How the Supervillain Stole Christmas by Charles Payseur

Author:Charles Payseur [Payseur, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay romance
ISBN: 9781635331868
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-12-24T07:00:00+00:00

SANJAY GAVE the room a somewhat skeptical frown as he stepped inside.

“Is… there something wrong with your normal dining room?” he asked.

“Covered in lava at the moment, I’m afraid,” Rex said, quickly adding, “on purpose, of course. Every six months or so I flood it to kill off any sentient molds that might migrate from the lower levels. I built this compound atop one of the entrances to the Innerworld, after all, and it pays to be careful.”

Sanjay nodded and sat at the small table Rex had set up. It wasn’t even a lie, really. It was just that this wasn’t his normal time to have a lava cleanse. That was in another two weeks, at the start of the new year, but he wanted some excuse to have dinner somewhere new.

“It’s… cozy,” Sanj said, and Rex couldn’t help but smile. It was small. Cramped, even, with barely enough room for the table, chairs, and them. But on such short notice it was as much as he could do.

“I hope the food and the company make up for the accommodations,” Rex said, earning a laugh from Sanjay.

“It’s great, really,” he said, reaching out and taking Rex’s hand with his own. “I’m just glad to get away from the city right now. And spend time with you, of course. Been up to anything interesting lately?”

Rex didn’t really like lying, but he wasn’t about to admit that he had spent the last few days feverishly working on the room they were sitting in. The device they were sitting in. Jaq, despite being an annoying do-gooder, did have a point when she said that if he tried to actually destroy Christmas it would just invite some bumbling hero to stop him. But if he kept his ambitions more… grounded, then they wouldn’t even know what he had done. He was careful this time. No ordering parts, no conference calls with other villains to brainstorm more efficient ways to warp space-time. He hadn’t even given the room any elaborately purple decorations. He had been, he congratulated himself, very discreet.

“Just working on a new project,” Rex said. A robot zipped in, further crowding the small room, with two plates. Their salad course. “And how are the Christmas preparations coming?”

Sanj brightened visibly. “Great!” he said. “Everyone has been really getting into the spirit this year. Which normally I find a bit annoying, to be honest, but it’s hard to argue with such an outpouring of volunteers and support across the city. Across the country, if the news is to be believed. Food banks are full, and even the normally awful Metro City government has been passing new ordinances and laws about homeless rights, rent protections, and assistance programs for the unemployed and underemployed.”

Rex nodded, nearly wanting to add that the least people could do was give him a little credit. True, he supposed, he had intended to do the complete opposite, but it was still his malfunctioning Humbugatron that seemed to be contributing to the sudden rash of decency spreading through this quarter of the globe.

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