as if spandex would allow for it. He came up for empty, save for a wolfish grin.

She wondered just how well he could see in the dark, and though she wanted to cover her body the damn handcuffs wouldn't allow her to move. How the hell was she going to get out this? Worse, did she really want to?

He knelt again on the bed and slid his palms over her ankles and up her calves. Just as reason had begun to return his touch burned it away, brought sharp focus to the sensations he gifted her. Rave's breath hitched as his thumbs kneaded their way over her the backs of her knees. Her legs spread further apart without conscious thought, her whole being centered on his hands.

She closed her eyes, though it didn't matter. The dim lamp beside the bed revealed nothing but a few scant lines of his body to her, but his touch was sharp and lasting.

He skimmed over her hips leaving her in keen disappointment until he slid his hot palms up to cup her breasts. Even through the lace of her bra she could feel his rough texture and her nipples hardened quickly, her back arching into the caress.

"God, I wish I didn't want you so much," he whispered. The comment puzzled her but then he tugged down the cups and she felt his thumbs swipe over her aching flesh, thrusting all conscious thought from her mind.

Everything narrowed down to that moment as he stroked slowly, and then pinched the sensitive nubs. She cried out and he rolled them between thumb and forefingers as she twisted on the bed, desperate for more.

He shifted and she opened her eyes to see him take one dark tip deep into his mouth. The wet pressure drove her mad and she moaned louder, a wordless plea for relief he blatantly ignored. He used lips and tongue and teeth to push her higher, until she was making animal sounds she didn't even recognize.

James broke off, panting, and gave her a deep look as he reached around to undo her bra. He slid it up her arms and returned to her breasts, treating the other nipple with his hot mouth.

This time his free hand smoothed down over her stomach and delved inside her panties. She was wet and aching and he slid along her opening with ease. He moaned something that sounded like an epithet against her skin but she was straining too hard to notice.

He just teased her though, circled a single finger around her clit, along her opening, teasing.

"Please!" she finally demanded and he chuckled.

Instead of the light touch she expected he sank a finger deep inside, making her cry out. It was tight, it had been far too long for her, and the fit was more than snug. He moved back out and sank home with more gentleness, stretching her slowly. He nipped at her nipple making her gasp and then his hand began to thrust. Between his steady finger and his hot tongue she was trembling and bucking within seconds. Rave wanted relief, something, anything, but he just added another finger.

Her brain was buzzing with need and her body was on fire as she felt the edge of orgasm creeping closer. He swore and pulled his mouth away. Before she could whimper he tore her panties off with both hands and his tongue replaced the finger.

He pressed it inside of her, teasing her, and then swept out and up to her aching clitoris, laving the sensitive nubbin. Her body trembled for a moment of pure, exhilarating need, and then the orgasm crashed over her. He licked and then sucked in turns as she screamed out, thrashing against him. It felt like it went on forever, her finely tuned senses scattering like leaves in the wind at her peak.

When she came down she heard the tear and opened her eyes to see him roll a condom on. It was too dim to see much else and she started to protest with dawning reason but he grabbed her hips roughly.

Her protest died under the wake of pure need as her heartbeat sped up again. He settled between her legs and she felt him probe her entrance, and moisture flowed in anticipation. Then those shining blue eyes burned into hers and he was pressing inside.

She jerked at the sensation. He was large, too large, and her body struggled to stretch to accommodate him. She whimpered as the slight edge of pain slowly mellowed, and at last he was seated more firmly than she could have thought possible. It felt so right, and yet it seemed so wrong.

Raven had wanted him for so long but now it was Dryad he took. Raven didn't care, she just wanted _more_.

He dropped his forehead to hers, and when he spoke his voice was low and guttural. "Don't move," he ordered.

She kept still, her body thrumming with the aftereffects of orgasm and the growing need for another. How any nights had she dreamed of this? Without love in his eyes and with the mask between them it was worse than her fantasies, but the sharp pleasures were better than she could have imagined.

He pulled out slowly and sank in with the same careful purpose, sending chills up her spine. Her body burned and ached for another release and the helpless feeling of the handcuffs only added to the dark thrill.

He began to move faster and raised his body until all she felt was the muscular press of his legs between hers and his arms around her, his thick cock sliding in and out. She felt tight, she felt trapped, and Rave had never felt so free.

His hand slipped between them to press against her clitoris and moved with his body. She squeezed her eyes shut and colors danced in her vision as she raced towards a peak, driven on by him and his ferociously slow-moving body.

As if he knew her body's desires exactly, just when she thought she could take no more, James sped up with perfect timing. They moved together, bucking and straining in the tightness of anticipation until they both cried out, cresting as one. He kept moving as the spasms rocked her and her hips pumped hard against him, their bodies flowing together until they were both wrung out and spent.

Raven felt her breath burst out of her as her entire body shivered and tingled, hungry for more and yet more deeply sated than she'd ever been. He collapsed onto his elbows, keeping himself just off of her as his breathing joined the rhythm of hers. Rave had never felt so physically complete, so spiritually empty, and her heart ached with it.

"Let me go," she whispered.

He smiled and smoothed his pitch hair back from his eyes. "Are you insane?" He kissed her and reached up. Again she felt something happen with her arms but his kiss was masterful and consuming, leaving little brainpower free. She could die like that, she thought, and do so happily. And then he left her with a knowing smile.

When he slipped free and knelt between her legs she saw her bra fly off the bed. Feeling light, Rave tested her hands. The left one was free, but the right one was chained to something else.

"What the?"

He rolled to the side and lifted his arm. Metal glinted in the moonlight, and she realized James had handcuffed her to him. "I don't know about you but I could use a cat nap after that. And then we're going to talk, Dryad."

She gulped.

CHAPTER THREE

James intended to stay up but the brandy, the sex, the last few sleepless nights all came together and his eyes fluttered closed. Five years he'd waited, and it had been everything and more. He longed to tear that silly mask off her face and tell Raven he loved her, but he just couldn't. He still didn't know what had brought her there, and that was just one of a thousand problems he knew couldn't be solved in a night.

He was more than shocked to wake up in the early morning light and find an empty handcuff dangling from his wrist, and yet it made him smile. Raven was one hell of a woman, and he just had to admire her daring and skill.

He searched but there was nothing left of her, not even her torn panties. All that said she'd been there was the scent of lovemaking and her natural musk lingering in the air, and his open safe.

He smiled to himself again, knowing that at least that she had been there for the key, and she hadn't gotten it. He'd moved it, just in case, and that's how he knew she'd come back. And she'd be wearing that silly little costume which had finally given her the courage she needed to give in to him.

Toying with her had worked so far, there was no reason to stop. If he wanted her to accept him, she had to accept all of him. She had to know James intimately, and Gryphon as well.

She wouldn't regret it, of that he'd make damn sure.

***

Rage was all she felt as she flew home as the sun crept towards the horizon, but as she hovered over her balcony the anger was replaced by fear. The sliding glass door was open as she left it, the light was on, and the silhouette was waiting for her. Something tall and dark was in her pure white apartment, and her animals were milling about nervously.

Carlos, her Mynah bird, cawed out a warning as she drew closer.

She touched down lightly and prayed there was nothing about her that would give away the fact that not only had she not robbed James McBride, she'd slept with him. At the first the man waiting inside would not be happy, at the last, well, she couldn't imagine his retribution.

At least she remembered to stuff the torn panties into her potted money fig, whispering soothing words to the little tree and a promise to remove the panties at first chance. The tree accepted it and closed its braches around the lace in cover.

She took a deep breath and opened the curtains, stepping inside.

The man inside was a male version of herself, thirty years older, though they could have been the same age for the world to see he looked so young through the vanity of surgery. He was the same height as she, five feet ten inches, the same lanky build, with the same light blue eyes and medium brown hair. He was as pretty as she was, and she knew that had fooled more than one woman in his life. Heck, it had fooled her mother, whoever she had been.

Despite his prettiness his cruelty showed in the slant of his wide mouth, the perpetual narrowing of his eyes. Before last Monday she hadn't seen him since he'd abandoned her on her aunt's doorstep twenty years ago, but he was the same monster she remembered.

"Do you have it?"

"It?" He hadn't told her what was in the safe, and part of her wasn't surprised that there had been nothing. He claimed her aunt had stolen something from him, but it seemed a wild fairy tale that whatever she had stolen would be in the safe of a man who knew nothing of the Supe world. Annette had better hiding places, of that Rave was sure.

"Where is it?" he snarled, and her menagerie came to life.

Since she could talk to animals, she ended up collecting many, and they all narrowed their eyes on her father, making him back up a step. One of her dogs, Millie, slunk closer, tail down and muzzle trained on Marcus Keppler.

"There was nothing. The safe was empty."

"Nothing! You were gone six hours! What took so long, your incompetence?" He drew back as if to slap her and Millie barked, a vicious curse to Rave's ears, darting between them and growling as he froze. "Call off your damn dog."

"No. Unlike you, she actually cares about me. Don't threaten me again and she'll have no reason to attack."

"You're both bitches," he spat out as he lowered his arm and reached to her kitchen counter. She noticed a light envelope there, a perfectly sized cliché that could fit an eight by ten photo.

It occurred to her that they were the only dark things in the apartment. Her walls were white, the floors blond hardwood, even the animals in muted earth tones. He might try to say he was a good man and she was a supervillain, but they looked like the same to her, and it was profoundly depressing.

He gave her an evil grin as he opened the envelope and, just as expected, pulled out a large glossy photograph. The picture showed her and her aunt Annette, the older woman in the very costume Rave wore. Rave herself was only fifteen and mask less, flying with her aunt through the night her face only obscured by intricate makeup. She recognized the bank in the background, and the job they'd been on.

"How the hell did you get that?"

He smiled. "Doesn't matter, I have plenty more. You don't get me what's in his safe, this and all the rest goes to the cops. There's still two million dollars in missing jewels Dryad stole out there, and I'm sure they'd be glad to hang you for it."

She shivered, mostly from rage. Annette Keppler had been a master thief, bringing Rave along on bank jobs but the jewel heists had been for the first Dryad alone. "I don't want you involved in that whole mess," Annette had said time and time again. For all her faults she had been a good parent, full of love and kindness for her niece. That her own father had never had a kind word or gesture broke her heart.

"How can you treat your own daughter this way?"

He looked her up and down with disgust clear in his eyes. "You're a super freak, just like my sister. Every time I look at you I see her. You're nothing to me but a means to an end. Get me what's in that safe, girl."

"How can I? It was empty!"

"You're his damn secretary. He has to have another safe. The real Dryad made Samuel McBride swear to keep it forever safe, and trust me, he wouldn't let this leave the house. It is inside that damn moldering mansion, figure it out! But if I don't have this in my hands in three days, what I do have goes to the police."

He took the envelope, turned, and left while the dogs still growled at him and she seethed. She hadn't seen him in twenty years and this was how he treated her! Rave grabbed the small crystal vase off the counter and threw it. It shattered on the door just as it closed behind him, but she didn't feel any better.

She was trapped by her past, and there was no way out.

CHAPTER FOUR

Rave had no idea what to expect when she came into work at the very same house she had broken into the night before. There was no way in heaven and earth, she told herself, that James had any idea it had been her in his bed the night before. It had been dark, and her mask had held. It was a secret, and if Rave was anything, she was a master at keeping secrets.

Now that she had gone out in Annette's suit she understood these ill-fitting suits were a kind of mask, and she could only pray it served her well. She looked down at her mousy suit and hoped he wouldn't recognize anything of her body in it. She'd gone with a light color, cream, and it was double breasted, the skirt long, hitting below her knees. It added a good ten pounds and changed her shape, so if he recognized her she'd be impressed.

On her way in she greeted the security guard, Larry, and when she turned the corner for the back door she greeted Zeke, the German Shepard who roamed the grounds. He'd once been a true guard dog but now he was something of a pampered pet.

"Hey!" He greeted her in what would be a soft yip to other human ears.

"Hey, Zeke," she said with a smile and scratched behind his left ear, in his favorite spot.

"Ah, that's nice. Do it harder, please."

"Sure thing, Zeke. Say, can you tell me something?"

"Sure."

She looked around making sure no one was watching her have a conversation with a dog. She lived in fear that someday it would happen and she'd be dragged off to the nut bin. Superpowers were widely known and recognized but the whole Dr. Doolittle thing rarely made the list of recognized powers.

"If James didn't keep something in his bedroom safe, where would he keep it?"

"Oh, god, you do it the best, Rave, I love your nails. Well, there's another safe in his guestroom."

"The green one?"

"Ahh," he sighed and tugged his head away with a doggy smile. "No, the blue one."

"Same combo?"

"I think so, except the last two digits are his mother's birth day."

"September sixth, so nine-six?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, off to the salt mines."

"See ya, Rave," Zeke barked out.

She tried to calm her heartbeat as she opened the back door but her pulse thudded through her whole body, drowning all other sound out of her ears.

Susan, the housekeeper, had to say hello twice before Rave realized what she'd said. "Good morning," she replied with a trembling smile.

"Want a cinnamon roll? They're fresh baked."

Rave's stomach grumbled. "Please."

Susan plated one dripping with icing and watched Rave set her briefcase down gingerly and tore into the roll with gusto. "Forgot to eat again?"

More that she had been too upset and nervous to eat much the past few days. "It's nothing. Is James running on time?"

Susan looked at the kitchen door leading to the hall. "Lord only knows with that one. You know he was supposed to go out last night, but then he tells everyone to take the night off, go home, and says he's staying in. That boy has been acting strange lately."

Rave chuckled at the "boy," since James was thirty three and scared the pants off of almost everyone, herself included. She winced at the bad pun, memories tugging at her.

Susan had been his surrogate mom when his own passed away when he was eight. She'd spanked him, cleaned his ears, cooked him dinner, and tucked him almost every day and night of his young life. Like most parents, she would forever see him as a boy of eight.

"I can at least thank god he's not chasing after women anymore. Been too busy for that in the last few years, I tell you. If it's your job to see to his personal life, why don't you make sure he gets married and starts getting some little ones running around here?"

Rave choked on her roll and Susan hefted a meaty arm around her and whacked her on the back, shoving a glass of orange juice under her nose and holding it until Rave drank it down.

Suddenly the large green and oak kitchen felt a little too closed-in, a little too warm. "Uh, see that he gets married? That's not what I do. More so I make travel arrangements, help plan his schedule, things like that."

Susan _hmpf_ ed and turned back to the recipe card she was making. "Well, hells bells girl, you should marry him then. He'd be a fool to let you get away."

"Who'd be a fool?" James' deep voice called out as he entered the kitchen looking tired and somehow still devastating. Had to be the suit, she told herself, no mortal man could look that bad in a perfectly tailored black suit.

"Nobody," Rave murmured and hoped to heaven she wasn't blushing.

Susan passed him the paper and a cinnamon roll as he sat at the breakfast counter next to her. Rave's palms felt sweaty, and her throat was tight and dry.

In the sunlight he looked so large and dark that she found herself comparing him to the lover in the night. He smiled at her and the twin images swam in her vision, one handsome face focused in dark passion beneath tousled hair, the other smiling and perfectly groomed, ready to take on the world.

"So what's on my schedule today, Rave?"

She pulled out her Blackberry with trembling hands and cleared her throat. "You have to go into the office for a meeting with Iwasaki at nine thirty, that should last an hour, then you have time to go the gym. Lunch at Charlie Trotter's with the east coast investors, and I'll have the plans from New York ready by then. You have the afternoon to schmooze them as you like, and then dinner at Gibson's with them."

"I hate this."

Since he wasn't meeting her eyes and it was an old argument, it was easy for her to relax. "You don't have to like it, but we can't risk our own capital in Atlantic City. We need these men and their money."

"I never should have listened to my dad and gone into the family business. I should have been a rock star."

Susan laughed at that. "You couldn't carry a tune in a bucket."

"I bet I could learn guitar. What do you think, Rave?"

At last his eyes swung towards hers and she looked away, too nervous. "I think we'd better get moving, traffic is slow heading uptown." There, no-nonsense. Everything was going to be fine.

Then he smiled like a cat sighting a small bird and her heart flipped over.

***

Dryad had to be resurrected for one more night. Rave couldn't get within ten feet of the safe in the guest room without someone barging in, or her cell phone ringing. It was almost like James had a sixth sense of when to interrupt her with requests to ferry things all over town, get tickets to a show for the investors, or have champagne sent to his box at Soldier Field.

At long last she'd had to call in a favor. It had cost her a good steak but Zeke would distract everyone at eleven that night, and this time she knew for sure James was going to be out of the house. The most important potential investor in the east coast venture was leaving in the morning and James wouldn't waste any time with him before his plane left at midnight.

She'd left the window open in the blue bedroom before leaving and now under the cover of darkness she flew by low and slow. She'd set up another distraction for Gryphon but after last night she wasn't so sure he could be fooled. He was too smart and too experienced not to smell a trap, so she'd have to work fast. Somehow those first two nights he had just known she was coming there, and it was a terrifying thing to have the greatest Supe in the world zeroing in on her.

Zeke had the guard and Susan tied up on the other side of the house but she was still quiet and careful as she lifted the window fully open. She floated in and found the little banker's lamp on the desk was on, just as she left it.

No one was around as she tiptoed on the soft carpet to the painting. It was a soft landscape of the shoreline and felt like it weighed a metric ton. She unhooked it and stumbled back under the weight, setting it down against the wall.

The safe was small and digital, top of the line. She had memorized the code backwards and forwards and punched it in with baited breath. The safe dinged and the lock clicked open. She pressed the lever and the door swung open to reveal a key.

She pulled it out and set it on the nightstand, closing the safe and carefully replacing the painting, making sure it hung straight. When she was satisfied Rave took the key to the lamp and crouched down to stare at it.

It was the cause of her downfall, and yet there was nothing special about it that she could discern. It was a safe deposit box key, unmarked as they all were. The McBride family only used an old stately bank downtown, from the first of its days they had boxes there. She'd just have to turn the key over that night to her father and under her alter ego discover the box number in the day.

She peered out the window but the coast was clear, so she flew out, floated there and closed it. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and instinct made her drop the key into the rosebushes.

There was no need to demand an explanation. There were four superheroes in the Midwest, but only one of them could fly without a special suit that made a racket up close.

"Gryphon," she said, her voice low.

His baritone chuckle made shivers course over her skin. "In the flesh. Finally got you, Dryad. I've been meaning to ask what you're doing in town, especially since Master Bloodless killed you ten years ago."

She smiled as he pressed her back to his front, and she felt her body surrounded by warm, hard muscle. "I should thank you, then, for killing him eight years ago."

"I didn't do it for you, or should I say for your predecessor. I killed him when he turned his back on good and started to pick up where the real Dryad, the master thief, off."

"There you have it. You have to let me go. I wasn't stealing anything, Gryphon. Frisk me if you want, but it's not like I can teleport anything."

He leaned close until his deep voice was right in her ear. "I don't know anything about you except you can fly and you're wearing the suit of a woman who died as the most famous supervillain in the city's history. Maybe I should frisk you."

He kept one arm around her waist like a steel band and the other moved slowly over her curves. Her breath caught in shock as guilt edged for a moment while James' face floated in her vision, and then Gryphon's voice filled her ear again.

"If you didn't come here to steal, why are you here?"

She didn't dare trust him with the truth and her brain was fogged with the feel of his body, his hands. Until last night she'd kept her distance from men perfectly over the last few years, and now she was discovering she was starved for touch.

She had what her father demanded, perhaps it was time for Raven to take what she wanted. "Maybe trying to flush you out."

CHAPTER FIVE

Gryphon stopped at that and for a moment her breath was held as her mind reeled, both of them surprised at what she had said. Then he laughed and she felt her body relax.

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" His voice nuzzled closer. "Most villains do anything to avoid me. Especially one who has every reason to believe I had a hand in killing her predecessor."

"In case you haven't notice, I'm all grown up, Gryphon. I know you didn't kill her,. Master Bloodless did, the damned opportunist."

He turned her rapidly until she was facing him, pressed so close she could tell he dressed to the right and he was happy to see her. Gryphon was tall, taller than even James, built broad shouldered and heavily muscled. He was a blond, his eyes a startling green, a complete stranger and yet something about him had always seemed oddly familiar. Since she'd first seen him she'd found herself searching crowds for him, but in ten years she'd never met anyone who came close, except James, and that was only in the machismo department.

Just when her brain seemed to find something he smiled and her IQ went to pot again. "You are all grown up, aren't you. But who was Dryad to you?"

"Oh," she purred, enjoying the freedom her mask gave her to become someone else. "Are you really thinking of another woman with me so close?"

His mask covered everything but his sardonic smile and his jungle cat eyes, but somehow she knew he had raised one eyebrow at that. "I didn't want Dryad to die. I respected her, and, in a way you'll never know, I understood her. And she was right, after all, Master Bloodless turned out to be a far worse criminal than she ever was. I've asked myself time and again what I could have done that night and the answer is nothing. I was young and inexperienced, and it wasn't my battle to fight. Even Dryad would tell you that."

She knew that. After all, Rave had been there, a terrified sixteen year old watching a man in a silver suit kill her aunt after Gryphon had foiled her plot. He'd been too far away to do anything, and Rave had been hiding in the shadows so he couldn't see her.

She didn't want to remember that night and she didn't want him to ask any questions about the house or her reason for being there. She let instinct be her guide and raised a hand, tracing a fingertip over the lines of muscle in his suit. She circled a nipple and stopped when she reached his face, cupping his jaw.

"Well you're also all grown up. Older, and I bet you're far more experienced."

His eyes darkened very much like an animal, and again she wondered why he'd chosen the name Gryphon. Had he known he truly resembled a majestic predatory cat, even when he soared in the sky?

"Whoever you are, you're new, but surely even you know we shouldn't mix."

"So sure I'm a bad girl?"

His hands trailed down to cup her butt and lifted her higher, almost grinding her into him. "Oh, I know it. What do I call you?"

"Call me Dryad."

He stopped the movements and peered closer at her. "Who was she to you?"

She gave an honest answer. "Everything." And then she leaned up to kiss him.

He hesitated for a moment and then he took total and complete possession of her mouth. Gryphon tasted wild and dark, and she felt invaded and filled by tongue alone. Within seconds they were both eager and breathing thickly until he pulled back.

"Not here," he said and turned her back around and shot off.

The feeling was exuberant and disorienting, he could fly far faster than she could. If Rave had been forced, she couldn't explain flying. She floated like a butterfly, like the Grecian fairy for which she was named, and he flew like a powerful beast, like an eagle.

To her it was as natural as breathing, but in his arms it felt like an adventure as the skyline zoomed past them and they flew north. The wind was cold on her face but his body warmed her back, and she felt exhilarated.

They stopped at an older high rise on the north edge of the Loop and landed on a balcony.

"Don't get too excited, I don't live here," he said and let her go, though he stayed close as if to make sure she didn't escape.

She stepped inside the door he opened and found it was one large room and a kitchenette. One wall was covered with a large desk and more computers and monitors than she could believe. The other side had a bed that was pristine as if never slept in.

"Interesting," she said when he finally closed the door, locking it ominously. Her chest tightened at the click of the lock and her heartbeat sped up as he stepped closer.

He was a huge man, all muscle and height, his skin a deep tan, his hair sun light, and those wild green cat-like eyes of his making him look more shape shifter than human.

"If I'm to be the victim of some strange vengeance, at least I can be comfortable." He crossed his arms and came to a stop close enough that he could touch her, though he refrained from doing so.

"Victim?" She licked her lips and backed up a step. He advanced one in equal measure and just gave her the look she knew meant one eyebrow was cocked, though it was hidden by his ferocious mask. "Perhaps I'm just curious about the do-gooder that saw something in my au- in Dryad, something that made him let her go. Something Master Bloodless just couldn't see."

He didn't move a muscle and still somehow gave the impression of softening. "I did. Some kid she was looking after. I take it that was you?"

"Kid?" She snorted and he leaned out to brush her hair over her shoulder.

"All grown up now," he reminded her softly. "Come here." He wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her roughly against him.

She opened her mouth to protest and was met with his lips. This kiss was hard and commanding, and he used her hair to keep her head tipped back until he'd plundered her mouth completely, Then he moved to her face, spacing soft kisses with sharp little bites that had her moaning and gasping.

It terrified her to not be in control and yet that was what made it so seductive. This was a man she knew would take and not ask, who would make sure she enjoyed it, enjoyed him, but the thought of giving up control was still scary. Even handcuffed in James' bed she knew if she'd said stop he would. She wasn't so sure about Gryphon.

"I think we should, oh, god, stop."

He chuckled and found the zipper under her arm. "I have super senses, including smell, Dryad. Can't fool me, I know how much you like what I'm doing."

She felt her face flame as her suit parted and he dropped to one knee. Before she could move or struggle he gently bit her nipple through her bra and she gasped. After that she was lost to sensation. Gryphon pushed the lacy cups down and captured her breasts fully, sucking hard on the tips in turn, pinching when his mouth was busy.

"Then don't," she gasped.

"Don't what?"

"Don't stop."

With a chuckle he turned rougher, his hands joining the claiming. Her breasts had always been sensitive and when she feared her nipples might ache he nuzzled them with his face, though it was his smooth leather mask that teased them. All Rave could do was clutch his shoulders and gasp at the sensations washing over her.

When Gryphon decided he'd had enough he stood and backed her towards the bed. When it hit her knees, Rave fell with an "Oof!" and he just pulled off her shoes and peeled her suit down.

The lights were blazing and she could clearly see him. Though his spandex suit left little to the imagination, he was still fully dressed while all she had on was her mask and bra. Her panties had been peeled off with the suit, and all she could do now was blush as he looked his fill.

"Take off your bra," he ordered.

She gulped but slowly did as he asked and saw his eyes darken when her breasts spilled free. "Touch them," he ordered gruffly and all she could do is blink. "Do it," he said with a tone that left no room for argument.

She raised her hands to cup the weight there, feeling cool and shivery and more than glad for her mask. This man had no idea who she was, and that was strangely freeing.

She touched herself the way she liked to be touched, firmly, gently, rolling the nipples between her forefinger and thumb. He stood stock still all the while, watching her movements intently.

"Mmm, so damn hot. Show me how you really want to be touched."

She paused not in embarrassment but because of tactical issues. The way she touched herself was different than how she liked to be touched, it was often an issue of wrist fatigue.

"Do it," he growled and knelt on the bed between her legs.

She trailed a hand down and stroked herself gently and fleetingly but at the grumble in his chest she stroked her clit with her thumb. The pleasure was there, a faint echo of what she knew was to come, but the feeling of power she had at that moment over him was more than enough.

She stroked lightly and quickly and just when she thought he might touch her she thrust a finger inside. It was nothing like what his would feel like, too thin, too sharp at the tip, but she stared at his fingers and imagined them and the pleasure built quickly.

She was about to come, bit her lip and tensed her leg muscles as it neared, but he grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her body. She whimpered as he sucked her finger deep, their eyes locked all the while.

"On your knees," he ordered.

Trembling in aroused anticipation she scooted back, turned over, and rose to her knees. He stood and then knelt again behind her, and smoothed a hand up her spine. Just when the caress felt soothing he fisted her long hair again and bent her over until she was on hands and knees.

Rave had just enough time to gasp when a meaty finger slid inside. He leaned in down, rubbing the sensitive spot inside and she cried out, a broken sound of frustrated desire.

"God, you're ready. Stay there." He left her, left the bed, and she heard rustling and then the telltale sound of a foil packet. She stayed frozen, aroused and trembling, and then the bed dipped with his weight.

The fist returned and she clawed at the sheets until he pressed his cock against her. He was broad, as broad as James if not bigger. And then he was sliding inside, a tight fit.

Her body was sensitive and hungry, and his was only too happy to oblige. There was no gentleness in his movements, no reserve, instead Gryphon began to thrust in earnest and Rave was caught in a maelstrom of pleasure.

There was no tenderness here, none of the feelings she had for James, and the hollow pleasure was curiously strong. Her body seemed to know better than her heart what she wanted and her muscles tightened as she caught the tail of orgasm between his brutal strokes. Her eyes fluttered closed, her breath fell into quick pants, and suddenly it was there.

To her horror she found herself screaming James' name, the sound muffled by his hoarse shout. She came down to feel him wrapped around her, surprisingly gentle suddenly.

He pulled out and kissed her back softly, rolling back to grab her bra and suit, passing them to her. "You can stay if you like, but something tells me you want to leave."

She was shocked. "You'd let me leave?"

"You didn't do any crime. And besides, I think I've stepped into the middle of something. This James is a lucky man."

She blushed scarlet. " I'm sorry."

"Don't be. These masks make us different people and so we can follow different rules."

God, how many times had Annette said the same? Her heart ached for a moment as her mind was pulled into the real world where James was forbidden fruit. "It's not what you think.

"Oh? Then what is it?"

"I don't even think he knows I exist."

"Then he's a fool." Gryphon grabbed her and kissed her soundly. Still, when he pulled back she stood and dressed quickly while he watched. "I want a promise," he said when she finished.

"What?"

"The next time we meet, if James still doesn't know you exist, I want to have you again."

She didn't say anything, couldn't, just blushed and scurried to the door. She unlocked it, stepped out, and took off into the night. Alone with her thoughts she shivered as she made her way back south over downtown.

Not that she and James had anything going. As James and Raven they had an old, light friendship, a fantasy or two she was sure was all one sided, _her_ side. As Dryad and James they had one night, what could it possibly mean? She wasn't tied to him, but still she felt like she should feel guilty about Gryphon.

She stopped, looked back, and saw him on the balcony, watching her. Somehow, she didn't feel guilty at all. She felt like she'd finally found something. Just what it was, she couldn't say.

CHAPTER SIX

In the morning light things seemed quite different. James seemed to look at her differently now, and all day long she'd been feeling like she had an "I got laid" sign blinking above her.

James had been asking questions about her life outside of work as they toiled on plans now that some investments had been secured, which at least made it easier for her to ask him questions she hoped might give her the number on the safety deposit box.

Her aunt had been working with his father since before she was born, and Rave had come to live with Annette when she was five and James was ten. Of course he'd thought she was a brat, and had had nothing to do with her when he was home from boarding school. She hadn't seen him from that age until her aunt was killed. She was sixteen, terrified, and living under the cloud of suspicion Master Bloodless had cast on Annette Keppler.

Two years later James had lost his own father then and stepped in, making sure she made it to college and that she knew there was always a place for her. When she'd gotten out he'd taken her on, and they'd known each other as quiet, busy professionals.

He asked about pets, childhood friends, and it was clear all her answers were awkward. She'd gone from living with her father, who couldn't tolerate children or any of their trappings, to her aunt who'd been busy, and only too delighted by Rave's budding talents to let her play with normal children.

She stopped talking when she realized how cold and empty her childhood sounded, but then so had James. His father had been loving but he'd been busy, and growing up raised by servants wasn't as nice as Rave had imagined.

At long last they lapsed into silence as she opened his spreadsheets on the financial statements for the east coast investors and saw they were a mess. Rave could have called his business assistant, but this way she could keep busy until he had to leave for a dinner meeting.

"Rave? Hey," he said with a smile.

She looked above the laptop and for a moment Gryphon's head swam in her vision, but then she realized it was smaller, darker James who was smiling at her. "Sorry?"

"I have to get going. Go on home, get some rest. You look beat. I don't even want to see you back here until Monday, got that?"

She stretched and yawned. "That sounds like heaven. Got everything you need?"

He smiled and grabbed the laptop from her. "More than. See you Monday then."

"See you." She smiled and stretched on her feet. "Have a good weekend."

"You too."

She turned to leave but realized though she had the key, she didn't know what bank the McBrides used for their personal needs. "Oh, hey, before I go, I'm thinking of getting a security deposit box for some papers. How do I go about doing that?"

He closed the laptop and began stacking papers in his briefcase. "It's pretty easy. Just go to the bank, and they give you a key. The key card slides in like an ATM card in a reader, you press your pin in, and the box pops out for you. I like Midwest National, it's very up to date."

He gave her an almost...indulgent smile, or was she imagining things, projecting her guilt?

"Oh, thanks." Raven shook it off and smiled, grabbing her bag to head out. She felt rotten about the robbery, even worse when she snuck around to the bushes to grab the key card, but at least she was safe. All she had to do was turn the key over, give her father a list of the numbers she knew James would use for a pin, and she was free.

Looking up at the window and remembering the night she'd had with James, Raven was almost sorry the adventure was over. Still, she could retire Dryad, and that was a huge relief. But then she had to walk away from Gryphon. How could she return to this mundane existence after all that excitement, the passion?

Maybe, just maybe, when her father left her life again and the Dryad costume went back into a closet, Perhaps Raven Keppler could find some of the courage of the mask and bring it into her ordinary life, finding the courage to do more, finally follow her dreams.

Losing Dryad wasn't going to be that hard. It was losing the men in a new life that left her profoundly depressed.

***

"What?"

Her father sneered at her and turned to glare at her pet Mynah bird. Carlos imitated a Tommy gun in return. "I said, you're going to rob the bank."

"No, d- No. I got you the key, and you swore you'd let me go if I did that. You have the key, and the possible passwords. I'm done."

She tried to pull away but Marcus grabbed her wrist painfully, far stronger than he looked. "No. New deal. You are going to find what she stole, and you're going to open that box. Or I'm going to not only send your pictures to the cops, I'm sending them to every newspaper and television station in a hundred miles."

Millie growled at him and he sneered back at the dog, baring teeth. "What? What is she saying?"

"She says let me go, and she wonders why I don't just let my animals kill you."

He laughed. "Because you can't, little girl. You so much as sneeze and your cover is blown." He let her go and flung her back. She knocked into a table sporting potted flowers and knocked two onto her off-white couch. "And you're doing it tonight."

"I can't break into a bank in less than ten hours!"

He fluffed his collar and smiled chillingly at her. "Not my problem. Do it or you're toast."

This time when he left, she collapsed onto a ball on the floor and cried. Millie came over and licked at her tears in comfort.

"I'm sorry," the dog said in soft yips.

Raven forced herself to sit up and wiped her tears away. Damn him, there was no escape, no help for her. She should have known, blackmailers never stopped. She forced her face to smile, trying to convince her animals nothing was wrong. "It'll be all right. Carlos?"

The Mynah bird came over and perched on Millie's collar. "Yes?"

"I'm going to need some help. I'm breaking into a bank tonight."

After seeing her father in action, not one of her friends protested.

***

The birds knew what to do, and that had always been the secret of Dryad. Mice, rats, cats, pigeons, all the innocuous animals everyone else took for granted were smart and hungry for adventure like humans. They were only too happy to help her, and this time it was a team of six mice who opened a window on the second floor.

Pete was once again using his dove-talents across town setting off not one but four false alarms at specific times. Rave could get down to the basement of her target bank without setting off alarms, but the second she swiped the key and entered the codes the alarm would go off, and if Gryphon wasn't busy he'd be on her before she left.

The clock on the bank edifice hit eleven thirty seven and she slipped in. Rave held her breath as she flew behind a pigeon named Fred who led her to the stairwell and down. In the dark she could barely see anything more than red exit lights, but Fred seemed to know the way, and led her to a small room with dim red lights.

"This is it," he said. "Don't stand, there are sensors all over the ground. You'll have to float at least six inches off of it."

"Okie dokie, can do."

"And you have three tries before it eats the keycard, that's what Harry says."

"Harry?"

"The security dog from the day shift. Good luck, Dryad, I'll see you around." He flew away then to take up his position as lookout. The handy thing about animal accomplices was that they never had to work out a signal; his cry of "Look out!" would sound like a loud "coo" to human ears.

"You have to love technology," she said aloud. The new system was automated, just slide in the card and enter the pin, and an automated system brought the box to her. It had been designed to make the system safer, more efficient, and it worked both ways. If it was the old system she'd be there all night trying the key in lock after lock.

James McBride, like most people, had too many pin numbers to keep track of, so he favored birthdays. On all his bank cards she knew the pins were his parents' birth years. Rave took a deep breath, floated over, slid the card in, and pressed those numbers in.

A red light came on and ERROR flickered cross the screen. Okay, he never used his own, so she tried his uncle's birthday combination. ERROR.

She had one chance left, the alarm was already going, and the police were en route. What would he use? Her mind raced and raced, and then the thought came to her.

Certain it was a mistake she punched in her own birthday.

Gears began to turn loudly, and for a moment she wasn't sure if the card was being destroyed or the box was being retrieved. After agonizing moments the slot on the wall opened and a safety deposit box, very small, popped out.

With time running short, she took it, floated to the stairs, and set it on the banister. Rave took a deep breath and opened it, not knowing what to expect. Bonds? Certificates? Jewels?

It was a map. An enchanted map her aunt had drawn in sap that only she or Annette could read. A map her father had no prayer of reading.

Startling her lookouts she let out a keening cry. She wasn't free of him.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Raven wasn't aware she was howling until hands roughly pinned her to a chest, one clamping over her mouth.

"Not what you expected, hunh?" Gryphon said in her ear.

Her mind raced. How had he known? Why hadn't Fred warned her? Gryphon had to have been in the bank already. She went cold at that.

"Doesn't matter. We'd better go, my dear, the police are coming." He took the map from her and then they flew up the stairs, scared the heck out of Fred, and went out the open window into the chilly night.

He still had her muted and trapped as they flew, and that night her heart beat rapidly not from the flight but from the fear. If Gryphon didn't turn her in, her father would destroy her life. No matter what it was all over for her, and it was all she could do not to cry.

He flew her back to the building, keeping her turned so she couldn't see the name on it, and didn't touch the ground until they were inside the little apartment. He let her go and she stumbled free as he locked the door.

"I have to hand it to you, you're stranger than the real Dryad. She always went after things she could fence, but you? You want a blank piece of paper in the McBride family safety deposit box."

"For a superhero you don't ask the right questions." She folded her arms and tried, really tried, to sound scary but she was just too tired and frightened.

"Oh?" He stalked closer until they were a foot from each other. "Then what should I be asking?"

"Why does the richest family in town keep a blank piece of paper in their safety deposit box?"

He smiled. "I already know why."

"Oh?"

"Because I asked them to."

That shocked her. "You? That belonged to Dryad, why would you have it?"

"It was on her the night Master Bloodless killed her. I was too late to save her, but I saw it was what he was after and she died to protect it. I did the only thing I could and grabbed it."

Rage made her livid and for a long moment she couldn't speak. At last her voice came to her, and it was a shout. "You mean you stole it!" She hauled back and punched his jaw as hard as she could.

Gryphon hadn't been expecting it, and rage had made her strong, so he actually took two steps back. Rave for her part doubled over, clutching her fist and cursing. It had felt like punching an iron statue and her hand ached.

"You're hurt," he said. "Good." Her eyes snapped up in surprise. "That will teach you to sucker punch someone who's trying to help you."

"Help me? You could have saved my a- Dryad that night, and instead you stole this from her." And whatever it was, somehow her treacherous father knew it had value to a super villain. He probably wanted her to translate it so he could sell it on the open market. Thanks to Gryphon stealing it she was being pulled further down the rabbit hole with no hope of escape.

"I didn't reach her in time, but I did reach Master Bloodless. I knew you were out there, somewhere, watching, poor kid. I took it, thinking it had to mean something, but when I saw it was blank I kept it for you, not knowing who you were."

"You're a bastard!" She spat out as he charged her. She swung again but he was ready, and grabbed her arm, turning her around and wrenching it behind her back until it was painful.

"I couldn't get him that night but I got him, eventually. I killed Master Bloodless for you. Not to save the damn city, not for the real Dryad, but for you."

The emotion she heard in his voice was real and her heart tore in half. She loved James, not Gryphon, but none of it mattered. As long as the wild goose chase continued, she would never be free to make a choice.

He turned her suddenly and wiped the tears away. Before she could say anything he was kissing her, and Raven was at a loss as to what to do. He made the choice for her and she gave herself up to the easy path, to the need she felt, and kissed him back.

He picked her up like she weighed nothing and brought her to the bed. Before he had been rough and jarring, this time he moved slowly like James had. As the other man's name flashed though her mind she felt guilt but squashed it.

James McBride had no idea Raven Keppler was even a woman, and this man, this nameless man, had been waiting for her for a long time.

She speared her good fingers through his blond hair and nipped at his lips. After that he slid his tongue inside as his hands peeled off her suit and she waited for the rush, the tumble headfirst into ecstasy, but he was determined to make her work for it.

When she was out of her suit he showed her with his hands on hers just how to undo his. For every hesitant touch she gave him he returned, his fingertips on her ribs like hers on his, the pad of his thumb across her nipple after she did the same.

Frustrated she let her hand trail down and grasped his cock, hot and heavy. It was so large and warm it almost burned her hand, and she lost herself to the smooth texture as he thrust against her palm.

And then his thick fingers were inside her, curling forward to rub the spot that made her bones flow to liquid. He knelt between her legs and when her mind drifted and her strokes slowed, so did his.

Wordless, Raven picked up again, frustrated knowing this was going nowhere but the torture was delicious. She closed her eyes and felt his breath on her. "Open your eyes, see me. _See me._ "

His eyes were so green, so catlike and she lost herself in them.

The pleasure of him was in the knowledge that he was forbidden and the mastery of his touch. She spread her legs and thrust her hips against him, arching her back.

At long last Gryphon cursed and pulled away. She smiled with victory as she heard the packet torn open, but then he was there. Roughly he grabbed her hip and dragged her against him, poising at her entrance.

"Say you want me."

"What?" she managed to ask through the fog of desire.

"Me. Say you want me."

"I want- oh, god!"

He slammed all the way in and for a moment there was pain as he hit her cervix, but then he pulled out and sank in more smoothly. All the while he kept those jungle cat eyes on her, both of them hidden behind their masks.

She couldn't do it any more, couldn't hold that intimate gaze, and bent into the crook of his neck as his hips worked smoothly. He felt wonderful, like pure leashed strength, and every cell of her being was on fire.

At long last he slipped a hand between them, and immediately pulled back the hood above her clit and pressed down. She came with a startled cry, a wordless scream of pleasure that rang in her ears as the pleasure reverberated up and down her body.

She collapsed inwardly with a sigh, her heart hammering, but Gryphon kissed her until her eyes opened again. "We're not done yet."

And he slammed back in.

***

She felt incredible, like heaven. Raven smelled like cinnamon and the woods, a thing of nature like the creature she was named for. Both names, James loved her as Dryad and as Raven Keppler.

Her body was soft beneath his, but there was an iron core to her, her muscles honed and well used. All he could taste was Raven, she was all he could feel. She gripped him snugly, a perfect fit, and her sweet hands clawed at his back, sharpening the pleasure.

He could lose himself in her, just fall into her and surrender to what he felt in his heart. He could, but it would be a dream, a fantasy.

She tipped her head back, moaning as he hit some spot. He had no idea just how he'd done it so James repeated the move with his hips and found he could feel her respond. She moaned and squeezed his thighs tighter with her own legs.

She was close, he could tell, and the sounds she made were so sweet that he let himself fall over. He'd meant to draw it out, to delay reality, to make her come as many times as he could but it was too much.

She screamed out and he let himself go with a roar, throwing his head back and slamming into her so roughly the bed shook. He felt incredible and with the pulsing of her body his responded, and they fed on each other for long moments until the bliss swept through them both, leaving languor in its wake.

This was the moment when he knew he should ask her what was on the paper, when he should tell her he knew it was Raven beneath that dammed mask, but James knew in his heart there was no trust to take if none was given.

He rolled off her and fished around for a towel beneath the bed, bringing up to clean them up. She laid there, naked but for her mask like the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and she was still sad.

He sat up and slowly raised his hands. "Dryad, I need to tell you something."

She came up on her elbows, the pose seductive, and despite the recent strain he'd put on his body he reacted. He raised his leg to hide it rather than surprise her, and unlaced his mask.

Her light blue eyes went wide with shock as he slipped off the mask and knew she wouldn't recognize this face. "This is me."

She shook her head. "Why? In our world our secret identities are the greatest weapon we have against each other."

"I don't want to fight you. I want to help you."

"Help me? How?"

"Do you know why I'm called Gryphon?"

"It's an animal, they call the griffin the king of the beasts, the king of the air."

He shook his head. "It's a being of two creatures in one body."

She sat up now and swung her legs over the side of the bed peering close at him. "What are you telling me? In addition to the flight and the super strength you're a shape shifter?"

He nodded. "And this is also me."

He let the change happen, a ruffling of skin what was almost pleasant, and when he looked at her he knew he was clearly his normal self.

"You're James McBride," she said, horrified.

"Yes, and-"

Without warning she punched him, even stronger than before. His brain screamed out as for the first time in his life, the great Gryphon was knocked unconscious.

***

She came to her right mind flying naked over Lake Michigan. At least she'd grabbed her suit along with the map when she'd fled and now she remembered to put it on. But when she was zipped up she didn't feel safe.

How could she have had no idea?

Then again, how could she ever have had an idea? Gryphon was three inches taller, fifty pounds heavier, a natural blond with green eyes. James McBride was all sleek muscles, his hair naturally black, his eyes the bright Irish blue of his father's people.

They had a different cadence to their voices, a different pitch. It was almost like...two creatures in the same body.

She felt like screaming, and she wasn't even sure why. Hell, she thought for a mad moment, that was at least one dilemma solved. She madly began to laugh, hugging herself. It didn't change anything. The second this nightmare was over the costume went away and Dryad would never fly again. And though two men- one man, she corrected, wanted Dryad and neither plain old Raven, they would both have to deal with the disappearance of Dryad.

She could run. She could just fly away into the night, start over fresh somewhere no one knew her. Hide her powers, finally go back to school and find a career she loved where she could make a difference. Find some nice, boring, and stable man, and fall in love, have children, live in quiet desperation until she died.

But there was a more than fifty percent chance any children she had would also be Supes. He heart withered at that. A new life could not involve children unless she brought her secret with her.

But if Gryphon wasn't going to turn her in, she still had to face her father and whatever plans he had. Maybe she could even turn him in. A man like Gryphon had the power and means to protect her identity, but foolishly she'd punched him twice and run off. Boy, she had really messed things up.

No matter what she still had to make her father happy, and a map he couldn't read wasn't going to do the trick. She floated there, buffeted about by the wind, and tried to figure out what to do. If she went to her father there would be threats and intimidation, or she could follow the little map to where it led.

Something crashed into her painfully from the side and the shock made her lose her concentration, and Raven went spiraling towards the ground. She recovered but her entire side ached and she knew it had been armor on a hard body that hit her. Her first thought was that Gryphon had followed her but it wasn't his golden costume she saw, it was something that chilled her to her bones.

He was thin, very thin, and he couldn't fly himself. It was the suit that let him do so, state of the art, working off magnets or something equally baffling. Her aunt had never studied him beyond what she thought she needed to know to evade him.

Raven could fly, but not fast enough, and he floated a hundred feet away, watching her, waiting. Master Bloodless was there though it was impossible, he'd been dead eight years, but here she was, Dryad, dead ten years but still going strong. Perhaps she faced not an older man who had evaded death, but a son bent on revenge.

He started towards her and Raven started to fly away, but he was faster. This time when he came she swung around and punched his glass helmet. To her shock, it hurt, but she cracked the glass and knocked him back.

It was almost unheard of but not impossible for her to grow a new power that late in her life, and it seemed she had. She hauled back when he came again and punched him with everything she had, but he was too fast, and ducked. The follow through had her spinning and he used her confusion to rip the map out of her hands.

"Nice try, little girl. Thank you!"

With that he flew away, disregarding her as if she was an insect. From the voice she knew this was, in fact, the same Master Bloodless that had killed her aunt ten years ago.

And he was her father.

CHAPTER EIGHT

On autopilot Raven went home and fed her pets by routine. That alone took half an hour, and then everyone wanted to know what happened. There was commiseration and congratulations that she hadn't been caught, which, for a supervillain, was a good day after all.

She surfed the net and checked the newspaper websites but no one carried the story of who Dryad had been, or who she was currently. When that was over she dragged herself into the shower and stood under the spray staring blankly, feeling numb.

She had never really hated her father before; after all, he had left her with what he thought was a good parent. But ten years ago he had killed his own sister, the woman who had raised her, and left her to fend for herself.

She didn't know where he'd been, didn't know how he'd escaped Gryphon's wrath, and she didn't care. All that mattered was that he was alive, he was free, and there was something he wanted bad enough to resurface, bad enough to blackmail his own daughter over.

She wasn't fast enough to catch him, and even with her super strength his suit protected him and enhanced his normal strength to Supe levels, and he had far more practice at it than she. Somehow she had super power now, perhaps it had come from her mother, or perhaps another generation. Annette had never spoken of her grandparents, but they must have been doozies.

Like Annette she had the power to speak to trees, to read the map written in their sap. Master Bloodless was a computer geek, he had partnered with chemistry geeks turned supervillains in the past but Gryphon had either killed or put away almost all such monsters in America. That meant her father would be back, and she had to be ready.

She thought back to the dossier her aunt had kept. Master Bloodless: super intelligence, super senses. Narcissist, megalomaniac. During his career as a hero he had spent his time befriending supervillains, exploiting their abilities, then beating them and turning them in.

He'd never gone to the conventions where Gryphon had been so popular. He was a lone wolf. Annette had always suspected him of hiding sinister motives, and boy, had she been right.

The first Dryad had long been a bank robber, but shortly after Rave came to live with her jewels from private homes and museums had become her source of notoriety. Annette never brought Rave along on those jobs, just the banks. And whenever Rave had asked about the jewels Annette had clammed up and closed herself off.

Whatever happened to the jewels it was part of something Annette had shielded her from, some secret she had taken to her grave. The map had to be related, and it had to be some plan that didn't include hocking them to fences. Rave and her aunt had always been comfortable but never had they lived high on the hog as a master jewel thief should. Perhaps Annette had hidden the jewels away for some reason, and the map lead to their location.

Maybe she didn't need Gryphon after all. She hadn't been to Annette's hideout in ten years, but she still knew the way. It was the weekend so she could disappear for a while, and there were still a good few hours of darkness left.

Ignoring the protests of her animals she rose and dressed again in her costume, fixing the mask with thanks to the saplings that secured it, and set out spare food. If she didn't make it back before the next nightfall her animals knew what to do and her neighbors were used to seeing Millie taking the elevator herself alone to use the courtyard. Taking to the air she floated over the sleeping city with a heavy heart. No Supes in the skies, just a few planes heading to and from O'Hare and Midway.

It took her a full hour of her fastest speed, but she left city behind for the western suburbs, so much larger in ten years, and then she found the farms and fields. The small orchard she remembered so well was now bordered with a strip mall and a housing development in its infancy.

She landed, soothed the trees, and roots pulled and tugged. The trap door, buried in the roots of the two oldest trees, opened with a cloud of dust. Rave waved it off, sneezing but the lights didn't come on. Damn it, the generator was probably out. There was spare fuel, she just had to wander in the dark until she found it.

She murmured to the trees to close it behind her and started down the stairs. Earth and roots moved and the door slammed shut, locking her in. Ten years of patchwork memories hit her and she felt along the wall, touching the roots let inside that would let her ask them to open the door and let her back out.

Twenty-one steps down and then it was a large rectangular room. The back left was there the generator was and spare fuel. She went slowly in pitch blackness, fighting ancient animal panic, and bumped her knee into the cot she had often napped on while Annette worked.

After ten fumbling minutes she made it to the back and found the fuel cans, but better yet a pack of matches. Lighting one she found candles and lit two, placing them far on the other side of the small utility room. She poured the fuel in and after three false starts the generator rumbled on and caught, working hard.

The lights powered up seconds later. Rave stepped out, extinguishing one candle and carrying the other just in case. The hideout was just as she remembered it.

A grand old bomb shelter it had been converted while Annette was young and starting out. File cabinets housed data on Supes and a desk for work and planning still had notes on heists abandoned after the first Dryad's death.

Behind the cots were shelves of books, games and toys for a young Rave, and a cabinet of weapons. Another was filled with canned food and bottled water, all a good supervillain needed in case of siege.

The lights were naked bulbs strung up along the walls giving every dusty thing a forlorn cast. How many hours had she spent there doodling in her coloring books, asking petulant questions, and then training as a sidekick? Oh, it had been so wrong to do what they did, but hers memories that were filled with Annette were warm and welcome with the fondness of family.

She wandered to the cabinets and the first file she pulled was on Gryphon.

Gryphon: Superhero, super-strength, increased speed, flight, and super-senses. A boy scout. Never fight him.

Had her aunt known he was James McBride, the son of her lover, or had she just known she could never beat him?

Frustrated, rave turned to the entry on Master Bloodless but it gave no deep insights, it was the same as she remembered, the same as her own entry in her apartment. She began to search the files but nothing popped out at her, no location of missing jewels, no unreasoning fear of Master Bloodless. No hint the man was her father.

By the time she'd broken down and opened a can of cherry pie filling to eat, she finally found something odd. A series of super villains, all the ones that Master Bloodless had taken down. Each one had three numbers listed at the bottom corner of his or her file. The first two were dates and the last was an amount, usually about five thousand.

She pulled twenty and tried for the life of her to remember each villain. Four were still alive, the rest dead. Bloodless was an odd name for a "hero" who had spilled so much.

Only one of the villains was incarcerated locally. And only one man could get her inside: Gryphon. And in order to get him to trust her, she was going to have to reveal her true identity.

God help her.

***

She found him in the apartment after night fell once more. He was at the desk watching the monitors, and she realized they were hooked up to street cameras in the city below. He had a switchboard of lights she knew were probably hooked up to bank alarms and museums. Gryphon was hard at work.

"Come in," he said before she could knock. "Super sense. Hearing," he said as if she had asked a question aloud.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't realize my own strength, literally."

He picked up a clipboard and tossed it to her. "I updated the database already."

There was a picture of her at the top, breaking into the house. She had never really seen herself before, and he had managed to capture her like she was an ethereal creature, the suit skimming her curves in the dim light, making her loom powerful and sexy.

Beneath it was a good estimate of age, height, and weight. Her powers were listed as flight, animal communication, and now super strength.

"You missed one."

"One what?" he asked and finally turned from the monitor. He was mask less but the face that looked her was an intimate stranger.

"Power."

"Oh?"

She touched her mask. "It's how this stays on. I'm called the Dryad because I can talk to trees. They listen to me. The mask is held on by live saplings. The mask will stay on until they die or I tell them to let go."

He took the clipboard back from her, pulled the blue pen down and made a note. James turned his back on her then and typed something on a keyboard.

"Thanks, that helps. Won't try and fight you in any orchards anytime soon."

"Master Bloodless is alive."

Something started on the printer on the file cabinet by the monitors. "And I supposes if you chose to start robbing nurseries there'd be nothing I could do."

"Did you hear me?"

"Master Bloodless is dead." He pulled the paper from the printer and passed it to her.

The picture showed the silver suit and black bubble helmet. "Master Bloodless, real name unknown. Super strength, super intelligence, advanced speed. Uses flight suit to achieve speeds of up to one hundred miles an hour with minute maneuverability. Operated nine years as super hero with no known rescues, sixteen kills and four captures. Known arch nemesis was Dryad, jewel thief and bank robber. After death of Dryad Master Bloodless spent one year as super villain committing similar bank robberies. Killed by Gryphon in battle." She looked at him. "So? How do you know he's dead?"

"I cracked open that damn helmet and he fell almost a thousand feet into Lake Michigan. Unless one of his super powers is breathing underwater and immortality, he's dead."

"I'm telling you he's alive. He's alive and I know where he's going, but I can't beat him."

He seemed tired, disappointed in her but she wasn't sure how. Okay, so punching him wasn't the best thing to do, but after all she was a supervillain, he a superhero. Wasn't that what they were supposed to do?

"You're right. If he was alive you couldn't beat him, but you don't have to worry. He is dead."

"Damn it, Gry- James, whatever the hell I should call you! He is alive, he has come back, and he's after something big."

He shut the computer off and stood, stretching with a bored expression. "Nine years ago he was raving on about how Dryad had stolen something from him, something he wanted very badly. It distracted him enough that when we fought I disabled his suit, punched him out, and let him fall to his death."

"He is alive, and whatever that was he's after it. I know where to go."

"Master Bloodless wanted the cache he thought the first Dryad, the _real Dryad_ had _._ But obviously she didn't keep her ill-gotten gains, or you wouldn't be flying around in her costume. So there is nothing anyone pretending to be Master Bloodless could want. If he were alive he would be back to hitting banks and I'd know by now. Just because you've decided to bring back an oldie doesn't mean Bloodless is out there."

She'd hurt him somehow, and she wasn't sure how to fix it. "What can I do to convince you?"

"Tell me why you showed up. Tell me why you revived Dryad. Why?"

"I have the same powers. It only made sense." She was still working up her courage to take off her mask.

"No." he stepped closer to her. "No, that's the same damn suit, I can smell it. You fly like her, do everything she could do. Why now?"

Then it sank in. "Super senses. Super smell."

His eyes narrowed. "Yes?"

She touched her mask and the saplings let go. "So you know." The mask came off and she found herself exposed, watching him.

"Yes, Raven, I've known from the first night when Gryphon chased you off."

Her heart was beating faster and faster and finally the temper went. "You knew? You knew and you let me think you were two people and I was some sort of super slut?"

She hauled off to punch him again but he caught her. "Hell, Raven, wait until you get used to it. If I were normal you would have fractured my damn skull. When you get your new power under control we'll have to duke it out."

"I'm not a damn supervillain you idiot! I didn't want to do this. I got blackmailed into it, either I robbed your damn safe and that box, or my identity was sent to every TV station in town."

Something dark flitted into his eyes, those strange green eyes, and he held her tighter. "Who? Who would do that?"

"My damned father!"

"I'll kill him," he said without thinking, and now it was she who gripped him. "There's something else you have to know. It's Master Bloodless, he-"

"He's dead, Raven! Master Bloodless is dead!"

"I heard his damn voice, the same voice I heard when I fought him as a kid, and it was the same voice my father used to blackmail me."

Finally, Gryphon paused, and she realized what she saw in his eyes was fear.

CHAPTER NINE

His mind went back nine years. Dryad, a long time bank robber who targeted safety deposit boxes so the numbers of her scores were never tabulated correctly, was dead. His father had taken in Raven and James knew she was safe, but he never let his mind linger.

She was a hauntingly beautiful child, and child was the operative word. At sixteen she was scared and alone, and whenever he drew near to her he wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her, kiss those tears away. He felt dirty and so he avoided her like the plague.

Since that night he had wanted to kill Master Bloodless day in and day out, but it had taken months for provocation. Suddenly Bloodless was going into banks with much less panache than Dryad had. He used brute force and timed it to when he knew James, as Gryphon, was tied up with someone else.

He'd been at a convention and returned to find on one such robbery Bloodless had killed Golden Star, patrolling Gryphon's territory for him while he was away. Now he caught Bloodless exiting the Bank of America on the north end of the Loop.

Gryphon charged, all the rage at Annette's death and Raven's trauma behind him, combining with the guilt he felt at being unable to prevent such a tragedy.

Bloodless' suit was silver in the moonlight, a boiled down space suit that allowed him to fly, but only at lower heights. As such he often escaped into parking garages so James aimed straight for him, knowing if Bloodless spotted him and tried to run his only escape route lead to Lake Michigan.

Sure enough Bloodless panicked and Gryphon slammed into him as he aimed towards the lake. Using all of his power he bear hugged him and swooped down to arc up. Gryphon could only go so high before the air thinned and breathing was difficult, but he knew what he was doing.

Even if Gryphon passed out a fall wouldn't kill him. It would hurt like hell, but he'd survive. Bloodless would not. For the first time in his life, James intended to kill a man.

"What are you doing!?" Bloodless' electronically altered voice said through a speaker. His face was covered in a shaded reflective dome, gadgets hard at work behind it.

"What does it look like, Master Bloodless? I am a hero and you are a villain. It's time to end this."

As they went higher Bloodless began to thrash. "Heroes don't kill!"

"Tonight I don't give a shit about being a hero to the city. I am doing this for one little girl."

Bloodless laughed. "So the great hero has a hard on for an underage girl. The press would love it!"

Gryphon punched him, and the use of his super-strength cost him flight and they slowed. His fist went through, shattering the glass, and Bloodless' head rocked back as his nose crunched. He wore a spandex mask and complicated goggles, obscuring his identity, but it didn't matter.

Again the chilling laugh. "Believe me, she's as cute as her mother. Should have killed her too-"

Gryphon punched again and his fist came back covered in blood.

Bloodless spit behind his mask, moaning slightly until he recovered. "You don't want to kill me, Gryphon. I have information, I could get you every supervillain in the world. We can work together, clean up the st-"

Gryphon let him go. A long speech by a villain was a deadly mistake, and he floated there a thousand feet in the air watching Bloodless fall for the mistake. He fidgeted, screaming, trying to get his suit to work, but that far up and over water it was useless.

Guilt sluiced through him but Gryphon squelched it. This was for Raven. However she grew up, she would never have to face Master Bloodless again. The villain's body crashed into the lake with a large splash and Gryphon floated there for a long time, but nothing surfaced.

It was over. If he left Raven alone, kept her from the world of Supes, she could grow up clean and free of it. But there were always more Supes being born each day, and some of them would become villains. His path was set and his work would never end.

Shaking off the memories, Gryphon stared hard at her. "Tell me everything. Convince me he's back. Convince me I didn't watch him die that night."

***

He'd known, he'd always known. A part of her was thrilled that boring old Raven had meant something to him, but another part was just as angry that he'd kept it all to himself.

It was strange but when he'd slipped the mask back on, and she had done the same, it made it easier to talk. He could be Gryphon and she could be Dryad, and there was nothing too complicated in that.

It had taken her all night to convince him that Master Bloodless was her father, and she knew that was because she hadn't trusted him. Rave ached to reassure him but the damage was done.

"He won't move in the day," James said. "Bloodless needs the cover of night so we have time. Tell me how you know where he will be."

She sat on the bed and smoothed her hair back. "The blank piece of paper you took off my aunt? It wasn't blank."

He rubbed his temples still in Gryphon form and it was disconcerting to think of him as James. "Then what was it?"

"It was a map, written in tree sap. The only two people who could read it are my aunt or I."

"Your father can't?"

She shook her head. "Not if his life depended on it."

He gave her a strange look. "You have the most unusual powers I'd ever seen. Who was your mother?"

"I don't know. No none ever spoke of her."

"Yet the first Dryad was Bloodless' brother?"

She nodded.

"And you have the same power as your aunt, and now have super strength, but Bloodless doesn't have that."

"So?"

"I'm not sure. Anyway, did you see where it led?"

"No, I didn't get the chance. But that's how I know where he'll be."

He visibly paled and his fist clenched. "He'll come for you."

"And when he does you're going to follow us to where it leads."

"And why would I do that?"

It was her turn to rub her temples. "Because he's a supervillain. Whatever that map leads to he killed his own sister to get, tried to kill you, faked his own death for ten years, and blackmailed his daughter to find. It's important, but more than that you _must_ follow us."

"Why?"

"You have to kill him, you're the only one who can."

***

Raven opened her eyes to the grey before dawn.

"What are you doing here?" she heard a pigeon ask. Turning Raven saw she was in Gr- James' bed, he was asleep, and it was Frank talking to her.

"Long story. Would you by any chance happen to know if my father is in my apartment?"

Frank snorted. "He tried to get in but Millie tore him up good. He took off, cursing your name."

"Thanks."

Frank flew in and landed on the desk looking them over. "Should I even ask why you're bumping uglies with Mister America here?"

"None of your business Frank. Now get out of here, he's waking up!"

Frank cooed and took off with a flurry of wings. Before he woke up Raven undid her mask and took a deep breath.

"Good morning," James said sleepily. "I'd better call Susan, let her know not to worry."

He stood, naked but for the mask and Raven took a deep breath. "James, wait."

He turned and she felt her cheeks heat when she saw he was still tumescent with the morning relaxation. "What?"

"Tell her I took her advice and you spent the night with me. That is, if this isn't just a, um, three-time thing." She frowned. In his sleep he'd reverted to the James she knew, with his black hair and blue eyes, and the Gryphon mask was unsettling. "Would you at least take off the mask?"

He did and when it was off they were James and Raven, naked and uncomfortable.

She stared at him, so beautiful to her, and wondered if he'd have any interest in her if she hadn't been Dryad.

Making love in the night, and that's exactly what they'd done, had been between Gryphon and Dryad. It had been the big, blond superhero who had stroked Dryad tenderly, kissed Dryad's skin with reverence, brought Dryad to overwhelming orgasms over and over again.

Now she was shy Raven Keppler, he was powerful James McBride, and except for the masks, they had nothing in common.

"Susan gave you advice?"

Too late she realized what she'd revealed and Raven blushed. Now he knew that she had been in love with him enough for Susan, the woman who'd raised him, to step in and play Cupid.

He crossed the room and drew her into a hug. His skin was rough, and so warm. She melted into his strong body, hiding her face, so terribly unsure of what he would say.

"Raven, I...I remember when we first met. I loved you then, and I love you now."

Her heart was thundering in her chest. "You- you don't mean that. It's Dryad you love, or think you love."

He pushed her back and stared down into her eyes. "Raven...it's you, it's always been you. I can't make you believe that, you have to look into your heart and see mine."

She pulled away and turned her back on him. She'd been alone for so long. She was poor; he was rich. She was a supervillain, he was a superhero. His father had been warm and loving; hers was a cold, calculating bastard. She was so wrong for him, on every level.

"Don't tell Susan. Look, we have work to do today, and tonight...tonight Gryphon and Dryad have to work together."

He stepped behind her drawing her back into his arms, his slight erection still thick, cushioned between her butt cheeks. "Will you retire Dryad when this is done?"

Unable to answer, she jerked a nod, and left him for the bathroom. When the door closed, she cried. She knew how to live without James or Gryphon in her life, she'd done so for so long, but she didn't know how to let go of ghosts of the past.

CHAPTER TEN

Raven was shaking. Her animals, her friends, were all scared. Millie tried to talk her out of it, they all did, but Raven knew her father had to die, or she'd never be safe.

She stood on the balcony, waiting as the sun slid down. He was out there, Gryphon, somewhere watching her. He might have the costume on, be in his other form, but in her heart he was James.

She'd had all day to think on things. Dryad could become a force for good. There had been goodness in Annette Keppler, Rave knew that, and there was goodness in her. She couldn't abandon Dryad go but she'd find a way to go straight. And she knew James loved her as much as she loved him. She would prove to him she was good, no matter how long it took, and if Gryphon and Dryad could be together, than James McBride and Raven Keppler could.

For James and her aunt, Dryad would live on, but she would help people. She would make a difference in the world. And Raven Keppler would follow her own dreams, make her own fortune. And maybe, just maybe, one day, she'd be the right woman for James McBride.

Sunlight died in a spectacular burst of reds and purples, night sliding blue and black over the horizon. The summer breeze stirred and trouble was coming, but she had her secret weapon, super strength. Bloodless didn't know about that and she had to hope it would keep her alive long enough to find where the map led and what to, long enough for Gryphon to join them.

A speck was zooming through the high rises coming rapidly towards her. Raven hopped the railing, called goodbye to her friends, and floated, waiting.

Master Bloodless grabbed her painfully. "Bitch!"

She heard a distant growl and prayed Gryphon would take his time and wait as they had planned.

"Need me to read the map?"

"Bitch! You know where we're going!" He produced the map and shoved it into her face.

Raven looked but it was too old, half of it faded forever. "Robinson Woods, but the map is too faded after that. Whatever you're looking for is buried, and you'll need me to talk to the trees."

He was hurting her with his grip and the smile that spread underneath his helmet was chillingly evil. "Then let's go."

He took off at full speed, faster than Raven had ever flown, and she felt nauseous, fighting hard to keep her mind straight.

He stopped over the thick woods, and Raven felt the trees whisper their welcome to her. It bolstered her soul and she knew Gryphon couldn't be far behind.

"You go in and get it," her father whispered.

"I can find out where it is, but only if I know what I'm looking for."

"What that cunt hid here years ago."

With that he dropped her, and sheer surprise had her falling. She recovered, floating, slowing down, but a golden streak crashed into Bloodless, and they began to fall.

They narrowly missed her as they fell, James punching her father as they went.

She let herself fall after them, using her powers to slow and awaken the trees.

"Catch them," she ordered.

The branches of a thick tree caught the men, shifting slowly, pulling them apart, wrapping them tight until neither could move.

"Dryad! Free me!" Gryphon bellowed.

"You two working together? I'll kill you both!"

"Gryphon, I'm sorry. I can't do that."

He stilled, staring down at her as she floated upwards. Both of them ignored Bloodless' bellowing. "Can't do what?"

"I can't let you kill him. He is mine to kill. He's my father, he killed my aunt, and he is planning to kill me. I can't let you do this, I have to do this to right the wrongs I've committed."

"Raven! Are you insane? You're not like this, you can't do that!"

"He knows who you are? Whore!" Bloodless spat out. Raven floated over and kicked him in the stomach, making him double over as much as he could in the hold of the branches.

"Father, I know you killed my aunt. I know who you are. I know you're looking for something, but it's not here. It will stay buried, all knowledge of it as well, along with my aunt's secret."

He began to laugh, a chilling sound with the digital augmenting of his speaker still working, but his voice ringing out from his shattered helmet in concert. "You know nothing! Yes, you're my whelp, a sordid mistake that came from a one night stand with Dryad.

"She was never my sister! She was a whore who seduced me one night and dumped you on my doorstep nine months later."

"No!" Raven cried, shaking.

"Dryad, let me down!" Gryphon pleaded.

Bloodless laughed. "Took me six years to find her and dump you back there. She told you she was your aunt because she feared reprisals against the daughter of the Dryad. Supervillain! Ha! You have no idea what she was really up to."

Though she felt like screaming Raven felt for the knife hidden in the thick sheath at her hip. She forced herself to remain calm. "And just what was that?"

He laughed one more irritating time and suddenly she felt the tree holding him scream in her head. Light shot from his suit and her addled mind registered a laser.

"No! Stop it! You're hurting him!" Calling on her power she begged the tree and the others near it to fight back and branches began to twist, smacking at Bloodless who went wild, cutting off limb after limb.

She pulled the knife out, the same one Bloodless had used to kill the first Dryad all those years ago, the most treasured and gruesome souvenir of her collection. Rave began to float up to Bloodless, the swinging trees avoiding her.

"No!" Gryphon said and began to struggle, but the powerful oak held him tight.

"Bitch!" Bloodless cried once he broke free. "Did you really think I was stupid enough to come to your mother's lair into a trap? Now I know the map leads elsewhere and you lied, and chemicals will reveal it all!" He flew off and Raven felt her bones chill.

"Release him," she ordered the trees.

Gryphon fell free of the trees and turned as if to give chase.

"Grab me! He planted a bomb, trust me!"

Gryphon hovered there, looking between Master Bloodless' retreating form and hers rapidly floating towards the night sky.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the trees as with a curse Gryphon grabbed her. A split second later the bombs went off and she heard the trees scream as Gryphon shielded her and began to fly away.

Miserable and overwhelmed, Raven let herself fall unconscious, seeking solace in oblivion.

***

"Rave?"

Her eyes opened as they flew through the night. With much greater speed than she could ever manage, James brought her back to Gryphon's lair and landed with grace, still holding her tight.

The door opened for him automatically and the light panels in the ceiling lit up, monitors turning on, the large room coming to life as he stalked through, straight for the bed and laid her down.

He peeled off his mask and those strange green eyes were soft with concern. "Are you...all right?"

"I'll live," she said numbly. So much new information that she couldn't process. Her mind just shuttered on it all. "We have to figure out what he's after."

"What did you see on the map?" he asked cautiously.

"Robinson Woods. Nothing specific."

"You're handling this remarkably well."

"I have to keep functioning, have to keep going." She rose and worked out some of the hurt from her body. "When Annette died, I learned to just go on. Grieve later. But Bloodless blew up her lair. He outed himself to you. He has no fear, nothing left to be afraid of, nothing left to lose. So whatever he's after, it's bad, and we have to get to it first."

James hesitated but then walked over to his computer bank. He called up the satellite view of the forest preserve. "I have access to a government satellite. I can do a thermal scan, see if anything pops up."

"Her old lair was cold. Nothing will show. Check and see if there have been any geological scans of the area, it'll register like a cave."

"On it."

"I need to shower."

"Go ahead. I'll keep working."

She felt his eyes on her but pushed through it, finding the bathroom in the corner of the sleeping area. It was larger than she thought, and she gave a passing thought to his lair, how extraordinary it was.

She stripped from her damaged suit as the shower started up and once under the spray she washed off the blood and dirt. And once she was clean she collapsed to the floor and let the tears fall.

She didn't know how to turn to someone else for comfort. And though she trusted James, she knew in her heart if she started crying on his shoulder she'd never stop. She had to be tough, prove herself, see this through to the end.

Even as she sobbed, and oh god, it hurt, she knew she had to press on. If there was any truth to Bloodless' assertion Annette had some plan hidden away, she had to discover it. If it was evil enough Master Bloodless thought it could make his dreams come true, she had to expose it. And if it was something good, some heroic side to Annette Keppler, she had to find out.

She couldn't ask James to accept her until she could accept herself. And her picture had been woefully incomplete. It hurt to know such secrets had been kept from her, it hurt to know the truth had been revealed too late to make things right with...her mother. And most of all it hurt to know she had never figured it out.

The water ran cold when her tears stopped, and she soothed her red skin, renewed with purpose. Stepping out, she toweled herself off and found a large robe, obviously for James in his Gryphon form. She was swimming in it.

After drying her hair, she looked pale, a little shocked, but steady in the mirror.

Out in the room James was searching through twelve windows on the screens.

"Any luck?"

"Nothing so far. I suspect the best thing to do would be to see if you could speak to the trees there."

"I have a better idea. I remember the list she had, it was names of villains. Numbers were noted, sometimes amounts, five thousand dollars it seemed. The funny thing is they all coordinate to the list of villains Master Bloodless put away in his time as an alleged hero."

"And this is related?"

"Could be. You can get us in to see the Crimson Blade."

He'd remove his mask and that strange green-eyed blonde raised an eyebrow. "You want to walk in to a high security old-school asylum for the criminally insane for a chat?"

She sat on the other rolling chair, tucking her legs under her. "Why not? Doesn't it bother you? Crimson Blade blew up a few military posts during the Cold War, under the blessing of the USSR, and when that ended merely became an arms dealer for supervillains. How is that insane? What mental disorder does he have that's so incurable he needs to be locked up for all time?"

"He's a sociopath."

"Never stopped anyone from running for public office."

His lips flattened at her attempted joke. "The president doesn't have the ability to turn his body into liquid metal."

"Doesn't it just seem strange?"

"He killed nineteen people!"

"Soldiers! During war time! Captain Freedom was over there doing the same thing!"

"Well when communism fell Freedom became a stockbroker, not an arms dealer."

"Great, so Freedom got involved in derivatives and crashed the economy."

His green eyes narrowed. "Are you really so invested in being a villain that you can only feel sympathy for evildoers and seek bad in those who have done good?"

"Damn it James! Do Supes run in your family?"

"I'm the first. My younger cousin has super speed and intelligence."

"Tim? He's fifteen. So when your powers manifested, what did your father do?"

"Pulled me from boarding school until I learned to control my powers."

"And the first time you morphed at your rich boarding school, did they call the cops?"

"Well...no."

She tried to tamp down on her anger. "The first time my father caught me talking to a tree he drove eight hours and dumped my on Annette's doorstep. That was after I accidentally made an apple tree strike a student who was bullying some kid. They called the police. We ran here. Annette made me hide. You were the closest thing I had to a friend as a kid. In college I kept to myself. The only model I ever had was Annette.

"I met some of the villains Master Bloodless slew. Every single one has a story like mine. We were poor and alone, and the only one who would take us in was someone who taught us a way of life outside society. All you heroes either come from rich families, or your powers started during a crime wave by one of us and people seized on a hero to elevate."

He stared at her for a long moment. "There is right and there is wrong. You walked away from the life."

"Yeah, well, I had a rich benefactor then. I had an opportunity that people like Crimson Blade didn't."

"So what are you saying?"

"Nothing." She sighed and smoothed her hair. "Everything. I'm just angry at the world."

"It's too late to get to Elgin tonight, that's where Blade is. I can get us in tomorrow. If you're angry, maybe now is a good time to train you on super strength.

"Super strength means your bones are harder, more dense, muscles stronger. You can take a better punch and give one. You need to learn to use this power."

She stared at him as he stood.

"What? Your- Annette taught you to use your powers of flight, and talking to animals and trees. This is what we're supposed to do in the Supe world, help each other."

"But my suit is shredded. I'm...naked under this robe."

With a grin he unzipped his suit and kicked off his boots, standing before her in very tight briefs, the same pale gold as his suit. As she stared he morphed back into James. "There. We're even. Now don't you want to punch me?"

She almost laughed. Hardly. Suddenly she wanted those briefs off, her robe as well, and she wanted to find oblivion in his arms until she didn't have to think any longer. There was just too much pain down the path of thought.

"Not yet, Raven. You and I know this isn't finished. I need to know that you can handle yourself if you pull another childish stunt and trap me with some damn trees."

"Childish!" She shot to her feet. "You were going to kill him! And if you had we never would have found out- we wouldn't- Oh!"

He grinned. "Childish, I told you. One DNA test and getting the map back and we'd be fine, and he would be dead, and the city would be safe. Instead Master Bloodless is out there doing god only knows what to the city, all because you didn't think before you acted, like a child."

Her anger, all her rage, held in for years broke. Never in her life had she punched anyone before socking him, and so without elegance she launched herself at him, hands clawed.

He sighed almost impatiently and caught her with ease, flipping her quickly to her back. She slammed into the floor, breath knocked out and glared up as he pinned her wrists.

"So you have no clue how to fight."

"I don't want to fight! I want to tear your smirking head off!"

His blue eyes turned serious. "And you'll never do that fighting like a girl."

"Sexist bastard!"

"Hardly. I think we should teach girls to fight as we do with boys. I think we should teach all kids fighting is the last resort. But we're Supes. Good, bad, it doesn't matter, fighting is a huge part of our lives. Stand up." He let her go.

"Why?"

"We'll start with the basics. I'm sorry. I was trying to make you angry. You weren't being childish, I was wrong. I wanted to get you angry and see what happened."

"Asshole. It really worked."

"All right. I'll let you punch me, but first the basics."

He taught her to plant her feet, how to swing, and from the very basics worked her through basic defense and attacks. It took a few hours and James knew it wasn't going to be enough, but he swore to himself that he wouldn't let her go out as Dryad alone.

Finally the night stilled before dawn and they were both exhausted. When he saw the despair lingering at the corners of her eyes turn to burning purpose, James knew how she felt. She needed to lose herself, to forget all that she found out that night. She was so strong and her fucking father only gave her the truth to make her stumble, but Raven wouldn't. She needed a break, but she would carry on. She just needed him to help her forget herself, and fighting wasn't doing it.

"All right, let's try this," he said and she shivered. There was a tone to his voice she'd come to recognize, more Gryphon than James, and she knew it meant he wouldn't let her win, but she would love losing.

Raven gulped, took the stance he'd taught her, and then he moved.

He used his speed, and in the blink of an eye he had her not only pinned down, but her robe was off. She panted as he drew her arms straight above her head. His hands clamped over her wrists and though she bucked he was just too heavy, too solid, too _male_.

"This feels strange, knowing James McBride has super strength."

He immediately morphed into Gryphon.

"Bet- Ugh!"

She rolled him, knowing the change would sap his strength for a second, and though he still held her wrists she was now on top. "Gotcha."

"Minx."

They began to wrestle, covering the floor rolling as they each got on top of the other but then lost. Somewhere along the way she felt him get aroused, his cock as hard as she felt herself feel soft. Wet, and aroused, the struggle with him was the dark foreplay she hadn't known she needed, but now she craved him with desperation.

Somehow he got her pinned to the wall, and it shook with the force of the blow. Even as she gasped he was there, claiming her mouth with his. His body was rigid, and she only fought until he let her hands go and then she was pulling him closer. She tasted blood in their kiss: his, hers, it didn't matter.

This was James, the man she had loved for so many years, and Gryphon, the hero who haunted her fantasies for the same time. He tasted like sex as Gryphon, hard, hot, and earthy.

She wiggled against him, wanted that hard cock inside her, but he still wore the ridiculous underwear. Finally, she broke off his kiss but his hot mouth just drew over her shivering skin and claimed her neck.

"Too slow! Mmm, please, James, I need you. Now!"

"Not yet. I need to taste you."

Before she could argue, he used his strength and pulled her up as he sunk down to his knees. Tossing her legs over his shoulders, he descended. He sucked her wet skin hard, and then she felt his tongue flick over her clit. All she could do was sink her fingers into his now blond hair and hold on.

He drove her hard, driving her arousal up, but just when she thought a climax was coming, his tongue slid down. Teasing her, he licked lick and slow up and down, making her hips wriggle.

"Please, please, _please_ let me come!"

He growled, and the vibration just teased her more. When Rave whimpered finally her returned to her clit, and she went over the climax with cry, shivering. On and on he pushed her, and she felt moisture flow and waves of pleasure flowed through her body as he held her still, forcing her through the orgasm until she was weak and melted onto him.

"Now."

It was her only warning as with his speed he tossed her up, stood, ran to the nightstand and back, ripped off his underwear and caught her. As she settled dazed into his arms he rolled the condom on again with his super speed, widened her legs, and then slammed inside.

"Yes!" Rave cried, her pussy still fluttering with the previous pleasure.

He began to thrust with human speed, hard, again and again. They rocked together, shaking the wall, and when she cried out in alarm as a piece of the ceiling paint fluttered down he pulled her off the wall. He walked her to the bed, still hard inside her, the strangest yet most welcome ride of her life.

Laughing along with him, she was surprised when he fell to the bed, letting her be on top.

"All right, minx, do your worst."

Leaning down, she kissed him and began to grind. He groaned, hands clamping onto her hips and James forced her to swivel as she ground, letting his cock slip slowly in and out a little as she moved. The pleasure made them both moan.

For long minutes they moved together, hips swinging, bodies grinding, pleasure covering them. Sweat slicked their skin and finally Raven lost herself, unable to tell where she ended and he began.

Then his teeth grabbed her bottom lip and his back arched, dragging his body against her, making his cock feel thicker, and she came. As she wailed into his mouth he held her still, thrusting up, and joined her pleasure with his own shout.

As the shivers left them slowly, she fell onto him, collapsing with a smile. Slowly his hand came up, smoothing her hair back, and tenderness of his touch undid her. The tears she had fought so hard came, and the flooded her.

Without a word, James held her until she ran dry.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The light of the sky was bright when she woke. A glass of water was next to the bed with a note, James nowhere in sight. She rose, gulped down the water and then unfolded the note.

James had gone to get her suit fixed and set up the meeting. She padded naked to the bathroom, did the necessary, and used his toothbrush. It was so intimate that it made her pause. Aside from the night she was Dryad and he was James, they hadn't come together in his personal space. Just his lair.

Was there really hope?

Once they knew what Master Bloodless was after, together they could take him down. And then what? James had both his lives, and did she fit in either? James McBride headed one of the largest corporations in America and Raven Keppler was just his assistant. Gryphon protected the third biggest city of the US, but Dryad was a villain. Even if she donned a new suit, a new name, even with a new power, the world would remember her as standing on the opposite side of good as her beloved Gryphon.

Love...they both felt it, she knew that, but could it overcome it all? Or in both arenas, would she just bring him down? Perhaps the kindest thing she could do was leave. She didn't know where she could go, not with all her animals. She'd saved up enough money to start over, and perhaps that was all it would take.

So...One more day and night together. They would talk to the Crimson Blade, discover what her...mother had been up to. With that they could find Master Bloodless, defeat him in the night, and then she could enjoy James one more time and leave him. It was the only way.

She came out to find him there, a new super suit for her hanging off a hook on the wall, and he'd brought breakfast. He was in his suit, Gryphon masked.

"Good morning. Eat up. We have to leave soon to get to Crimson Blade."

"Thank you." Embarrassed, she padded over to the suit. It was very similar to her old one, still dark, but it was actually a green so dark it almost looked black. It was slightly bigger, stretched more, and she knew it would fit much better.

"Where did you get this?"

"Don't villains have tailors?"

"No. We do it all on our own."

"Well, you're no villain. Heroes have tailors. Myrna is in New York, she's retired. No one better with a suit."

She also found underwear and put it on quickly, wishing she had deodorant, but making do. The suit fit well, perfectly, and she wondered just how he knew her measurements.

Following suit she pulled on her boots and mask and then wolfed down the fast food, wondering if he'd walked in and ordered it as Gryphon. How interesting it must be to be a hero, she thought. To not be hunted, to not have to hide all the time, to be welcomed wherever he went.

"All right," she said when finished. "What's the plan?"

"I'll fly us to Elgin. It's all set up. Ready?" he opened his arms.

She stepped into his embrace, locking her arms around him. They were up and shooting off in the brightness of the day. Because she had been the sidekick to a villain she had never flown during the day, and it was amazing. Beneath them the city zipped past as they went west and north, and then suburbs, and soon he was slowing.

They landed on the grounds of a large building like an old hospital, and she knew that was what it was, despite the double fenced with barbed wire and heavy security. They were in back though, and a large concrete building like a bunker was surrounded by National Guard soldiers. They nodded to James as he led her past them into the door.

They had to go through three checkpoints which Gryphon breezed them through and them they were inside. Cells with reinforced plastic lined the back, three of them filled. Raven recognized the villains, and on the far left was the oldest, the Crimson Blade.

He had longish grey hair, rounded glasses, but the sleeves of his grey jumpsuit were torn off, his skin pulled tight across giant muscles. When he saw Gryphon reflexively his fingers became blades, the flesh morphing into the habit of his powers which gave him his name, but then his eyes lit onto her and he was suddenly all human again.

"It cannot be!" Blade rushed the plastic divider, plastering his hands flat on it. "You have returned! But what are you doing with this one? Have you come to free me?"

"This is not the original Dryad," Gryphon growled, the sound animalistic. "Back off."

Blade did, looking perplexed, stepping back one foot at a time until Gryphon's growl died. He stared at her, part of it a man appreciating a woman when he'd been locked away almost ten years from the outside world, another part she could tell was pressing memory over reality, matching them. "The sidekick!" he said at last.

She didn't acknowledge his declaration. "You paid the first Dryad for something, and it has to do with something Master Bloodless is willing to kill for."

At that name Blade turned and drew his bladed hands against the wall in a slash, sparks flying. He cursed in Russian and kicked his bed, flipping it over.

"Calm him down!" a guard called.

"I can break through this barrier and put you in a sleeper hold if I need to, Crimson Blade."

"Bloodless is alive? Let me out, I will kill him!" Blade rushed the plastic again, his voice pleading.

Before he could speak Raven laid a hand on James' arm. She gave the Russian a smile of sympathy. "He's come back from the dead somehow, and he wanted a map of Dryad's. It's faded, but he has it and may read it. The only thing in her records that point us anywhere are a series of transactions between you and her, as well as nine others Master Bloodless either killed or put away."

"The man is a fiend. He was never a hero, only pretending. Do you know the truth, girl?"

She gritted her teeth. "That's why I'm here."

His look was one of sympathy. "The other Dryad, she was a saint." He turned to Gryphon with a scowl. "Did you never notice she only became a jewel thief when Master Bloodless came to town? Did you never wonder why after a long career of simple smash and grabs she went big?"

James slowly shook his head.

"It was not her! Now I will say no more unless you get me out of here."

"It can't be done," James stated plainly. "You've killed too many people."

"It was war! My government forced me to. My daughter, they kept her, said they would kill her if I stopped. But since I have been inside she has escaped. She lives in New York with her husband and my grandsons now. I want to stop! I want a fresh start! No more killing. I hear them, their screams. Soldiers, yes, but-" He broke off and turned with a sob.

"Gryphon, can't we do anything for him?"

He thought long and hard as the villain cried, a broken man. At last he sighed and gave her a measuring look, though he addressed the prisoner. "The most I can do is talk to my DOD contact. If the information you give us is useful, there is a program. You'll need to be debriefed, perhaps work on the side of good. I can only promise I will ask, but I only will if you help the new Dryad."

Wiping his tears away he stared at them, long and hard, focusing on Raven. "I will talk because only I owe the first of your name a great debt." His accent was thick, the English broken, but Raven nodded.

He sighed. Steadying himself. "Master Bloodless was off the radar. A jewel thief. He came to St. Louis when San Francisco got too heavy, then to Chicago where he started over. He registered with your DOD as a hero but kept up the heists, he merely pinned it on Dryad. Bad blood there, I do not know why.

"Dryad, she was a saint. She stole to survive, no more, no less. But she helped us. None of you Department of Defense lackeys would speak to any of us. Many of us wanted to retire, start over, or switch sides. It was impossible, until she gave us a way.

"She had a partner, a spy in your DOD. I do not know who. But she could get inside anywhere, steal records, help unmake us."

"Unmake you?" Raven asked.

"Get birth records, any proof we ever existed. She stole them. I am sure you know, Gryphon, that for security many copies of our files were kept in banks as well as the Pentagon. She would clear the banks, her partner would clear the DOD. Without the records we could start fresh, live as normal humans, leave the Supe world. She helped so many, and I was part of the last crop.

"Before she could finish, Master Bloodless killed her. I am so sorry, little one."

She forced a smile, knowing she was only little standing next to two male Supes. "So you were paying her to quit the Supe life. But why would Bloodless want this?"

"Because of her DOD contact, the first Dryad had files on us all. She had begun stealing information in preparation, offering to sell to any willing a new life, a fresh start. A saint."

Gryphon nodded grimly. "So what Bloodless wants is files on any supervillain active more than ten years ago."

"But why?"

James turned to her. "Blackmail, power. Not only could he blackmail them for cash, but he likely forced them to give up weapons, technology, secrets to protect their own."

Crimson Blade nodded. "This map you spoke of, I believe it goes to her vault. Only she, and I guess now you, can open it. But I know where it is."

"Where?"

"I do not know exactly. But when I was arrested they found my lair, took my records. Within them is a map she drew me, anyone can read. It is unmarked though, just the roads and a path through the forest. I was to meet her there and she would lead me to the vault, but then she died."

"Thank you," Raven said and he nodded, turning glaring eyes to Gryphon.

His lips flattened. "I will search your stash myself. If I find it, I will take it to my own contact and propose he take you on. Thank you, Crimson Blade."

"Antonin Rubilov, I am never to be the Blade again."

"Thank you."

Gryphon tugged her along and they walked through the checkpoints. Without a word he grabbed her once outside and flew them back to his lair, landing them on the balcony.

"I can't fly you home, but I trust you have experience getting yourself there."

"Uh-"

"I have to get to D.C. right now. We need that map. Now it's not very safe, so call the bodyguard company my dad used to use, no arguments. You're my personal assistant so you have all my cards. Go home and pack, get movers to get you and your menagerie over to my house."

"Wait, why?"

"I want you safe. And I want you with me. And once you're there you're not going to be my personal assistant any longer, I'm firing you. You're going to be my wife and do whatever you want to do."

Without waiting for a reply he shot off, even faster than he'd flown her, a streak disappearing into the sky. Lightheaded she stepped back into the open doorway and stumbled.

"Did he-" She broke off, laughing Talking to herself, what a villain cliché. "Did he just order me to marry him?"

If so, after all this madness, maybe there was hope for James and Raven. But as she searched the sky to see if she could see her hero, she realized he was keeping her from the DOD people, those who monitored and helped heroes. As a villain she was persona non grata.

So what hope could there be for Dryad and Gryphon?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Reason won out, and Raven negotiated with herself. She did move her menagerie, their food, cages, beds, and supplies, along with two suitcases into James' house. But she took a guest room while Susan wrung her hands at the animals.

"Raven, I'm really glad you're, um, here, but am I supposed to take care of your...pets?"

She gave her old friend a smile. "I've trained them well. They mostly look after themselves, but ultimately they're my responsibility."

Leaning against the doorjamb. "Raven, what's going on? Why are you here?"

"It's temporary," Raven offered with a sigh. After the past few days it felt almost strange to be dressed in a skirt suit and unmasked, and she fiddled with the button on her blazer.

"Honey, are you in trouble?"

"No-"

"Is this because of the Dryad?"

Raven's head shot up, her jaw dropping. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, James is Gryphon. He doesn't think I know, but when you wash someone's underwear it's impossible to hide secrets. I've always known. And your aunt, she was the Dryad. Oh, honey, James' dad Sam never knew that, but I did. She talked to me, opened up. She made me promise to never say anything to you, but, well, secrets stifle everything."

Her look of patient concern and maternal understanding made Raven come undone. The story spilled from her lips as they sat on the bed, Millie and Zeke curled at their feet and the rest of the birds, cats, ferrets, and others milling about.

When she started to cry, Susan gave her a handkerchief and put her arm around her. The loneliness inside Raven which always hovered at the edge of her mind started to burn away at the housekeeper's unflinching acceptance.

When she finished Susan remained silent for a moment, then reached down and clasped Raven's hands in hers. "Let me tell you the story of how your mother came to work for the McBride family, from what I witnessed and what she told me.

"She'd been fleeing a bad marriage. Your father was cruel to her. He kept you, when she tried everything to bring you with. But he threatened to expose her. She came to Chicago with nothing but the clothes on her back, an old dress over her suit.

"She stole to survive. One night, she came here. Sam had lost Lisa two years before, it was just him and young James, and me here. She broke in, and he caught her. They were never lovers, you know. Oh, Annette was head over heels in love with him, but Sam loved Lisa with all his heart until his dying day and never strayed.

"He hired her as his assistant, gave her a room here. She told him about you, but she claimed you were her niece and we never knew different. Still Sam did everything he could to get you here. It's clear Annette never told you, but Sam wasn't afraid to play dirty. He blackmailed your father into bringing you here.

"Annette moved you out into your condo, and though she kept working here and the pay was good, I always wondered why she kept up her robberies. Now I suspect the burglaries were a cover."

"A cover?" Raven asked at last.

"If she was helping other villains to leave the life, the way she had, the price was returning to it. So no one would suspect her helping villains, she had to become one. You have to admit, it worked. Not a single soul ever suspected."

"So... you think underneath it all she wanted to be good?"

Susan smiled. "What I'm saying is underneath it all she _was_ good. And so are you. All this anxiety you have...it's silly. James loves you. He has for some time. I've been waiting for you two kids to find each other."

"No, he didn't."

"Did you ever notice the women he escorted to events, he never brought home? Whenever you needed anything, anything at all, he never questioned it, did he? He was just there for you any time. And when Sam died while you were away at college he could have stopped paying your tuition, turned his back on you, but he didn't. And all these years, he kept your secret. If that's not love, I need a new dictionary."

"Maybe you're right. But how can we make it work?"

"Follow your heart. If you want to be a hero, don't let him make you retire. Remember that just because you love James McBride and Gryphon, it doesn't define who you are. You are a smart young woman, and you can do anything you want. Hell, we all know the only reason you've worked for James for so long is because you felt you owed him and you were madly in love with him."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is, Raven. It's simple, but it isn't easy. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. First, you have to defeat Master Bloodless. No matter what DNA might say, that man is not your father. Never forget that. He is your enemy, pure and simple. Defeat him, clear your Aunt's name. Then you can decide to become a hero or retire, and no matter what, tell James yes, you will marry him. But let him know until the rest of this is finished, you can't plan your marriage. When this is over, the rest will be easier to figure out."

"How did you get to be so wise?" Raven asked with a smile.

Susan hugged her. "I helped raise one of the most powerful men in the world and his complex son. I befriended a woman who lived in the shadows and watched her daughter grow into an amazing woman. If I know anything about life, it's from watching you all."

When she left Raven curled on the bed with Zeke and Millie and let herself sink into deep thought, desperately clinging to the small kernel of hope that had bloomed in her heart.

***

Gryphon returned well past dinner. He pulled from his belt a hand drawn map labeled in Russian with newer translations written next to each label and handed it to her. Looking around the guest room he frowned. "What are you doing in here?"

"I thought that for the moment having my own room was a wise idea."

His frown deepened. "I thought I made it clear. I want you Raven, I want you with me, in our bed every night. No games."

"Actually, you ordered- You know what? Please, can you get out of the costume? I want to be people, just real people, for this discussion."

He pulled off his hooded mask and morphed back into James. With a hard glare he stalked from the room. "Follow me."

She calmed her animals and did, coming into the master bedroom in time to see him pull off his suit, revealing his hard body. He moved on to the bathroom and she heard the shower start. "Talk to me while I clean up."

Closing the bedroom door she walked into the bathroom and hopped up on the sink. The shower door was only lightly frosted and the sight of him naked under the spray of water made her mouth go dry and her body clench in a sudden wash of desire.

"James, you ordered me to marry you, you didn't ask or expound. So I'm going to treat it like you asked, but I have a few conditions."

"Oh?" he drawled with a hard edge to his voice.

"Yes. Tonight we have to find my mother's second lair. We'll defeat Master Bloodless one way or another. That's a given. But what I need before we can start really deciding on plans for a life together, is the following: I need to clear my mother's name. Then I need some time to figure out if I'm going to retire as a Supe or become a hero. Once that's done, and only then, can I seriously decide how to fit our lives together."

"So is that a no?"

"No! It's, well, will you agree to that?"

He didn't respond as he moved to shampoo then condition his hair. Her nerves grew as worry he would rescind his order took seed in her mind.

Finally he opened the door and reached for his towel. Despite her worry lust shot through her blood at the sight of him and he smiled, resembling his Gryphon form. "I spent all day making sure that if you want to be a hero or retire you will have DOD help or be left alone, respectively. I want you to take time and think it over, and think carefully. If you want to be a hero, we'll be a team. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I won't risk losing you."

He stepped out and wrapped the towel around his hips, and it sank low. She groaned, realizing her fears were unfounded and having him so temptingly close.

"And Raven, of course we'll clear Annette's name. I've already begun the process, we just need to get the proof to my handler. And after that is all done, then we'll make plans for the wedding, for everything. But only if you say yes."

He stalked to her, settling between her legs and leaning close. She tipped her head back and licked her lips. "You promise?"

His lips ghosted hers, spreading tingles through them both. "I swear. Say it."

"Yes. Oh, yes, James. I'll marry you."

He descended and she heard the towel fall to the floor. He cupped her head and pinned her to him as he plundered her mouth.

Her head swam. This was James, the mans he had loved half her life. And she was Raven, just Raven, and he loved her. She melted far before his hand stole beneath her t-shirt to roughly jerk her bra down and toy with a nipple.

She moaned and stroked his shoulders, arm, and back, desperate to feel him, to know it was real. Quickly he pulled off her t-shirt and bra and then his hands roughly palmed and teased her aching breasts. She shivered as his tongue stroked into her mouth, echoing a thrust she hungered for.

He broke off but only to replace a hand with his mouth, teasing her nipple, sucking it deep and flicking it until it almost hurt, keeping her on the knife edge of pleasure.

Together they pulled apart to work her jeans off, and then he ripped off her panties, something she was coming to expect. Once she wore only her socks he returned, and his free hand began to tease her pussy. Raven was dripping, so wet she could hear each stroke of his finger even as her body gushed more.

"Please, James, I want you inside me!"

"Not yet," he growled.

He jerked to his knees, his broad shoulders forcing her legs further apart. She leaned back against the mirror as his head dipped, and when she felt the brutal sweep of his tongue along her folds she reached out, knocking over cologne bottles and jars.

He gave her no quarter. Fast flicks and long teasing licks kept her close to orgasm, but for long minutes he did not bring her over. Only when she was begging, almost gibbering in mad need, did he moan his pleasure, the vibration ratcheting her up. The a thick finger slid inside and curled forward and she exploded in a wailing orgasm.

Back in the rest of the house she heard the canines howl with her, and even as the pleasure waved through her she came down laughing.

"Now," James growled, though he smiled.

He claimed her lips as he slammed inside, going deep. She gasped and his tongue slid in. Tasting her own juices on his tongue she went made, scratching, biting, thrusting back as he began to pound away.

They built together, spiraling up in desperation, their breath syncopating through their sealed lips. She felt dizzy, unable to tell where she ended and he began, and it was perfect.

He thrust up, groaning, palming a breast roughly. Her body tightened around him even as his cock grew harder. Sweat slicked their skin and it went on and on. Her toes curled in pleasure, the climax just out of reach.

With another growl he reached down, hiked her legs up and leaned forward. He moved with speed she knew came from his powers as a Supe, rasping her clit with every thrust. He held her legs in clamped hands, not allowing her to move. When he felt her soften and gasp, knowing her orgasm was upon her, he let himself go.

Raven screamed his name even as he swallowed her cries. Her nails dug into his flesh as she shook against him, milking his cock with the fluttering of her pussy, the pleasure drugging Raven as she kept wailing.

She wanted it to never end and through the climax lasted until she was spent, eventually she came down from her high. Dazed, feeling wonderful, she could only sigh when he broke off, still holding her, dropping his head to the crook of her shoulder and panting.

Reason crept in and she gasped. "We didn't use a condom!"

"Jesus, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Are you using any birth control?"

"No," she groaned. "I made an appointment to get on the pill next week."

"Shit." He pulled back, still inside her, and forced her eyes open. "We're going to be married. I know part of the plans to discuss later include children, but if...something happens..."

She knew what he really wanted to ask. "If a child happens, I want to keep it. I never even thought about it, but a child, _our_ child, would be wonderful."

He kissed her again and it was a long time before they roused. He called down to Susan for food and then they both showered off the sweat. In robes and over a late dinner, they went over the map and the plan.

The lair was in the furthest north forest preserve of the city. James would guard her as she spoke to the trees to find the exact location. Once everything was secured, they would wait for Bloodless and take him down.

It seemed so simple, but she was terrified.

As James and Raven he held her a short while, then they dressed as Gryphon and Dryad and she schooled herself into business mode. He made some calls for police backup while she fed her animals, let those out who needed the lawn, but Zeke showed Millie the doggy door. It seemed they were fast friends.

Gryphon appeared behind her as the dogs trotted in, reaching down to scratch behind ears. Millie yipped, telling Raven she really liked James.

"No one will see us if we take off from the west side. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

He took her hands. "Raven, it will work out. Whatever I have to do, I will make sure it does. I don't know what we'll find tonight or what Master Bloodless will do, but I know I have you and I won't lose you. If I have to walk away from everything, and I mean everything, I will. I swear it, as long as I have you."

Overwhelmed, she could only kiss him. "Let's get this over with so we can start our lives."

Gathering her close, he shot them into the sky.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

She knew beyond the forest the national Guard and police were lined up. No major battle between heroic and villainous Supes had happened in ten years and the city lay in expectant wait. She tried to forget it, but it made her nervous and her attempts to speak to trees fumbled.

"Just take a deep breath," Gryphon called from his position above.

She did and laid her hand against a trunk. It was her twelfth try. Trees did not have minds or mouths to speak, but they had a kind of ancient consciousness and it was to that she called.

The pulses of will coming from the tree directed her to another, then another, and down the line. Gryphon floated along, watching the skies. Finally at the northernmost edge she found the answer, and the mechanism of entry was the same as the lair she knew.

"Here!"

Gryphon flew closer and watched as she asked the trees to lift their roots. When they did she heard not only the groan of the lid, but a chain pull and a generator start up. The lights were on, but it was loud.

"Go on inside, I'll keep watch," he urged her.

With a deep breath she stepped into the dusty stairwell. This was much better protected, deeper, once more a forgotten bomb shelter that had been converted. There was a single bed, a weapons cabinet, a supply cabinet, a desk, filing cabinets, and a large corkboard with pictures and notes on it.

Drawing close she saw a picture of a younger Crimson Blade and other villains, most now dead. The notes were listings of information to get and to her surprise most ended with a note of a C. Holmes at the Department of Defense. Her mother's inside man!

She grabbed it and the hollow sound made her realize the corkboard covered something. It was huge, but with her super strength she easily pulled it down, revealing a safe. That she wanted to open with witnesses and so she hurried up the stairs.

At the top suddenly an arm swung out and before she could react, she felt burning agony in her shoulder. Looking down in shock she saw a strange knife sticking out from her flesh. It was iron, her bane, and she felt her powers draining.

Master Bloodless stepped into the light, his visor pulled back so she saw the evil grin on his face. "Now you know. And now you can do me the favor of dying, like Gryphon."

"No!"

He slapped her and she staggered back, grabbing the railing with her weakened arm and crying out again as horrible pain wracked her.

He held up a hand which bore a new gizmo, and pressing a button an arc of electricity shot out with a crackle, leaving ozone in its wake. "I'm sure he has a weakness like we all do, but electricity gets everyone."

He stepped closer and desperation and adrenaline surged. She had to get to Gryphon, had to get to help. She pushed him with all she had and ran into the dark of the trees. She reached out to the trees but the iron blocked her so she reached up and yanked the knife out, screaming at the new wash of pain.

At last she felt the trees respond and begged them to cover her. She heard Master Bloodless thrash about and thanked them, then she asked the trees for Gryphon. Lower branches blocked all ways but a single path and she followed it, finding her lover prone on the ground.

"No! No, no, no, no!" She fell to her knees and desperately tried to move his mask to feel for a pulse. "No, you can't die. Not now. I need you. We need you! The world! The child we might have made! Gryphon, come back!"

He moaned, and she thanked every god that had ever ruled.

"Come back, I've been stabbed. I think I'm healing, but we can't do this alone."

The thrashing drew closer and she dove for a tree just in time to ask it to hold him. Master Bloodless burst into the clearing but branches snatched him, wrapping around ankles and hands, keeping him from reaching his gadgets.

"Bitch!"

"Gryphon, wake up, wake up, wake up!"

He moaned again but was otherwise prone.

Filled with rage, for her mother, for her lover, for her, Raven rose, gripping the knife. Heart pounding she drew closer, raising it to strike.

"Ooh, going to be the villain I know you are? That your worthless whore of a cheating mother was?"

She stopped short as he managed to activate a laser. The trees screamed as their branches were cut and then he was free. She backed up, praying the faster healing that came with super strength was enough to save her.

Bloodless was smiling at her, now free. "Kill me, become like me. Your mother never killed, you take after me, daughter." Two branches snaked out and he slapped the first away but the second managed to grab him and crush the laser, but he merely called up the rifle mounted on his other forearm.

Behind her Gryphon coughed and groaned, but she didn't spare a glance for him, keeping her eyes on Bloodless as he aimed the weapon at her and kept it out of reach of the branches.

"He's right, Raven."

"What!?" She still didn't look but heard Gryphon gaining his feet. Above them branches stalked Master Bloodless, looking for an opportunity to help.

"Don't do this. Don't do something you'll regret the rest of your life!"

The branches descended and Bloodless began to struggle.

She whirled towards Gryphon, relieved to see he was dazed but standing. "No! He's not right! You've killed, Gryphon. Sometimes superheroes have to kill, for the greater good! He won't stop, not until he's dead. Truly dead!"

"I'm not arguing that, Raven. But not you. You're pure, innocent, and good. Let me!"

She turned from him but then Master Bloodless was free once more. She saw the moonlight dully hit the sword he pulled from his back and realized it was cold iron, the same as the knife she held. He had instantly killed the branches holding him, and if it touched her, she'd be powerless again.

"Run!" Gryphon called.

She turned and floated as fast as she could through the maze of branches, behind her she heard the machine that made Master Bloodless fly start up and heard Gryphon shout, his own powers not fully recovered. She had a moment of panic and then she felt it. The tip of the sword pierced her flesh and sank into her already wounded shoulder and the feeling was fire racing through her entire being. Rave screamed and felt her powers drain.

She dropped, hitting branch after branch, her body going numb. The ground hit her as she fell on her side, and it hurt like hell. She couldn't feel much, but she saw Master Bloodless slicing through branches fighting his progress to get to her. Even without her powers the trees were protecting her.

"Thank you," she said to them, but without her powers, she knew they couldn't hear her.

"Raven!" James was screaming. She turned and saw he was bound. The trees in protective mode only knew her as a friend, and all others as foe. With her powers still so weak she couldn't order them to release him.

"Gryphon! It's all right. If you relax, stop fighting the tress, they'll let you go!"

"What!?"

"I lost my powers, I can't pull them back. But they're defending me, if you struggle they'll think you mean to attack. Stop fighting!"

"Damn it, I won't let him kill you! Bloodless!" he screamed.

"It's too late," her father said in his horrifying dual voice as he landed, looming over her, visor up. "Tell me, who is Gryphon?" His tone became cajoling as he toyed with the sword. "Don't make me torture it out of you. Tell me and it will be a swift death, lie to me and suffer. Better yet, watch him suffer."

James roared as Bloodless raised the sword. "I'm James McBride!"

His arms froze and Master Bloodless laughed. "Oh? Prove it!"

She looked up and saw Gryphon's form meld into James. And with his slimmer build, the trees' hold loosened, and he burst free with a roar.

Master Bloodless dropped the sword in panic and tried to fly, but the trees stopped him. He ran as much as he could, but Gryphon hit him. The two men hit the ground rolling, and before he could hurt James, the larger man snapped his neck.

It was over. Raven's mask slipped off, and she stared at the lifeless form. So much had happened, but the danger had passed. And James had saved her.

When she smiled weakly up at him it was Raven smiling at James. And then pain wracked her body, and she passed out.

***

She opened her eyes seconds later and Gryphon was holding her. "A piece of iron broke off in your wound. I pulled it out. You'll heal soon, but we need to get your mask on. The authorities are coming."

"Is it done?" She sat up and looked at the body of Master Bloodless, supervillain extraordinaire and the abusive father who had haunted her.

"Don't look." He shielded her and set to retying her mask. "Dryad, what's down there?"

"The information. Her DOD contact was C. Holmes. And a safe, I didn't open it, I want witnesses."

"The analyst?"

"I have no idea. God, it hurts."

"We'll get through this. They're close. For the next hour you have to be Dryad. No real names. Be the hero I know you are. After, when we're home, we can fall apart together."

She hugged him but he pulled her to her feet as she asked the trees to open up as her powers returned sluggishly. Shouts rang out and then men with guns and flashlights surrounded them.

One grey haired man stepped to the front with the look of an old soldier despite casual clothes.

"Gryphon!"

"David. This is Dryad. The new Dryad."

The newcomer shook her hand and then glanced at the prone body. "Contain him!" he shouted to the troops gathered. He turned back and looked her up and down. "Gryphon has told me a lot about you. I hear we may be interested in this lair?"

"Follow us," Gryphon said.

They went along with a police captain, five uniforms, and five National Guardsmen. It took a few hours, but they went through the files and everything was as the Antonin Rubilov had said it would be, all the evidence clearing Annette's name.

The safe opened after they realized the combo was her birthday, and Raven was shocked.

Inside were jewels, millions of dollars' worth, and photographs showing Master Bloodless stealing them. Raven could only laugh as David peered closely at them.

"Looks legit, but we'll have to analyze them. Well, Dryad, it's all that was promised and more. I'll give you some time to think about it, but we could always use a new hero. New villains are born every day. I warn you, you better retire or join the good fight."

"No worries there. Any days of misdeeds are behind me," she said with a weak smile. She was more exhausted than she could ever remember.

"And she's with me. If she comes to the hero side, we'll be a team." Gryphon put his arm around her and hauled her up against his side.

"Well. Well," David stumbled. "I'll let the local boys clean this up. But we have a Russian to free, a data analyst to question, and years of records to untangle. Gryphon, I'll expect your report in forty-eight hours."

"Thank you." Gryphon and Dryad shook his hands and then made their way out.

Soldiers and police alike congratulated them and Raven was dazzled. Before, whenever she donned the suit, these were the very people now surrounding her she had to avoid. But Gryphon was James, and he loved her, and the police and soldiers congratulated her along with Gryphon. No one jeered, or chased, or shot. It was a kind of rebirth, and she felt happiness war with total exhaustion as she shook hands.

Finally they made it through the gauntlet and he took her into his arms, taking to the sky.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

She woke up in the apartment James kept for his night work. Raven was expecting pain but her body felt fine. They'd landed there and she had collapsed, exhausted, while Gryphon repaired his report.

She sat up and realized she was naked, covered in a sheet. There was no one else inside the room with her, and so she stood from the couch and took the sheet with her, wrapping it around herself.

The one mirror there, in the bathroom, showed her no marks on her body. How long had she been out?

"One more superpower to add to the list."

She jumped at Gryphon's voice as he loomed in the doorway. He removed his mask and in a flash was James McBride standing there.

"What?"

"Regeneration, like a tree growing back a broken branch."

"How long have I been here?"

"Four hours."

"Isn't it just the normal slightly faster healing of super strength?"

"Not quite, you have some extra gusto. How are you feeling, in here?" He stepped to her and laid a hand on her heart.

She gulped. "Is he dead? Really dead, this time?"

Coming around her he wrapped his arms around her waist and his reflection nodded to hers. "Raven, I-"

"No." She shook her head. "He deserved it. If he's dead, I don't want to think about him anymore. That part of my life is over. Thank you, James."

He pulled the zipper on the side of his suit and it fell. He was sweaty, had dried blood on his skin.

She dropped the sheet and embraced him. "I love you."

He hesitated but a moment, reading her desperate need for distraction, but he too had felt desperation. Seeing her stabbed still shot rage through him, and he needed to know she was alive, she was fine, and she was his. He kissed her deeply, and she clutched at his shoulders. Raven needed an affirmation of life, a need so desperate all reason fell away.

"Please," was all she could say, and he seemed to understand.

He lifted her and carried Raven back into the main room. Looking about he stalked to the counter in front of the computers and set her down.

"You must like it this- WAY!" She cried out as he ducked his knees and slammed in.

She wasn't ready, but this wasn't about sex; this was an affirmation of life. Still, the pleasure was there, the shock mellowing as he held still for a long moment.

"Raven, I can't be gentle," he whispered against her lips. "Every time I close my eyes I see you bleeding. I- I can't hold back."

"Don't," she whispered back.

It was short and furious, and with each thrust her body grew softer, wetter. She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her back with pleasure, the back of her head hitting a monitor as he pounded into her.

James peaked finally, his orgasm erupting from him in a long groan. She felt him empty inside of her, filling her completely, and it was a special kind of heaven.

When the tremors left him his arms were iron bands around her. Still panting he dropped his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry, that was selfish of me."

"No, it wasn't." She stroked his head and kissed him softly.

"I just- when I saw him stab you, I- I've never been so scared in my life."

"I know. James, let's get you cleaned off, you're wearing my blood."

He smiled, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Some of his too. We traded punches before he zapped me."

"Ew," she pushed him away but smiled.

He kissed the slope of a breast and led her to the bathroom. He opened the shower door, turning the dual heads on and let them run until they steamed up the room. "There's room for two in here."

She took the offered hand followed him in. She moaned at the feel of the water sluicing down her body. She may have healed quickly but it still ached slightly where she'd been stabbed and hit.

She reached for the soap but James snatched it away. "Let me clean up real quick and then I'll get you."

She smiled and watched him soap his magnificent body. The water turned pink for a few minutes, but then he was clean.

"Turn around," he husked, and she eyed his renewed erection with a faint smile.

She turned and felt his soapy hands slide over her shoulders, lifting her hair to fall forward. He stroked down her back slowly, and despite the heat she shivered.

He kneaded her muscles as he went, pausing every so often to soap up his hands. When he reached her buttocks she bit her lip as he firmly massaged the muscles, slipping a naughty finger in the cleft, stroking over her anus. Chills ran up her spine and her stance widened automatically.

He chuckled, but it was half a groan, and James fell to his knees to soap her legs. The touch of his rough hands on her inner thighs made her moan softly, but then he skimmed over her calves.

One by one he lifted her feet, soaping them carefully, tickling her, and they laughed together.

His hands moved up then and she gasped at the rougher press against her inner thighs. She grabbed the wall and the top of the door to steady herself, and then one hand cupped her pussy.

"Relax," he whispered, and slipped a finger between her folds to stroke her clit.

Her knees almost gave out, and he stood. One arm wrapped around her waist, pushing her against his chest as the other left her pussy to snake around her front and return.

"James!"

He used a light touch, teasing, cajoling the pleasure from her, moving faster and faster by slow increments. She was shaking with tension, biting her lip, and then she felt her body swell and the orgasm burst free.

She screamed wordlessly, her knees giving out, and he held her fast, stroking every last shudder from her body.

"Oh, God," she sighed, head rolling back onto his shoulder.

"Now we're even."

She expected more, but he just soaped up once again as soon as she could stand, and began to slick his hands over her stomach.

Her muscles fluttered and she grabbed the wall again. "James, please don't tease me."

He rumbled a response she couldn't catch, and then his hands found her breasts. She closed her eyes once more as he teased her hard nipples. Again and again his fingers slid over them, tightening her muscles, making her lurch with need.

Just when she thought she'd go mad, he gently pushed her forward into the spray, letting her rinse off until she was clean.

"Put your hands on the wall." He held her arms until she had them positioned below chest level, bending her at the waist.

His hard cock teased her anus for a breathless moment, then dipped low and parted the folds of her pussy. He sank in slowly, moaning along with her, until he was buried deep.

When seated, he refused to move. "James, please!"

He reached around her and placed the pad of a thick finger on her clit, and pulled out. He sank in and the motion teased her clit, combining with the feel of sliding across her g-spot.

She was lost to his movements then, moaning mindlessly, her toes curling in the cooling water. His fingers stroked her clit with one hand, dug into her hips with the other, and she was relieved that he felt as taut as she did.

He made the slight whimper she knew meant his orgasm was imminent, and it burst the dam inside her. She came wailing his name, his hoarse cry making the walls shake, and it seemed to go on forever.

When she came down, panting, he was as weak as she, and the water had turned cold. James reached over and turned it off, opening the door and reaching for a towel, still swollen inside of her.

He toweled her back off before pulling out, turning her, and drying her front.

"Raven, what's next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Annette's name will be cleared. Crimson Blade will be freed, a few others, as well. Bloodless is no longer a threat. I know you need time to figure out what to do about Dryad, but what about Raven? Have you ever thought about what you'd like to do? You couldn't have wanted to work for me forever."

She smiled. "I'd like to become a vet."

He smiled down at her. "My own Dr. Doolittle."

Laughing she took the towel and returned the favor. "It's always been a dream, but losing my mother...I didn't think I'd have the chance."

He pulled a robe off the door, leaning far to get it, and wrapped it around her. It swallowed her up, ridiculously big.

He rolled the cuffs back, kissing her whenever their faces neared. "You can go to school by day, I'll work, and by night we can do so much good in this world. What do you say?"

"Didn't I already say yes?"

He smiled, a shy boy peeking through the man's eyes. "Say it again."

She blinked up at him, fighting her nerves with a deep breath. "Yes, James McBride, I, Raven Keppler, will marry you. And I will fight crime with you."

He let out a shout and picked her up in a cradling hold kissing her soundlessly. "I'm taking you home, to bed. Crime fighting can wait until tomorrow."

She raised a brow. "So soon?"

He smiled down at her. "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and that's our job. There will always be crimes to be foiled."

She leaned up and kissed him slowly, pleased when she pulled back at his slightly dazed look. "Tomorrow night it is, but tonight you're mine."

"Raven, I always have been. I love you."

"And I love you." She kissed him again, and her heart opened wide in the knowledge that life was going to be all right. With James at her side, there was nothing they couldn't conquer, and no villains stood a chance.

THE END

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nora Quick lives in Chicago, IL with her faithful companion Nikolai Tesla Quick, a Siberian Husky who is, in her opinion, the best dog that has ever lived. She wrote her first novel at age 12, a crime drama set in her hometown of Detroit, MI and is a self-admitted graphomaniac who compulsively writes daily. She has worked a wide variety of jobs sampling much of life from high finance to short order cooking and is related to half the CPD. She writes crime, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and erotica. You can find more of her FREE writing of erotica, literature, and poetry on  Literotica.com where she writes as madam_noe or at eRedSage.com where her erotic romances are published. She is hard at work on her next book. You can connect with Nora at noraquick.yolasite.com where you will her blog, or on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

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