32 Moving Forward

The next morning, Passion Princess awoke feeling well-rested, having slept like a baby next to her kidnapped lover. Cuddling him with her curvaceous, naked body all throughout the night, the heroine would respond to Asher's pained moans with a soothing kiss or gently stroke of her hand, before injecting some pain killers right into the trembling young man's thigh.

"I wish you were able to sleep as well as I did, but you'll heal up in no time," she said to Asher as she slid out of bed and then donned a light pink bathrobe. "I know you're hurting, baby, but let that pain be a reminder to never defy me, okay?"

The bedsheets stained with his blood, Asher Avril groaned to himself as he gingerly pushed up off the mattress, which was quite difficult due to his wrists being cuffed together by heavy iron shackles. Every small movement caused shooting pain to course through his badly-scarred back, where the fresh whip and scratch wounds would open up frequently and ooze blood. Injuries that he had sustained from displeasing his super-powered captor.

"Awe, it makes me so sad seeing you in such pain," the heroine pouted as she reached the doorway. "I'm about to get some breakfast before I get dressed for my mission. Can I fix you anything, sweetie? Maybe some pancakes? Biscuits and gravy? Anything?"

"I'm not hungry," Asher groaned softly. "Can I go back to sleep?"

"Of course, but I really wish you'd eat something," Passion Princess sighed as she walked over and stroked his bare leg with her hand. 

"I will later, I promise," Asher smiled weakly.

"Okay. Well, the government needs me for a covert mission in Siberia. Some Russian villain has apparently made off with a big stock of nuclear weapons," the tall blonde explained as she stood back up. "I'll probably be gone overnight, I'm guessing it'll be a pretty big battle out there."

"Russian villain? I wonder who," Asher coughed as he suddenly felt a sharp sting in his shoulder. "Maybe Red Menace? Dr. Chernobyl? Oh, I bet Black Russian. He's always messing with weapons."

"You seem to know a lot about heroes and villains," Passion Princess sighed as she made for the door. "We're clearly a match made in heaven, but you want to be mean and resist me. Ah well, darling, I do hope that you come around soon."

With that, she departed for the kitchen, where she remained for the next half hour as she cooked breakfast for herself before getting dressed. Passion Princess would eventually return to the bedroom clad in her tight blue hero costume with her vibrant red cape flowing over her shoulders, her tall boots clanging on the floor.

"Stay out of trouble," she said to Asher as she pulled his face up to hers so that she could kiss him. "I'll be back before you know it. ANA, hold down the fort for me, and get Asher whatever he needs. Goodbye, loverboy, I'll see you soon. I'll miss you so, so much."

With that, she turned the corner and headed for wherever the base's exit was. Nestled in the comfortable bed, Asher remained lying down for a further 20 minutes or so, before slowly and painfully sitting up against his pillow.

"Hey, ANA?" Asher asked out loud to the computer. "I'm guessing that Passion Princess is going to make you report to her if I try to escape again, right?"

"That is correct, Master Avril," the AI replied. "In fact, as of the moment Miss Jan departed, I am to monitor you closely."

"I expected that," the young man groaned as he shifted a little to get more comfortable. "Thanks a lot for getting me in trouble, by the way."

"Please be aware, Master Avril, that while I am built to serve Miss Jan dutifully, I do have access to the internet," ANA continued. "I am well aware that what she is doing to you violates several laws and normal human morality. However, per my programming, I can never violate her command or do anything that might compromise her."

"I understand, I was just kidding," Asher sighed as he felt blood trickling down his back again. "Wait, so you're actually aware that what Passion Princess is doing is wrong? Well I'll admit, that's a lot more than I expected."

"Yes, and my advice to you, to avoid further injury, would be to do as Miss Jan demands," the computer instructed. "Your probability of escape is sitting well below optimal odds."

"Oh yeah trust me, I've learned my lesson," Asher chuckled nervously, before wincing. "Hey, you obviously know Passion Princess pretty well, right?"

"Of course," ANA replied.

"Could you tell me some of her favorite foods? Like what does she really like to eat as comfort food?" he asked.

"Well, she loves a grilled cheese sandwich made on brioche bread, or bacon macaroni and cheese," the computer answered. "I have an entire catalogue containing her dietary preferences, if you'd like me to list them. Although may I ask the purpose of your inquiry?"

"Well, if playing the part of her lover, boyfriend, or whatever is what I have to do to survive down here, then I don't have a choice," Asher groaned as he clutched his back through his heavy shackles. "She might kill me if I keep trying to escape, so from now on, I'm going to play along. I hope Priya can forgive me for this, but it's getting to the point of choosing between life and death. Since I've probably slashed any trust that Passion Princess had for me, I'm going to have to rebuild it. I'll start by preparing her a nice meal for when she returns."

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After each getting a room to spend the night in Iowa, Detective Clive Rand and Asher's grieving girlfriend, Priya Patil, got on a plane home to Graveport the next morning. From the airport, Rand drove the young woman to the apartment that she and Asher shared, where the cop could sense her pain as he opened the door for her.

"Are you going to be okay, kid?" he asked as she solemnly stepped into the quiet apartment.

"I guess," she sighed. "So what's going to happen with the investigation?"

"They'll search for Asher, of course, but they're never going to find out the truth," the detective lamented. "It'll be a cold case within months. Nothing is going to trace his disappearance to Passion Princess, and even if it did, nobody would seriously investigate that."

"What about Gold Boxer?" she added. "Have you heard anything?"

"He's stabilized for now, but it doesn't look good," Rand said with a shake of his head. "He's in a coma, and the doctors say that he's more likely to remain braindead and never wake up again."

"Dammit," Priya muttered as she lowered her head and stared at the floor with her fists clenched. "This is so unfair. My man is just going to be kidnapped forever, and I can't do shit about it? If the authorities would never dare go after Passion Princess, then who out there could help me go against her?"

 "Well, the only ones who would oppose her are supervillains," Rand said with a faint smile. "But anyway, you have my number if you need anything, and I'll call or text you if I learn anything else. You're going to be okay?"

"Yeah…" Priya answered as she reached into her pocket and picked up her phone. "Supervillains, eh? You're right, naturally they'd be her only enemies."

"Yeah, but don't get any ideas of turning to one of them for help, understand?" the detective warned. "I was only kidding."

"Oh yeah, of course. Thank you for everything, Detective," Priya smiled as she began to google "villains operating in the Graveport area" on her phone. "You're a good man."