In The Tub

Consciousness switched back on like a lightbulb. No gentle awakening, no period of adjustment. Lois Lane's eyes snapped open and she gasped for air, precious air...and found herself sitting naked in a bone-dry tub.

Stiffly, awkwardly, Lois clambered out of the bathtub. She could remember dying. Drowning in jizz. Was it all a dream? Was it all... Lois stared into the mirror...and someone else stared back.

The figure in the mirror was taller, thinner, with small breasts barely concealed by a skimpy orange tunic. Her skin was blood red, hair a mass of oily dark coils, glossy black horns curling back from her forehead, eyes pure white windows into a dark void. She looked like a human might look if bred for speed, to run down prey and rip out its throat with their teeth...

You owe me. The familiar voice echoed in Lois Lane's head.

The reporter's palms itched. There was a terrible certainty in the demon's voice—and Lois was sure that this is what it was: a demon. One of the weird supernatural entities she didn't like to believe in most days, no matter what the superheroes claimed.

"Owe you what?" Lois muttered with as much defiance as she could muster.

A life for a life. The mouth didn't move when the voice talked...the lips pursed and kissed, the long forked tongue slid in and out to tease, but it didn't synch up with the words. I have granted you an extension. You have until morning to conceive a life. Do this, and you live. Fail...and I will take your life as what is due to me.

Lois stared in disbelief. "You want me to go fuck somebody?"

Those are my terms.

"No. No, that's bullshit. I didn't agree to that, I..." Lois paused as she felt her heart stop. Nothing beat inside her chest. Her vision darkened, color fading out, narrowing down. Her body was so cold...

The moment passed. Lois Lane's eyes opened wide, just as she had a minute ago in the bathtub. Her hand went to her chest, feeling her heart beat erratically. She sucked in air, the chill fading slowly.

Your life is mine. I am giving you a chance Lois Lane. Your body is very fertile right now. Almost any...suitor...would fulfill your debt. The demon's mouth split into something that might have been a grin. At the very least, it was showing a lot of teeth.

"Okay. So I have to get pregnant. What...what do I call you?" Lois asked, stalling for time that she knew was running out.

Call me Blaze.

Her vision blurred. Lois blinked, and now she was staring at her own naked reflection in the mirror.

"Shit," Lois swallowed hard, feeling butterflies in her stomach. "How the hell am I going to get knocked up?"