Research and Preparation

I drove around a bit, swinging by the new safe-houses I’d learned about. No sign of Bridgette at any of them, but it would take more organized surveillance to actually know that. The businesses were on pretty tight lockdown.

Shit. Nothing. I considered my other problems. Frankly, I needed some goddamn muscle. On the outside. And I needed to solve my fucking money problems. I could probably get some of the girls to give me money, but that was suspicious and wasn’t sustainable.

I also needed to stay invisible, which meant I needed a cover for everything…I considered. I could try to visit one of the ‘bad guy bars’ in town and find a target…and then get them to submit…and then find a way to get them close to me believably…

Okay, no. I needed something connected to what I was already planning. Improving the city, ‘rehabilitating’ supervillains, dealing with the criminals. Damn, that was a mixed platform…except the last bit was going to be secret, which made my political bedfellows obvious.

The liberal movement of Gotham. It wasn’t large, the city’s total failure to get crime and corruption under control meant that it kept voting in people who promised to solve the problem by being tougher and no amount of toughness was letting the city match the fucking Joker.

So, how did people get involve in political movements? I genuinely had to google that, as I’d never given a shit about politics, just voting the straight union recommendations. It seemed like the first step was to get involved in a local organization, which…I didn’t really have time for. I knew Kianna was hooked into the local religious conservative organizations, but that was basically the opposite of what I needed…though they had their own beliefs in rehab...

I looked into it a bit more and found something that made me smile. There was a group whose name I actually recognized, Volunteer Direct Solutions, known to the beat cops in the harder part of the cities as Victim Delivery Services. It took college kids and other rich do-gooders and sent them off to do projects in the slums. Making neighborhood gardens that would be abandoned in a week, painting over graffiti that would be back the next day.

They were heavily tied into the local liberal political groups and, in what shouldn’t have been a surprise, Jewelz was involved with them. I did a bit more research and decided that would be my in. But frankly, I didn’t have a lot of spare time…

I’d need to think about how to get in there. But for the moment, I focused on the other thing I could do. Blackgate actually was on the way to Arkham from this neighborhood. I asked around a bit and found a couple guards who worked there, chatted about our jobs and offered to try carpooling with a couple, one of whom worked in the women’s wing. They’d kick in money for gas and it would only cost me about five minutes every morning. And I’d, imbue the woman who worked in the prison every day when she got out of the car. Hopefully I could get some non-crazy muscle that way, or informants.

Then I focused on the app and realized there’d been something flashing in the background that I hadn’t ever actually opened.

Achievement Unlocked: Tamed II
Fucking finally. You got this with Frannie the day she almost **** you! 25 SP in a single session. Dumbass. Reward: 2 credits.

Oh…well, I could have used those earlier.

Wait…last time the app had given me the credits, even if I hadn’t opened the notification.

Helpful Hint: No one likes being ignored.

Fuck me…

Helpful Hint: That seems like it would hurt, given I’m a phone app. But knock yourself out.

Okay, that was enough of that.

The only other thing I needed to do before crashing and trying to sleep, with visions of Diamond’s ass jumping in my dreams, was open Penelope’s Challenges.

Challenge: Experimental Serums: Penelope’s research is not making the progress she wishes, so she decides she needs human test subjects and begins testing her serums on the inmates. Actual effects are unpredictable, but unlikely to be positive for them. May draw attention. Reward for reaching positive submission while active: Upgrade to Prime Test Subject: You are able to control the effects of her serums on you, if injected. If known, this will make her obsessed with you and **** for your cooperation. May result in eventually breaching Superhero/Villain containment protocols and deactivation of the App.

So that was just a no. But what the fuck is she researching? I thought it was psychiatric treatments and ****? What’s this bullshit? Maybe it would only be true if I accepted the challenge? Shit…I’d never looked into the other leaders, or what they might have done to ‘wrong’ me, or all of Gotham…that went on my big to-do list.

Challenge: **** Are The Only Solution: Penelope concludes that no other therapies are truly functional, and only **** can cure her patients. She becomes increasingly dismissive of all non-**** treatments, rewards, or punishments and begins prescribing increasingly heavy doses of **** to all inmates who cause problems. Reward for reaching positive submission while active: upgrade to I’m Solving the Wrong Problem: She still is attempting to solve the patient’s problems with ****, but believes their problems are no longer psychological, but rather moral and so they need to be controlled through ****, addition and conditioning.

Jesus Christ, no. That was way too big and crazy. Hopefully the last one would be better, or this whole thing would be a wash.

Challenge: I’m The Expert: Penelope cannot be convinced to change her mind on anything. She can only be overruled by a superior and even that will only cause her to obey, not change her beliefs. She believes her expertise as a doctor makes her an expert in everything and will not hesitate to share her opinion. Being challenged will not go well and proving her wrong will go worse. NOTE: Since you’re a big baby, I should tell you that she is actually an expert physician, so this will not make inmate care worse. Reward for reaching positive submission while active: Upgrade to I know what I’m doing! Every time she makes a verifiable mistake (either to you, or everyone, selectable at any time) she gets so **** to cover it up that she will do almost anything to keep it quiet. SP gain from those actions is radically reduced and she will not remember anything done under the influence of this feature, unless you expressly remind her of it when not under the influence of the feature.

I went with I’m The Expert. Not perfect, but I’d take it. The app clearly meant me to use it for sex, and I might, but using it to get her to sign things, or answer questions was also on the table.

I looked into Alyce and Penelope a bit more. Nothing on Alyce. She even lived on the fucking campus, She was a doctor and had been quietly appointed after the last Director had been killed more than a decade ago. She survived by somehow just not being around during breakouts. She was a political non-entity, but no one challenged her. Probably because no one else wanted the fucking job. Especially not after Strange (the Director before the one who died to clear the way for Alyce) was revealed as a psycho.

Penelope had a far more visible record. Local girl made good. Scholarship student to Gotham University. Showed great promise while there in the areas of pharmacology, including pioneering treatments for Scarecrow’s toxin. Those only worked if used in the first hour, but that was still better than anyone else. Rapidly hired as deputy chief of Medical, then promoted the next year, when Killer Croc literally ate the prior chief.

Well, that was depressing. And not helpful. I had some more jobs for Frannie and our time together should be without Kat, so it shouldn’t raise any questions…After a moment, I considered and gave Kat an additional assignment for tomorrow, follow Penelope. Not for any particular reason, just because I wanted her busy, then I could reward her with an orgasm, get the Orgasm Lock back on her. Because I would be taking it off her and putting it on Diamond to make sure she came her first time experiencing anal.

Finally, I crashed.

AN: Sorry, **** here, the options were too messy. Question for folks, though Vikki won't come into the story through Asa, at least at the time that was voted for Alina, I still need a portrait. Do folks have a preferred appearance (hair color/body type/etc?), or preferred pornstar for her?