Kovalevsky's Monster

[NessaCary]

"And finally, my utmost gratitude to the woman without whom none of this would be possible."

Sophia Kovalevsky raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow as her date for the night tugged her arm. Her lab assistant had hardly been her first choice, but she seemed eager to go and without her convincing, Sophia would have spent the entire evening drinking. The small woman next to her gave her a smug look, hazel eyes wide and head cocked to the side.

"My beautiful fiancé, Antonia." The crowd applauded as a blonde woman whose bust gave the word a more literal connotation stood, feigning reluctance. Her ample bosom nearly fell out of her red silk corset. Alexandra, Sophia's lab assistant, flushed and cast her wide eyes downward, dropping her arm slowly. Sophia herself couldn't help but snort.

"Well, you and I both know who should be receiving the award anyway," Lexi stage whispered to Sophia.

Sophia's lover of the last seven years had conveniently decided to break her heart and beat her to publishing the results of their joint research. Ivan, Sophia's brother, had died of gangrene after the war and since then she'd dedicated her life to curing the disease. They'd developed a syrum that, combined with electrotherapy, could reanimate the dead cells. Seven years she'd endured his condescending and sexist comments, laziness, and vanilla, selfish lovemaking. And now, he was taking credit for her work. The pain and pleasure she'd experienced on the project, the time alone...she could have been the good housewife society expected of her and raised a child in that time. Just thinking about it made her sick.

Since the nominees for the achievements recognized by the Society of Advancement in Science and Psychology had been announced, the only think Sophia had considered curing was a hangover. Lexi had nearly been hit by an empty bottle of whiskey when she forced her way into her employer's locked up house earlier that afternoon. She'd dunked Sophia in ice-cold water, made her bathe and dressed her in a deep emerald gown and pinned up her hair before twisting her arm (literally) into getting her into a cab and to the ceremony. Dressing up and going out was not on Sophia's agenda normally and only her drunkenness had gotten her out of the house tonight. Sobriety loomed horribly close, however, and she kept digging in her cleavage to pull out a flask. Each time she did, Lexi tried to snatch it out of her hands, when she failed, she would anxiously spray Sophia with some god-awful perfume.After felt like hours, (and maybe was, she hadn't ever bothered to check her pocket watch) the ceremony was over. Sophia made a beeline for the door.

"Sophia, darling!" Antonia. She pretended not to hear the shrill voice that drew out the out both words so it came out sounding like Sohpiaaaaa, daaaaahling. Ignoring it wasn't an option when a hand took her elbow. Her ex-lover, Oscar. His grin was ear-to-ear and slimy.

"How charming of you to drop in, Ms. Kovalevsky. I am overjoyed to see that even though we are no longer courting, you support me."

She literally growled, but before she could open her mouth Lexi spoke instead.

"She's actually here to collect the collected works. We think that perhaps your essay, among others, will assist with our current research." Her smile could have melted a snowman.

"Ooo!" Antonia nearly squealed and Oscar didn't bother to hide his snort of doubt. "And what could that be?"

"Reanimation of the dead," Sophia dead-panned.

 

[saedo]

Oscar permitted himself a sly grin as he spotted Sophia across the room. He'd hardly expected her to attend. Sophia typically found mingling at large social events to be unpleasant. Of course, he'd also spotted her taking a swig from a flask, so perhaps a little inebriation was smoothing her path.

No doubt the little sprite of a lab assistant had a hand in this. Since her brother's passing, Sophia was rarely to be seen clothed in anything other than a lab coat. Tonight, however, she wore a lovely green gown that flattered her magnificent curves and a hairdo that highlighted her graceful features. Someone with influence had persuaded her to dress for the occasion.

Oscar let Antonia be the one to notice his former partner and drag him over. He was actually quite curious to see Sophia again. After so many years sharing a lab and a bed, he couldn't be entirely disinterested despite their split. Still, best not let her know that he still thought of her on occasion.

He gave Sophia a lascivious overview as Antonia spoke. She was indeed a beautiful woman. Not quite as voluptuous as his blonde fiancee, but certainly curvaceous. She'd actually been a quite enjoyable lover when in the mood. Unfortunately, her drive to cure the disease which had killed her brother frequently supplanted her libido. She would grudgingly service him (which was fun in its own way) to keep him sated, but otherwise everything was all about the work.

Not that he'd been any long suffering saint, of course. Oscar had been far from exclusive during his time with Sophia. If she was reluctant and he wasn't in the mood to compel her, he'd readily found other willing females to part their thighs for his meaty cock.

In truth, he had kept Sophia around for her intellect. She was an exceedingly bright woman and some of her insights had been quite helpful to his work. Had she had a libido to match his own, she might have been the perfect woman.

Instead, such honor had gone to Antonia. The young daughter of privilege had been a bit starstruck to meet the respected scientist and had eagerly shown her appreciation by hiking up her skirts for him in a nearby cloak room. Her enthusiasm for his cock had continued unwaveringly ever since. Consequently, when the end result of his research was at last within sight, he'd dropped Sophia. With no need of either her mind or body, she was only in his way.

Oscar hadn't slighted her entirely. His published paper referenced her in the footnotes along with his other support staff over the years. Sophia no doubt thought she deserved more prominent placement. Given his reputation for sleeping with his female lab assistants, Oscar recognized that mentioning his former lab partner in the same vicinity might make Sophia seem like little more than one of his fuck toys. But from Oscar's perspective, Sophia was little else. A very bright fuck toy, of course, but a fuck toy nonetheless. Did she honestly think he'd share authorship of his discovery with her?

Oscar was therefore driven to laugh when Sophia spoke of re-animation. Had it been anyone else, he'd have thought it was a joke. One might as well claim to be researching how to turn lead into gold. But even as tipsy as Sophia was, he didn't doubt her sincerity. Clearly the bright beauty's obsession with her brother had taken her beyond rationality. If this was where she was headed, he'd been prescient to dump her as early as he did.

He reined in his guffaw. "You always did have interesting ideas, my dear. I fear you chase a phantom, but I can think of no one..." Oscar paused, seeking some means of praising her lunatic idea. "...no one better suited to such an endeavor. Please, stop by the lab tomorrow afternoon. I shall have my assistants prepare copies of the relevant information for you

 

[NessaCary]

"Oh no you don't!" Lexi said, forcing open the hackney cab's window and brutally forcing Sophia's head out the window where she immediately expelled the contents of her stomach. On the bright side, it came up nearly as easily as it went down. Lexi took a handkerchief from her bag and wiped the spittle from her lips as she pulled her back into the cab.

"I can't have you ruining a perfectly good gown and making a mess in the cab. It reeks of whiskey as it is."

The older woman groaned her acknowledgment and proceeded to pass out. Soft morning light woke her like being hit by a steam train. She wallowed in the pain in her head and stomach a moment, moaning, before processing as much as she could remember of the night before. Oscar, the mother-fucker! The gall! If she was being honest with herself, she was over him, if there had ever been anything there to get over in the first place. No, honestly, her ego had been wounded--deeply. She knew, and Lexi knew, that the research had been all hers. He was a pompous egomaniac who thought with his dick and none too creatively.

Movement beside her stirred her from those thoughts and she turned to see Lexi curled up beside her. She murmured something incoherent in her sleep and curled closer to Sophia. Dressed in bloomers and a men's shirt with her blonde pixie cut hair in disarray, she made quite the sight. As for Sophia, she was still wearing the gown from last night. The chiffon and silk were wrinkled and stiff. She frowned, at least there wasn't any vomit.

Slowly, she eased out of bed and slipped into her bathrobe. She nearly tripped over an empty bowl and realized that's why her lab assistant had stayed. The girl always went above and beyond what was asked of her. She shook her head ruefully and started tea, helping herself to a little hair of the dog as she waited. After a few minutes, the kettle whistled.

 

[saedo]

Oscar scanned through the notes Sophia had requested. He'd laughed off her ridiculous explanation the night before. Reanimation of dead flesh? Preposterous.

But in the morning light with his head cleared of last night's champagne, he began to wonder what she was really after. Sophia might not be his equal, but she was certainly more skilled than most. Her fanatic devotion to her brother had provided intense focus and
energy in her work that few could rival. Had it lead her into a search for fantastical solutions? Or was there some other practical application to the research that he'd missed?

After an hour's review, he could find none. During the years on this project, there had been several dozen various ideas that they'd tested and rejected during the search for a solution. Nothing immediately sprang out at him as an avenue worth re-examination.

Still, Sophia would be here this afternoon to pick up her copy. While never much for idle conversation, she always did like to talk about her work. Perhaps she would offer some elucidation as to her plans.

He'd hoped to get more out of her at the party, but the platinum-haired pixie had absconded with Sophia as soon as his head turned. Pity. As obviously inebriated as she'd been, he could have gotten just about anything he wanted from her.

Antonia had been disappointed on that score as well. Sophia had been Oscar's primary lover till Antonia, so his fiancee had a bit of curiosity about the woman she had replaced in Oscar's bed. The thought of them together with him sent a stiffening quiver of pleasure to his groin. Antonia always did perform at her best when there was a third participant.

He shrugged and put his papers away. Perhaps there might be a second opportunity for many things this afternoon.