Written for @Holly-Hoyle for her writing challenge

I don’t know how I get talked into these things. Maybe this means I can actually be of some use in the future. Or maybe it’s just an excuse for someone to show off and kick the crap out of me again...

 Jonas pondered all these thoughts for a moment as he sat at his desk, staring at the picture on his cell phone. He recognized the woman in it. In fact, they’d become good friends ever since a strange mix-up involving him and Aurora (mostly Aurora, he made sure to note). So much so that she often called him one of her heroes... a thought he didn’t think was ever possible. But he had learned to take Holly at her word.

 Once again, however, she was caught up in one of Aurora’s ‘scenarios.’ But this time, the super-thief turned-white-hat-hacker type had something else in mind. Aurora’s love of bondage and leaning very heavily on the domme side of that gave her all sorts of ideas. And for this, Holly agreed to go into it totally blind and not expect anything that was coming to her. In short, a simulated abduction.

 The added twist this time was that Jonas would be her rescuer. He’d have to track down where Aurora took her, find his way in, and be prepared for a possible fight. Not that he couldn’t, of course, but his skills were in tracking. And shooting accuracy, as it turned out, but he didn’t plan on using any guns.

 He heaved a long breath out his nose, shaking his head. If I have to fight anyone, even sparring...  Many muscles and joints still ached when he thought about the few times he tried to spar with Meryn. Or Taria, one time. Even Elyn a fair time back, who always surprised most people with her strength and speed.

 His attention went to the phone again. Holly stood there, hands raised in surrender, a strip of duct tape plastered over her mouth. She had been at her hotel when Aurora jumped her, wearing her red turtleneck, a black skirt that reached her knees, and a pair of black tights, having just kicked off her shoes.

 He studied the background for a moment. Likely a wall in the room... He set the phone up on his desk, leaning against the wall so he could see it, and pulled out all his old equipment.

 “Too bad those Agency days are gone...” he said to himself. “Could have just made a few calls.”

 Now, when back in Weston or travelling around, the group just stuck together to train. Artema had set up something of a private investigator agency, but only for when the group were in town. Which, with their busy lives, wasn’t as often as they liked. So his resources this time were much more slim than he was used to with the old Weston Agency.

 He already had the original picture file stored away on a small SD card, slotting it into a bulky old laptop after it booted up.

 The location of the hotel was easy enough to track. He remembered it well enough, from all that time ago. It had once been a place where several of his friends had been captured. He’d helped track them down before.

 “Too obvious though, she wouldn’t keep her there,” he said to himself.

 Jonas typed another command, this one bringing up a city map and a network of lines, all attached, running every which way throughout the city. His eyes traced lines from the hotel. There were three of them.

 “Aurora’s old underground network...” he muttered. “She must still use it.” He held his finger up to the screen to trace the three lines.

 “The cabin... no. That’s her and Elyn’s vacation spot. The museum? Still open, crowded, not her style...”

 He traced the third line and stared at where it stopped. He sighed to himself. “Of course... the old Agency HQ. Still functional. Should have known back in the day that she had this...” he said.

 Jonas stood up and grabbed a coat, throwing it on over his plain black clothing. He checked himself in the mirror once, barely able to look. He recalled wearing brown sometimes, back in the days of the old group. But, even then, he nearly always wore black. He remembered both Elyn and Meryn asking him why he always wore black, one time. Jonas liked to quote a song back to them.

 “I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back. Till things are brighter, I’m the man in black.”

 He even wore black in Gold Valley, the memories of his time there never leaving him. The memories aged him more than time already had. His grizzled face, now flecks of grey in his beard and hair. His eyes remained tired, sad, devoid of colour. Grey. Old. Those words sprung to mind.

 “Still won’t take it easy on me...” Jonas said. “She’ll want to test me on the way in.”

 Friends they may be, but Aurora wouldn’t hesitate to put any of the group through their paces when it came to training. Even Elyn, though Jonas knew he couldn’t fight like her.

 “Suppose I’m in for bruises then. As usual...”

 ...

 It had been a while. Jonas hadn’t seen the old HQ in quite some time. The crew still maintained it. It still served as a good place to train and hide out for a while. He watched the secret door open, leading into the elevator that led below. He stepped inside.

 “Suppose she’ll be holding her in the old training cell,” Jonas said to himself. “Two doors down from my old office, then the hallway...”

 When the elevator stopped, he stepped out and looked to his left. The empty meeting room brought back so many memories all at once... but then a voice over the intercom system interrupted his thoughts.

 “Hold up there, Scruffy,” the voice said, the tinge of Spanish in her voice. “Your pretty little friend is worried about you.”

 “Mmmmpphh!” a muffled voice said from just behind her. Least she seems to be having fun Jonas thought.

 “She seems to think you might get hurt out there.”

 “Well won’t I?” Jonas asked.

 There was a smile in Aurora’s voice when she next spoke. “Nothing permanent.”

 The lights around them went out and the emergency lighting came on, barely lighting up the corridors and rooms.

 “There are four automatons roaming around, between you and Holly. Disable them or get past them without being detected.”

 Jonas rolled his eyes. “Never was much good at stealth... Been working on these?”

 “For years. I designed them in my old lab. They were meant to replace guards like Fa’rah...”

 “You’ve had the designs that long?”

 “I did make one or two that were meant to subdue and bind more... feminine targets,” Aurora said.

 “So I’m guessing these things know how to fight.”

 “I let Elyn program them. They’ve mirrored her moves.”

 “Great...” Jonas said. “So they’ll kick the crap out of me.”

 “Nmmm!” Holly’s voice said from the background. Aurora spoke to her this time.

 “Not to worry. It’s all just a simulation. Though we are trying to treat this like the real thing so... you can continue, if you like.”

 “Mmm mmmpph! Lmmt mm gmm! Bmmmpphh!”

 “About that...” Jonas began.

 “Yes?”

 “You really want me to treat this like the real thing? Like you’ve actually kidnapped Holly and could conceivably do bodily harm to her?”

 “Of course. We take our training exercises seriously, you know.”

 Jonas nodded and tried to hide the smirk on his face. “Just making sure...”

 He reached into his coat pocket, mimicking a casual gesture, but pressed a button on the side of his phone. Let’s hope she’s nearby he thought.

 With that, Jonas pressed on. Past the meeting room, he rounded a corner, taking the path to his old office... and nearly bumped into a humanoid shape.

 Mechanisms whirred to life and before he could react, Jonas felt himself tossed backwards into a wall, hitting the floor hard and grunting from the pain. “Well... playing a bit rough there...” he said, getting to his feet.

 The thing charged for him as he stood up but he stepped aside and let it crash into the wall. Catching his breath, Jonas planted himself and readied the next charge. The thing swung forward with one fist but Jonas held up one arm, managing to knock the hard plastic fist aside, at the same time leaning forward, tensing his muscles, and letting his shoulder connect with the chest of the automaton.

 The thing stumbled into the wall, losing its balance, and falling to the floor. In the dim light, Jonas could make out the deactivation switch, just under the thing’s head. He reached down for it but the machine grabbed his arm and shoved him back, leaping to its feet.

 “Right... trained by Elyn. It’s faster than me,” Jonas said to himself.

 He didn’t react in time when another plastic fist surged toward him, landing on his stomach, making him gasp and double over. As he bent low, another fist caught him under the chin and sent him sprawling to the floor.

 The machine loomed over him. He let it pick him up, pull him in close... and he reached forward as fast as he could and flicked the switch under its chin. The machine’s grasp loosened and it went limp, collapsing to the floor.

 Burying the pain in his body, as always, Jonas looked down at the thing. “Not exactly realistic... but have to adapt.”

 He rounded the corner again... and this time two of them stood there. The noise from his first fight had attracted them.

 “Ah, damn it...”

 ...

 Within the training cell, meanwhile, Holly was resting against the back wall, seated on the floor. Duct tape restrained her body. Her ankles, calves, and thighs had all been tightly taped together. Her wrists, crossed behind her, were also taped together tightly with a heavy, thick wrap, as well as a tight wrap around her waist. Adding to that, her fingers had even been taped together.

 Yet more tape framed her chest and pinned her arms. It all matched her gag, a tight tape wrap, holding in a rather substantial stuffing of cloth.

 She glared at Aurora, struggling hard against the unyielding tape. Her captor, dressed in her signature red catsuit, black boots, and long black coat, knelt down next to her.

 “Yes, struggle away my dear. You must know how I love it...”

 “Bmm mm!” Holly spat, cursing into her gag.

 “Ooo, such language...” Aurora reached forward and grabbed her chin tight. “Do go on, my pretty.”

 Holly writhed and thrashed, screaming every obscenity she could think of. Her memories returned to the old ship and that accidental fake kidnapping, how she had met Aurora and Jonas...

 It was an odd start to a friendship. More so with Jonas, as Aurora often liked to keep her distance for a multitude of reasons. But the two knew each other well enough. Holly did like to be tied up by Aurora, who in turn enjoyed tying Holly. Though she felt awkward when Aurora explained she was in a committed loving relationship, they quickly reached an understanding. “We may both be taken, but there’s nothing wrong with a little fun between friends, is there not?”

 Supposing the many relationships they both maintained, while still being faithful to their girlfriends... she was right. And Holly had agreed enthusiastically at the idea of another simulated kidnapping. This time as a form of training for Jonas.

 Aurora laughed at her muffled attempts at speech. “Your voice is too cute, pretty girl...” Holly blushed but still maintained her glare. “Fmm ymm!” she raged, struggling wildly again.

 A hand landed on her cheek. A light sting remained on her face. It wasn’t hard, but she glared again, knowing her captor had slapped her.

 “Enjoy that, did you?”

 Holly blushed again and mumbled into her gag.

 “What was that?”

 Summoning all her fake rage again, Holly growled and thrashed on the floor. “Ymmmpph, mmkmm!?”

 Aurora chuckled this time. “As I thought... my pretty prisoner enjoys being treated like one.”

 Holly growled again, struggling more furiously. But she stopped, letting sweat drip down her face, as Aurora stood up and walked to the door. “Should probably check on Scruffy...” Aurora said.

 She unlocked the door... but just as she did, Jonas came barelling through, falling to the floor in front of Holly, an automaton pinning him down.

 “Mmmmpphh!” Holly shrieked, now genuinely struggling, trying to escape and help him.

 He managed to push the thing off, a growl of genuine rage to his voice. The heavy plastic humanoid slammed into the heavy door of the training cell and Jonas staggered to his feet. Holly noticed the state of him.

 His black clothing was scuffed, a few tears in places. His face looked a little bruised, and scratched. His knuckles were red and raw, some scrapes on the back of both his hands. His chest heaved as he struggled for breath. His eyes met Aurora and he reached up to his left shoulder. The other two noticed that the thing had not gotten back up.

 “Finally got the goddamn switch...” Jonas said.

 “Last one?” Aurora asked, an eyebrow raised.

 “Yeah...” Jonas said, rolling his sore shoulder.

 “Well now you’ve reached me... and you know what that means.”

 “I don’t suppose it means I win?” Jonas said between breaths.

 Aurora shook her head and let her coat fall to the floor. Jonas stood tall and smirked again, reaching into his coat. Aurora tensed up in front of him, raising her fists.

 “Come now, Jonas. You can spar with me. You get me to yield, I’ll let you rescue your friend.”

 “And if I don’t?”

 Aurora shrugged. “I don’t let her go, I suppose.”

 Jonas kept the smirk on his face and simply stepped back a few paces. “Where are you going?” Aurora asked. “You’ve a fight to win and a damsel to rescue...”

 Jonas stepped aside and then, behind him... a tall woman with red hair, gold eyes, dressed in bright yellow workout clothes, stood there in the hallway.

 “Meryn? What... Jonas?”

 Jonas shrugged back. “You said treat it like a real kidnapping. Well, you know what I’d do in that situation? I’d call Meryn.”

 “Good thing you did, too,” Meryn said. “You look rough.”

 “Ah, it’s nothing. Besides, Aurora will make sure I get patched up.”

 Aurora sighed. “I suppose I will...”

 Meryn stepped forward and got between Aurora and Holly on the floor. “Now, you want to take this outside?”

 With a smile, Aurora just shook her head. “You absolute bastard...” she said, looking at Jonas.

 “That’s a funny way of saying pragmatic,” he replied.

 With another chuckle, Aurora stepped out of the cell. “All right, Meryn. Time to do this, I suppose.”

 She leapt at the gold-eyed woman in front of her, who led her down the hall and around the corner, out of sight. With the sounds of their fight as the background noise, Jonas stepped back into the training cell and nodded to Holly, still taking in heavy breaths.

 “You okay?” he asked.

 Holly nodded, though her eyes were worried. Jonas knelt down and unwrapped the tape from her mouth, pulling the cloth from her mouth gently. “Oww...” Holly said, wincing when the tape came off.

 “Sorry.”

 “What happened? Are you okay?” she asked.

 “I’m fine. Just a little sore...” he said. “Aurora will look after me, don’t worry.”

 “You’ve done this before?”

 “Get hurt in training? Yeah...” Jonas said. “It happens. I work with a group of highly skilled people. All more skilled than me. I’m way out of my league with these women.”

 “Well.... don’t go doing that shit again!” Holly scolded. “You scared me when you came through the door.”

 “Sorry. But hey...” Jonas smiled. “Did it to save you, right?”

 Holly sighed but managed a smile back. “Yeah. You did...”

 “I’d do it again, too. You can count on that.”

 “Thanks...” Holly said, blushing slightly.

 “Now, I know you enjoy this, but I do need to get you out of here to finish this whole scenario.”

 “Right,” Holly said.

 Jonas finished cutting the tape off of Holly and pulled her to her feet. He led her to the elevator and back out to the empty office building above. As they walked out, he reached to a desk nearby and handed a pair of black flats to Holly.

 “Can’t let you go shoeless outside.”

 “Thanks,” Holly said, slipping them on her feet.

 They stepped out of the building and walked to Jonas’ car, parked just down the street. Holly got in the passenger side.

 “Do you think Meryn will be okay?”

 Jonas chuckled. “She always is... and besides, it’s an ally she’s sparring with. They’ll stop eventually. I’ll check in with them after I drop you off at home.”

 “Can you drive like that?” Holly asked.

 “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Just a sore shoulder. And some other aches. I can work through it,” Jonas replied.

 “As long as you’re okay...”

 Jonas started the engine. His radio came on and a particular song played. Holly smiled at him.

 “Did you do that on purpose?” she asked, gesturing to Jonas’ clothing.

 “It’s just how I dress. Made me think of the song. Plus it helped get me prepared for, well, all that.”

 With a smile, Holly reached over and gave Jonas a hug. He ignored the pain in his shoulder and returned the hug.

 “You are my hero, you know.”

 Jonas sighed. “If you say so.”

 “I do.”

 Jonas nodded. “That’s good enough for me.”

 Finally, the pair drove off, down the street, and out of sight.

This is the song referenced in the story, and something of the theme to it: