There is a New Villainess in Town

© 2011 by: Mr. David R. Dorrycott

Chapter Twenty-Five

Three weeks later Professor Q was intrigued, Captain Fluffball had moved her main area of activity West, away from the areas she had proven to be so effective in. She had moved into Skaters patrol area, a hero she had encountered once and proven just how ineffective he was against her. Then Skater was nearly fifty, had Fluffball be a true evil genius (and make no mistake about it, the woman was a genius Q knew) she would have left mincemeat behind. That Skaters new partner would make any difference had been settled on their first encounter. Ignoring the near ineffective Skater Fluffball had wound Snake into a tiny ball she left hanging over the jewelry stores front door.

Professor Q had resorted to something he had never done before, he had put out a reward for information on the furred woman. Now it had brought results, Captain Fluffball was known to spend time at a certain little diner near the docks, one run by an emigrant couple. It had taken only a couple of hours for Detector to set up his equipment. With Fluffball’s refuge known she would soon fall and the city would again be safe.

Still unknown by anyone Fluffball’s access to their private meetings had warned her, though she had already put the place on her black list it irritated her that they would be so intrusive. It was time to prove a point, it was time to let Professor Q know that she knew where he lived. That should loosen his bowls a bit she thought, besides it would be fun to see if she could slip through Detectors security sensors.

It was Christmas night when Fluffball worked her way through New York’s heavy snowdrifts to the 1920's apartment building. It had been snowing hard for three days and even the army of city plows was having trouble keeping up. From the subway entrance to Q’s home was a four block walk, it had taken the feline over an hour to make that walk though much of that had been spent avoiding sensors that her Committee supplied devices located.

Finally she had arrived at the front door, Q owned the entire building and though it looked like a typical apartment building the entire place was a single home. Though Q was single he had a live in maid, cook and butler, the man was rich after all. Normally anyone wanting to break into a building would try the roof, a window or at least the back door. Fluffball though had no intention of breaking in, instead she simply knocked on the front door. There was something unexpected about a villain simply knocking at the front door, something unexpected. She had no intention of entering the building, from what little the Committee was able to discover the place was one huge trap so she waited in the alcove just outside the howling wind.

When the door opened it wasn’t the Butler, Fluffball had no idea that the man had slipped on the ice that morning and broken his ankle. No it was the maid, one look at her and Fluffball knew why she had been hired, it certainly wasn’t for her brains even though she had to be near thirty.

“Yes?” the exceptionally pretty woman asked.

“Special Delivery” Fluffball explained, holding out a thick envelope on a clipboard. “If you will just sign please? I’ve six more to deliver before I can go home.”

Unable to see the face so well protected against the cold Q’s maid took the clipboard, found the line with her employers name and signed. Returning the clipboard she took the heavy envelope. “Can I get you anything?” she asked.

“Nothing thanks. Bye.” Fluffball turned and followed her snow trail back to the subway, it was much faster this time as she didn’t have to break a new trail. By the time that Professor Q got the envelop Fluffball was on the subway headed far away.

Accepting the still cold envelope from his maid Professor Q studied it. It was heavy, about the size of a thin book and addressed to his secret identity. Ever cautious he ran it through both a poison and explosives scanner and when both came up negative he took out a letter opener, slitting the bottom of the envelope.

Out fell a hard bound book, one obviously hand made. He turned it over to be shocked by what the title on the cover. ‘Professor Q by Captain Fluffball.’ His hands now shaking he opened the book, to find in it a series of photographs of himself both in costume and secret identity, with more than one photo of him and Night. Even though those photos were innocent the meaning was clear. “Damn, she knows, she not only knows she want’s me to know.” he whispered to himself. Turning the last page he was surprised to find a hand written note on the last page.

“Don’t mess with innocent people or your innocent people will feel my wrath” he read. “This is between your heros and myself, leave the normals alone or say goodbye to Night. She’s cute, she tastes good and she knows exactly what I like, ask her.”

There was no signature but there didn’t have to be. He shook thinking of who had opened the door, Tanya was a pure normal, chosen by him not only for her looks but her less than average intelligence. That meant that she wouldn’t get nosey and being beautiful was easy on his eyes though he never touched her. Fluffball could have done anything to her, even dragged her outside to freeze in the cold but she hadn’t. She could have done anything, she could have told the media where his home was, who he was but she hadn’t.

This was a warning pure and simple. Leave the normals out of it or she took the gloves off and if she did Night was target number one. One on one she had defeated every hero he had, even crushing pairs. Only once had she been hurt and that was a pure accident and even then she had defeated both her attackers. “She’s showing a hell of a lot of restraint” he said to no one. “More than anyone I’ve ever known, myself included. What the hell is she up too and how did she discover who I am?”

Moving would be a waste of time and resources, Fluffball had proven that she could get around Detectors sensors and it would have been nothing to throw an explosive into his house while Tanya held the door open but she hadn’t. As she wrote, this was between her and the Heros, not normal people. Come to think of it she’d always been careful of the people around her during her fights, even spending time giving them first aid.

“Right then, the Diners off limits Fluffy but we will still get you. But what did you mean about Night knowing what you liked?” He would be shocked when Night explained the answer to him.