Superguy still had hold of my shoulder, and I had to wonder why the hell he hadn't used his super strength, speed, and reflexes to keep me from hitting ground. Perhaps his attention span wasn't beyond that of ordinary mortals. I suppose that having yourself snapped from one dimension to the other might distract you for a second. I know it did me.

For instance, the speculation about his delay in using his powers didn't come till later. At that moment, I was distracted by the effort to suck up enough oxygen to keep from passing out. I wasn't doing a very good job. He rolled me over on my back. I tried to say, "Hate to bother you, but do you have an oxygen mask handy?" It came out as a long, faint wheeze.

He said, "Don't be afraid. I can help you." Then he bent down and started to do artificial respiration on me.

Well, this was novel. He tipped my head back, sealed his lips over my gasping mouth, and blew in gently. Thank heavens. I had a split second image of my lungs inflating, then bursting like the hot water bottles strong men used to explode in their stunts, but apparently Superdude had control of his powers. My lungs filled up with blessed oxygen, and my panic level went down instantly.

Another puff, then another. The tense cramping over my diaphragm eased, and at the pause of three breaths, I drew a breath on my own. I started to tell him thank you, but the mouth came back down, and it was muffled. *Oh, well... okay,* I thought. He wants to be sure I'm breathing on my own. Wow, it was a weird sensation, having someone else's warm breath wafting into my body.

He was kneeling beside me. During the next three breaths, he slipped his right arm under my torso, lifting me up to lie across his thighs as he sat back on his heels. *I don't remember this as an approved position in the Red Cross Handbook.*

This time when he raised his head after the three count, I began, "Whoo, that was..." His mouth came down on mine again. This time it wasn't air that slipped in, it was his tongue. I made a surprised noise somewhere along the lines of "Yerf!"

He responded with something that sounded like, "Mmfh," but he didn't stop what he was doing.

Okay, I didn't know from kissing right then. I had no practical experience to make comparisons with, but as inexperienced as I was, I got the feeling that this guy was thorough. In the space of a few seconds, he could have given a tactile dental record on me. I'm not sure I'd classify it as unpleasant. Like I said, I had no experience scale to judge by, but it was most definitely startling, and I was a little pissed because my first ever soul kiss was taking place on cold concrete in some sort of alternate universe. Oh, thanks Powers That Be. Like I could really relax and enjoy it. It was getting pretty interesting, though. His tongue was stroking over mine, tangling around it. Then he sucked it into his own mouth. Damn, he looked so plain vanilla in the comics. Who'd have ever thought he'd give wet kisses?

Okay, this was going too far. We hadn't even dated yet. I pushed against his chest. Brick wall time. I mean, he was flesh and blood, didn't feel all that different from an ordinary man *yeah, right Scribe, and you know this how?* but there just wasn't any give. So I started to pull my head back, but he just followed me down, till the back of my head came up against his shoulder.

He was biting my tongue gently now. I could feel... I don't know how to put it. I guess I was getting turned on. It was like little sparklers were lighting up in various parts of my body. *I can't have this. Mom would have a fit. Or she'd get the shotgun and try to make him marry me, and he's the freakin' Man of Steel, so a little old shotgun isn't gonna impress him much.*

As these thoughts toddled across my increasingly muzzy mind, he let me come up for air. *Whew, well, that's over with. Must've been some kind of welcome wagon thing* "Okay, hi to you, too. I think we've got a problem... Hey!"

He embraced me with his left arm. tangled his big right hand in my curls and turned my head slightly. Now he was licking my ear. I jumped at the shivery sensation, and that massive arm tightened a little. Oh, damn, he had my arms down at my sides. It would have been easier to get them loose from a straight jacket.

"We haven't been properly introduced," I babbled. "Don't you think this is a little sudden if we haven't been introduced?" The answer was a low growl that didn't sound very superheroish. He chose a spot on my neck and began to suck.

Damn, not a hickey! How could I explain a hickey when I got back home from the convention? Mom was expecting me to bring back autographs and mint issues of monster magazines, not deep purple love bites. I started to squirm as best I could. The growl became sort of a muffled chuckle against my rapidly bruising skin.

I was pissed off, and more than a little scared by now. The reason no one was coming up and inquiring what the hell was going on was that we seemed to be in some sort of an alley. A dark one, because it was full night here.

He let go of my hair, but I couldn't move my head away from the worrying attentions of his mouth, as my head was jammed against his shoulder. His left arm unlocked from across me, but before I could do anything about it, his right hand caught my right wrist, immobilizing it. Then his left hand settled on my right breast and squeezed.

So now I was being groped. *This is past teasing. I don't care how cute he is.* Retaliation was called for. I tried to twist my hand free *And what will you do if you manage that, Scribe? Scratch him? Bullets bounce off his skin, for christsake.*

I was wearing a thin, hook in the front brassier, almost a sports bra. He was pinching and stroking softly, and there was a little pebble sized point starting to press against the fabric. *Oh no, uh uh. Ain't gonna have it. Gotta put a stop to this right now. What to do, what to do...?*

Then I remembered my mother's advice about how to escape a man who wouldn't take no for an answer. I squirmed again, eliciting a pleased groan. I guess he thought it was rising passion, or something. My left arm was trapped against the slab of his chest, but I managed to force it down. My left hand slipped between our bodies, down to his crotch.

I felt something very hard and almost impossibly warm slide against my forearm as I worked my hand lower. *Don't think this was what Simon and Schuster were thinking when they coined the term Man of Steel.* I found what I assumed to be the proper place, grabbed, and squeezed for all I was worth.

I have no doubt that this would have worked--with anyone from my own universe, I mean. When I clamped down on their testicles they would have dropped me and spent the next hour or so rolling around in agony, if they had the strength, whimpering. I hadn't stopped to consider how it would feel to Superman.

He groaned. "Oooh, yeah, baby!"

"Oh, cripes!"

Iron solid thighs clamped around my arm. "Do that again, honey."

"I will not! Let me go!"

"Don't be a tease." He shifted, the hard length under the red swimming suit section of his costume sliding along the tender, sensitive skin of my forearm. "Please, baby, it's been such a long time." There was a sigh in his voice.

"I'm not that kind of girl!" Okay, cliched, but the truth. And what the hell, this was a comicbook universe, wasn't it?

"C'mon." He shifted again. I was giving him a defacto arm job. "I'll admit this isn't a romantic spot. I can fly us to my Fortress of Solitude. I know you'll think Hey, that's too cold. I've got the softest, warmest furs you could imagine. You won't regret it. You have no idea how much stamina I have."

It made me hurt just to think of it. "Get a grip on yourself, man!"

"No, you get a grip on me. You do it so nice." Another bump. "Come on." His voice was soft and persuasive. "Get the easy one out of the way, then we can take our time."

"What, did you run into some red kryptonite and lose your mind this time, or just your sense of decency? You're acting like... like... Lex Luthor."

He froze, then suddenly pushed me off to arm's length. I got a look at his face now. There was shocked horror at what he'd been doing, embarrassment, and still more than a little lust. And he didn't let go. "Lady, I am so sorry!"

"Good. Let go of me."

"I... I can't do that. You might panic and run off."

"Very possible. Don't you think I have good reason?"

He blushed. "I said I'm sorry."

"Oh, well, then..."

A sigh. "Yes, I know--highly inadequate, but I can't turn you loose till I know how you're going to act. If you go sprinting off into the night, you could get into some serious trouble."

"What, like being molested?" He winced. "I'm not going to run off. In the first place, I can't run to start with. You wouldn't need super powers to catch up to me. In the second place, I'm not in Kansas anymore, and I need you to make like the Wizard of Oz and send me home, cause I don't have my ruby slippers."

He looked concerned. "You seem to be delirious. Was there oxygen deprivation?" His eyes glinted. "Maybe you need a little more air..." He started to pull me closer.

"Lex! Lex!" He stopped, looking disappointed. "I'm from a different dimension. I'm going to be a little hard to understand, okay?"

"Yes, I see. You're taking this very well. I would have thought that most people would have been... uh..."

"Stark staring bonkers? I considered it, but I don't like mental hospitals. The tv reception is said to be universally crappy. Now, honestly, will you let go and let me get up? I don't think this is the cleanest place in the world, and my luggage is in another universe, so it will be difficult to get a change of clothing."

He stood up, bringing me with him, and let go of me. He watched me warily as I tried to dust myself off. Unfortunately the stuff on the pavement wasn't dustable. It... smeared. I looked at him and said, "Gag."

"Oh... uh... that is a mess."

"Yeah. Look, how about doing the counterclockwise earth spin routine to get us back in time? Then I'll just trip the little snot instead of jumping on him, and this will never hap... Why are you shaking your head?"

"First off, how do you know about the time reversal? I haven't even told Lois, or Jimmy."

"Umm, let's say that certain aspects of this universe are known to my universe. But I'm asking again, why the head shake?"

"Well, secondly, I try to avoid that. Too many chances for paradoxes and anomalies."

"Oh, come on! Not to brag, but I'm pretty insignificant here, but maybe I'm fated to become a best selling author in my world." *Yeah, right. Here's the other one, pull harder.*

"Third is, it won't work. I can do it here, but it will take us back to the past for this universe. It won't send you back to where you came from."

"Are you sure about that?"

He thought. "Well, either that, or you'll cease to exist in any universe."

"Ewww... I wouldn't like that at all."

"So you're stuck here. At least till Mr. Myx... *so help me I still couldn't catch that* comes back. Then if we can trick him into sending you back..." He thought. "and if he can remember where he got you from..."

I closed my eyes and pressed my head against a none too pristine brick wall. "Oh, cripes."