DR. PERVO - BOOK I

3. Erotica

Bewildered, Stephanie Brown peered into the un-viewable space confronting her. "I suppose this is some kind of Halloween party trick?" she called out to the void while debating the wisdom of abandoning the smelly elevator car for the unknown darkness beyond. The desire to be free of the horrid stench won out. She had only taken a few steps when there was a loud, metallic click accompanied by the blinding luminosity of a massive spotlight that was aimed directly at her from high above. It was so bright she couldn't see anything beyond the column of brilliance that enveloped her.

"Well, hello there, sweet cakes!" the deeply sultry voice of an unseen woman enthusiastically greeted her from not far away. The disembodied voice made an emphatically long and drawn out, low whistle. "Wow! My-my, cherry pie!" The clicking sound of the invisible stranger's footsteps, as she drew closer, echoed throughout what sounded like a very large chamber. "I can see why Tim Drake keeps pursuing your sugary stuff," she continued to unabashedly lavish Stephanie with the innuendo of sexy food metaphors. "You sure are the devil's delight of a delicious looking dish!" the mysterious woman added as she finally stepped out of the darkness into the periphery of the glowing halo of the spotlight.

"Who are you?" Stephanie gasped in astonishment.

The stunningly beautiful woman was standing stoically, about five feet away, with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "I am, Erotica!" she answered with profound emphasis. She then extended a massive pair of black wings, spreading them out far and wide before tucking them back in. The feathery flanks looked incredibly authentic. The incomparably gorgeous woman had long, thick locks of platinum blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulders and glittered with iridescence from the slightest movement of her head. Her face was disguised by an ornate, golden butterfly mask that was etched with intricate detail and set all around the edges with tiny, black gemstones. The mask completely surrounded her eyes, covering her forehead and the bridge of her nose, while leaving the bottom half of her face visible. Her luscious lips were a deep red color that looked entirely natural. A golden bow was slung over her shoulder and rested adjacent to a black leather quiver that contained a bevy of golden arrows. Her curvaceous body was otherwise adorned only by a gold sequin bustier and a matching pair of tiny boy-shorts, accessorized with a wide, black belt that had a golden butterfly clasp. The top was a tad too small for her ample bosom, being cropped just below her large breasts on the bottom side, and revealing an inordinate amount of cleavage on the top side. As a result it left little to the imagination. Her stunning outfit was completed by a pair of immaculately shined, black leather, spike-heeled boots that zipped up to just below the knee.

"Your costume is amazing!" Stephanie gushed, immediately disregarding the weirdness of everything else about the extremely odd situation she had walked into. "Where on earth did you find such realistic looking wings?"

"Welcome to Nirvana!" Erotica extolled, ignoring Stephanie's question. She then abruptly dropped the serious act, and once again assumed a much more casual disposition. "Oh-gee-whiz! Sorry for being so overly dramatic! Dr. Pervo instructed me to greet you like that, and now that I've done it, I have to say it felt and sounded entirely stupid. More importantly, I must confess that I totally adore your Little Red Riding Hood costume! You did a fabulous job! Is that really a miniature picnic basket you're holding?"

"Why, yes it is," Stephanie blushed profusely. "I'm using it as a handbag. I think it must have been for a doll. I found it, along with the hooded cape, for only ten dollars at a thrift store! Can you believe that?"

"Noooo-way! That's amazing!" Erotica concurred with a bubbling laugh. "And if you don't mind my saying, that form fitting red dress, which you must have used Vaseline to slip into, is smokin' hot! You sure are showing off the legs tonight, eh? Which begs the question: are those stockings or hose?"

"Stockings," Stephanie confirmed with a bashful flutter of her eyes. "And I bought this cocktail dress last year for a Christmas party. I haven't had a good reason to wear it again until tonight. It is kind of daringly short, isn't it?"

"I'll say," Erotica agreed. "Dare I ask: what'cha wearin' under there?" she added with a sing-song giggle.

"Enough of this nonsense!" an angry sounding man's voice shouted from the darkness, not far away. It was followed by the stamping echo of footsteps until an individual wearing a buttoned up, white lab coat and a wolf-man mask stepped into the outer edge of the spotlight. "What are you doing, Erotica?" He demanded. "This isn't supposed to be a social call!" The man appeared to be practically trembling with rage.

"Uhm, wait a second—just what exactly do you mean by that?" Stephanie interjected, suddenly looking very alarmed as the bizarre weirdness of the suspicious surroundings suddenly sunk in, full force. "Where's Tim Drake?" she questioned with obvious concern. "He asked me to meet him here—for a Halloween party."

Both Erotica and Dr. Pervo starred at her with blank expressions, apparently thinking the other was going to say something witty to cover up Dr. Pervo's foolish slip-up.

"You know, I think I better get going," Stephanie broke the silence as she started backing away in concern for her safety. After successfully taking several backward steps, she decided to turn and make a run for it.

With lightning fast reflexes, Erotica armed herself with the golden bow, drew a gleaming arrow, and even before Stephanie had started to turn, the projectile sank deep into her chest, directly in the center of her heart. She glanced down at the golden shaft in stunned shock—until a few seconds later when it abruptly burst into a puff of glitter dust that quickly dissipated into thin air. Stephanie's eyes rolled up into her head as she sank to her knees, and then collapsed to the floor.

"I guess it's my fault this didn't go exactly according to plan," Dr. Pervo conceded. "But nonetheless, good work, Erotica."