It's not going to be pretty, but Regina has magic and Nicholas has an impressive array of weaponry and battle tactics at his disposal.

Fair enough. Let me go fix those!

Thank you for the prompt!

“I understand why this won’t sound sincere,” she said as she slowly sat upon the throne set upon the dais of the giant, expensively furnished throne room, “but my intention wasn’t this.” She gestured toward her rounded stomach.

His jaw clenched as he stared angrily at her. “You expect me to believe that you, the Demon Queen, didn’t plan out a long game to entrap me so that I couldn’t defeat you without killing my own child? You’re a tyrant. Of course you force this upon me thinking I would spare you for the sake of my progney."

She sighed heavily as she struggled to find a comfortable position. “Nicholas, you know me better than anyone. Do you really think…”

“Do I?” He glared at her as he held his sword defensively, trying to keep an eye on the guards stationed around the hall. “I don’t know you at all. This was all a ruse!”

“It was,” she admitted with a groan, running her hands under her stomach to give some relief to the pressure there. “I fully intended to trick you into doing something that would prevent you from making it this far into my kingdom. It could’ve been you settling down with someone, not me, or it could’ve been your death. I really didn’t care. My main concern was keeping you from following your orders because, if you killed me or took over my rule, you’d surely give it to your king, and he is the true evil.”

“Don’t be absurd. King Henry is a just ruler who doesn’t terrorize his people or rule them through fear.” He took a step closer and wasn’t surprised to see the guards move a bit closer to him.

“Is that so? Have you really stopped to consider this fact? Who, exactly, is telling you that I rule through fear? You’ve been traveling through my lands for months now. How often have you encountered someone fearful of me?” She rolled her shoulders and winced as one popped loudly.

He scoffed. “Just two weeks’ back, we encountered that man who had been mutilated by you. It’s a wonder he didn’t recognize you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he was thrown off by how very pregnant I am.” She waved her hand to dismiss the thought. “Do you remember why he was treated thus?”

“He said it was because he refused to relent and give up his property to you.” Nicholas shook his head. “You’re a thief on top of everything else; he said you took his property even after mutilating him.”

“Let me show you his property.” She nodded toward a young woman who was clearly working as a low-level servant in the hall. “This is Sarah.” She leveled the hero with a solid, determined look. “Sarah was that man’s so-called property. Shall I tell you what he was doing to his ‘property?”

The young woman blanched. “Please, Majesty, I can’t bear to even think about what that demon did to me. You’ve given me a safe place and good job; I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but…”

“It’s alright, Sarah. You may go.” The Queen turned to the hero. “I’m called a Demon Queen by those who would use, abuse, or otherwise hurt my people. Those who choose to do so and think they will get away with it never do. That’s part of my powers. I’m able to know when my people are being severely abused and by whom. I bring swift justice to those who deserve it. Sometimes, I allow them to stay in my kingdom as a warning to others who might think of doing harm to my people. Often, I banish them from my borders. You only hear from those banished because they are the loudest, and, because your king wants my lands, he quickly erases any indication that I am doing as a good ruler ought; I am actually protecting my people from the truly evil.”

“The King wants us to kill you so your magic will no longer protect your borders?” Nicholas slowly lowered his sword. “I want to believe what you’re saying, but that would mean my king is…”

“The evil one? Perhaps. If anything, he’s ambitious.” She shifted again, and the throne creaked beneath her. “Nicholas, I’ve never lied to you. I am who I’ve presented myself as for the length of time you’ve known me, and I love you very much, but I won’t force you to stay here. I also won’t keep you from your child. If you want to leave, you may, and you may come visit so long as you do so with peaceful intent, but I will not allow Henry to take over my lands and hurt my people.”

Nicholas looked around as he thought over his journey through the Queen’s lands. It was true the people prospered, and it was equally true that very few actually feared her so much as respected her. He’d seen her be compassionate, brave, funny, and cunning. She was amazing, and he truly adored her. He’d also seen his King in action, and rarely was he ever compassionate or this adamant about the protection of his people. Perhaps, it was time to realign.

“I don’t want to do that.” He dropped his sword and heard the guards take a cautious step backwards. “I don’t want to leave you or our child.” Moving to stop in front of her, he dropped to his knee and bowed to her before reaching out to grab one of her calves, which he began to rub. “I love you as well, Regina. I choose to stay, and, together, we will protect this land and our child.”

The Queen moaned in appreciation and nodded to her guards to stand down. “Good. Now, help me up so we can bathe and rest. I’m tired of smelling like three days’ worth of dirt and horses.”

Chuckling, he did so and then happily followed.

She does; her job, on the other hand, not so much

Love this comment

Oh man, I could get behind that. In my mind, Doug is Ryan Reynolds.

He cackled in delight as he threw Mary into her cell. “Now we wait for PolyChromatic Man to come save you, and, once he arrives…”

“Yes, we’ve done this before, Steven,” Mary cut in as she plopped down in her usual spot in the cell. “You have some big, bad and ‘unbeatable’ way to finally kill PCM, he’ll show up, and, after you give your villain soliloquy about how this is it for PCM, he’ll find a quick way to stop you, and we’ll all end up where we always do: you’re arrested but escape before the police can get you in the squad car, PCM is the top headline, and I’m at work trying to explain why I missed my shift again. Honestly, can we just not this time because my employer is super close to firing me over your abductions.”

“First of all, my name is Dr. Vile, and you will address me as such,” he yelled from across his twisted laboratory filled with dangerous weapons of destruction and mayhem.

She rolled her eyes and slouched down more in her chair. “It’s Steven. I know it’s Steven, and you know I know it’s Steven. I’ve known for years now, because we grew up together. For God’s sake, Steve, you and Doug were at my house last week to play boardgames.”

“That… we both agreed we wouldn’t talk about that when I’m at my day job,” Vile said as he glanced around to make sure none of his minions had heard her. “Besides, I have well earned my moniker, and you will respect it,” he demanded as he began the finishing touches on his machine to finally end PCM’s life.

“Earned it?” Mary actually guffawed. “How?!”

“How?” He stared down at her from his position in the room, incensed that she could even ask such a thing. “What do you mean ‘how’?! I’m the foremost villain in the world! The amount of death and destruction I’ve wrought is unparalleled. Whole countries have bowed to my whims over the years! I’m a…”

“An idiot,” Mary finished with a sigh. “Tell me this, Dr. Whatever. Why do you keep using me as bait for PCM?”

“You can’t be serious,” he replied, coming down from his platform to stand in front of her cell.

“You’re the perfect bait. What superhero would ever pass on saving their beloved girlfriend?”

“Look,” Mary sat up in her chair, shaking her head at him in disappointment, “I’m not his girlfriend, okay? So, if you’re looking for bait, could you not use me anymore because my job…”

“Don’t try to trick me, woman! It is clear you are, in fact, his love interest. The amount of time he spends with you is…”

“Not half as much as he spends with his ACTUAL love interest,” she cut back in, rolling her eyes and standing to walk around her cell. “You watch him so much; who does he actually spend most of his free time with? Hmm? It’s not ME; I can tell you that right now.”

Vile quietly thought it over for a moment, his mind running through the vast catalog of knowledge he had regarding the hero. “Well, outside of you, it’s me.”

She stopped pacing and turned to stare him down. “Do you know what polychromatic means?”

He balked. “Of course, I do; don’t be absurd. It means multicolored.”

“Right, multicolored, like a rainbow. You know,” she made giant hand gestures, “a rainbow? A rainbow, Steven, and,” she tapped the glass of her cell for emphasis, “has it ever occurred to you that my best friend, aka YOUR boyfriend, Doug, is the guy who spends the most time with me?”

“Well, of course he is. You’re not dating anyone right now, and you’re Doug’s best friend. Why wouldn’t you two spend a lot of time together when he’s not at work or with me?” Vile rolled his eyes at the obviousness of her observation.

“Yeah, right, EXACTLY.” Again, she shook her head at him. “And have you ever noticed anything about PCM that you find even remotely familiar?”

Again, Vile stood and really thought about. “Well, his mask hides his face pretty well, but I have noticed his eyes are the same color as Doug’s, and, now that I’m thinking about it, he’s Doug’s height as well. In fact, he walks a lot like Doug, and he sounds a lot like Doug. Actually,” Vile frowned in thought, “there’s a lot of similarities between Dough and PC… OH MY GOD, DOUG IS POLYCHROMATIC MAN.”

“He’s a 10, but he doesn’t know he’s married to his own arch nemesis,” Mary snarked. “So, can you two, you know, go to couples counseling or something? I’m serious. If you abduct me one more time, I’m going to lose my job, and then I’m coming for your head. I mean it, Steven.”

Absently, Vile nodded okay as he blindly reached for the door release to Mary’s cell just as PCM busted through an exterior wall. “You won’t get away with this, Dr. Vile,” he shouted as he looked for Mary.

Stepping calmly out of her cell, Mary held up a hand, “I’m good, Doug. In fact, I’m leaving. You two can do whatever.”

“Doug!” PCM blanched at his secret identity being revealed to his mortal enemy. “I don’t know who…”

“Shut up, Doug,” Vile called out as he turned to face the flying hero. Reaching up, he unclipped his mask and pulled it from his face, revealing his own secret identity. “Just… just sit down, and I’ll grab some coffee so we can talk,” he said with defeat lacing his voice.

The last thing Mary heard as she walked out of the room was Doug’s shocked voice bellowing though the laboratory, “STEVEN?!”

“Huh,” I said as I stared down at my body, checking for damage, “I should be dead right now.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for years, you insufferable idiot,” June yelled from where she stood behind a ray designed specifically to destroy half the world. She fired the laser at me again, hitting me directly in the chest.

The blast forced me into the mountain wall again, pushing me further into the hole I’d already created the first time I’d taken the full force of the blast. She raged at me between blasts:

“We,” blast, “are,” blast, “in a,” blast, “hyper realistic,” blast, “simulation,” double blast.

I held up my hands in a show of surrender. She hit me one more time before powering down the device and stepping from behind it. As I climbed out of the giant hole in the mountainside, she nonchalantly walked through the casualties from our battle.

Long ago, June had turned to crime. Her exploits had gained her the moniker “The Malevolence,” or just “Malevolence” if you were in a crunch. To me, however, she was June Wright, my little sister who had strayed from the path of justice our family had a long tradition of supporting. I was the fifth generation to proudly be called Captain Verity, and I had spent most of my time in the suit trying to bring my little sister to justice.

“Yes,” I grumbled as I stumbled out of the hole, “you keep saying that.”

“And I keep being right,” she yelled at me. “Look around John.” She pointed to the wanton destruction around us. “Tell me why we’re alive right now. TELL ME.”

“Well, I… well, maybe it’s the… hmm…” She was right. The power of the device she’d created should have cratered half the Earth in one blow. “I honestly don’t know, June,” I answered in defeat. “Maybe your weapon isn’t as strong as we thought it was?”

“Really?” She rubbed at her forehead and took in a deep, calming breath. “You really think that?”

“Well,” I winced at her hard stare, “no,” I lamely admitted.

“That’s right, no. The answer, John,” she began screaming at me again, “is no, and DO YOU KNOW WHY MY WEAPON DIDN’T WORK? DO YOU JOHN?!”

I slowly pulled my helmet off and let it fall to the ground beside me as I took in the scene before us. People were dead, hundreds of them. A whole forest had been leveled, and half the mountain behind me was gone, but we both were just barely hurt, and the Earth itself was fine. It should not have been fine.

“Because we’re in a hyper realistic simulation?” I weakly offered.

“BECAUSE WE’RE IN A HYPER REALISTIC SIMULATION,” she roared at me. Taking in another breath, she visibly calmed herself down. “God, when are you going to learn to actually listen to me? You never listen to me. It’s always, ‘Oh, but John is older so he knows more, and you should follow his lead,’ or ‘John is the oldest and will be a great Verity, and you’ll make a good sidekick just as long as you do what he tells you,’ or, ‘John knows what’s best.” She actually growled at me. “Well, look around, John, and tell me you know what’s going on.”

I slowly slid down to the ground and forced myself to think over the years to all the times June had tried to tell me we were in a simulation. When we were teenagers and our parents both died was the first time she’d tried to tell me. She’d given some valid reasons, but I was too caught up in grief and the determination to be the next Verity that I’d ignored her. I ignored her every time after that when she was my sidekick and she tried to show me our actual reality.

“I’m the reason you turned into a villain, aren’t I?” Thinking on it, it was clear now.

“Well, how else was I going to get you to listen to me? You sure weren’t listening to me when I was your sidekick,” she spat back at me.

We stared at each other for a long time in the silence of the destruction we’d caused, and then an idea hit me.

“June, how do you think we can get out of this?”

“God, FINALLY, he asks me MY opinion on things.” Looking up into the sky, she began screaming at the top of her lungs, “OKAY, WE GET IT NOW. WE’VE LEARNED OUR LESSON. LET US OUT OF HERE, PLEASE.”

I was going to ask what she was doing, but, before I could get the words out, the world around us vanished, and I felt a helmet being pulled of my head. Standing above me was the smiling face of my mom, and I could see my dad standing over June.

“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How were they alive? “How?”

“Now, John,” Mom said as she helped me up, “we told you and your sister that, if you couldn’t learn to get along with each other, we’d find a way to force you.”

Dad chuckled, “I told your mom it’d take you a couple of simulated decades, but she didn’t believe me.”

“Yes, I owe your dad a special dinner tonight,” she replied with a laugh.

June took in a deep breath against her rising anger. “How long were we out?”

Our mom checked her watch. “Only about 20 minutes.”

We lived a lifetime in 20 minutes. We stared angrily at our parents. This was the last straw. They had crossed a line. When they left the room, June caught my arm before I could follow and pulled me to her. In a lower voice she said, “How would you like to be my sidekick?”

I raised an eyebrow and nodded, “Start of our villain arc?”

She nodded. “Start of our villain arc.”

“Okay, so we’ve have tried blowing him up?”

The twitchy assistant with a clipboard and headset flipped through his papers. Sighing, he nodded. “Yes, three times.”

“Three?” The person whom I assumed was the executive producer grunted in frustration. She took a long sip of her coffee as she stared at me. From my cell’s uncomfortable chair, I sat and stared back at her before I gave her a small shrug. “Okay,” she drew the word out as she thought it over. “Gun of some kind?”

The assistant flipped through his notes again. “Yes, many different types.”

The producer rolled her eyes. “God. Okay, I’m just going to list off a bunch of things, and you tell me if we’ve tried them or not. I don’t want to spend another day like yesterday trying to figure it all out.”

The assistant nodded and changed their stance to something resembling a fighter’s stance. “Okay, ready when you are.”

Taking in a deep breath all the while staring me down, she began, “Hanging.”

“Yes.”

“Downing?”

“Yes.”

“Wild animal attack?”

“Multiple.”

“Including a be…”

“Yes, including a bear, tiger, lion triple attack.”

“Gladiator style?”

“Yes, he won by attrition. The rest of the fighters passed out from fatigue after hitting him repeatedly with their weapons.”

“Shit. Okay, military weapons?”

“Of all grades and types excluding nuclear. We decided even he wasn’t worth the literal fallout.”

“Fuck.” She finished her coffee and chucked it into the trashcan nearby. “Death by overeating?”

“We tried force feeding him. It was like that episode of The Simpsons when Homer goes to hell.”

“Oh yes, I remember that now.” The producer groaned. “That one was more expensive than we anticipated; let’s not do that again.” Throwing her hands up in disgust, she finally approached my cell. “Well?”

I stared dumbly at her for a moment before I realized she was addressing me directly. “Well what?”

“Do YOU have any ideas?” She rolled her eyes at me.

“In how to kill me?” I laughed at her. It couldn’t be helped. “Lady, I’ve been trying to figure that out myself for at least a couple hundred years. As best as I can tell, the answer is you can’t.”

“Well that just fucking sucks,” she yelled, turning angrily to her assistant. “Do you hear that? We CAN’T kill this guy. What the hell are we supposed to do with him? Our audience has been watching him survive attempt after attempt for weeks now. At this rate, the edging is so bad I’m afraid they’re going to revolt and demand I take his place just so they can get some release.”

“Uh, w-well…” her assistant began as they pulled out a sheet of paper from their clipboard and handed it over. “It would seem our ratings are actually up.”

“What? Give me that.” She snatched the offered paper and looked over the data. “Huh, who would’ve thought.” Turning back to me, she held the sheet up for me to see. “Seems like the audience is really into seeing you survive these attacks. You’re gaining a little bit of a cult following even. Listen, how would you like to stay here with us and just keep doing this for a little bit?”

I’d heard this before. I had actually been a gladiator, and that didn’t end well once the people got tired of me winning. “And when they tire of me? What then?”

She handed the sheet back to the assistant and shrugged at me. “This is TV. We’ll fake your death. It’s pretty clear we can’t kill you, and I’m willing to bet if we locked you up somewhere you’d eventually get out.”

“I’ve been known to outlast a prison or two, yeah,” I said with a chuckle. “If you live long enough, the walls will eventually literally crumble around you. You just have to be patient.”

“Okay, so you stay with us as our hero, we all work together on scenarios, we set you up some place cush between shows, pay you a couple of hundred thousand an episode, and, when it’s time to fake your death, we send you wherever you want.”

“After I sign all the NDAs and contracts you have in mind?” I smirked. This could be fun. It’d certainly be different from my past few hundred years.

“I knew you were a smart one,” she said with a smirk of her own. “Deal?”

“Maybe. Bring me the documents and proposals to look over, and I’ll let you know.” Leaning back in my chair, I glanced around my cell as if taking it in for the first time. “If I don’t like what I see, I’ll just… sit here.”

“That’s the first time that threat has ever been effective,” she said with a light chuckle. After she directed her assistant to get an immediate meeting with legal, she ran a critical eye over me for what felt like the millionth time. “You’re taking this all in stride well. It doesn’t bother you what we’re doing here?”

“I’ve lived a very long time. I’ve seen humanity do some really fucked up things to itself in that time. This? This is nothing compared to the horrors I’ve witnessed, and this at least is contained and not likely to become something popular among the masses. When the masses get their claws into something, that’s when it all really gets bloody, so, no, this doesn’t bother me.”

She nodded at my words, her mind clearly thinking back on something, probably her world history knowledge. “Okay, then, fair enough. So, if we’re going to work together, I think we should at least be on a first name basis. You already know mine.”

“Janet,” I said with sly smile.

She smiled brightly. “Yes, and you are…?”

Standing from my chair, I let out a long, annoyed sigh. “Cain.”