The Captivating Gay Trans Detective
PART 1: Despite his frosty demeanor, Icarus was unparalleled when it came to solving crimes and banishing evil
Icarus was a gay trans detective. But he was also a sorcerer.
Despite his frosty demeanor, Icarus was unparalleled when it came to solving crimes and banishing evil.
One day, his husband, Lysander, showed him an odd story that he read in the paper: “Jack Hale was an ordinary man who minded his own business. But a few days ago, he dropped dead without warning. The police discovered that he had been infected by some strange disease, and they found disgusting maggots on his skin.” Lysander shuddered.
Icarus already had a sense of what was to come.
Over the next few weeks, Icarus amassed evidence to track down the culprit behind the incident. There was a certain Mr. Bennett Wakefield, the local billionaire. He was a grieving son who had lost his parents years ago.
While it was tragic to be orphaned so young, Mr. Wakefield was clearly using his loss as a sympathy shield to cover up his evil doings. Icarus had lost his parents too, but not by death. He refused to think more about that.
Still, Icarus couldn’t be too careful. He and Lysander rehearsed their script. The latter was skeptical of the plan, but he had faith in Icarus.
The next day, right at sundown, Icarus and Lysander arrived at the door of Wakefield Enterprises.
They sounded the doorbell, and they heard its ominous chime echo through the room. When the door pushed open, Icarus half expected to see a spectre, but it was only an old man; a butler. He was tall and fit, and one would be a fool to underestimate him. But he wasn’t the man that Icarus was looking for.
“Sorry for interrupting you, Sir,” Icarus said. “But my husband and I were wondering if Mr. Wakefield would consider sponsoring our fundraiser. It’s — ”
“Not interested,” the butler said in a flat tone and started to shut the door.
“ — It will be to Mr. Wakefield’s benefit,” Icarus persevered. “Our fundraiser is to support children with deceased parents. Especially those with parents who were mysteriously killed.”
As expected, Albert, which was the butler’s name according to Icarus’s research, pulled the door open again. The butler’s gaze was severe, but not entirely relentless. “Oh? What sort of fundraiser is this? How come I’ve never heard of it before?”
A wide smile spread across Icarus’s face. “That’s because we haven’t launched it yet. And we’re seeking Mr. Wakefield’s help to start our endeavor.”
***
Icarus didn’t have long to wait.
Soon, Albert returned with a tall, thin young man wearing long sleeves and pants, gloves, and even shoes in his own house, as though he had something to hide, which he obviously did. His face looked oddly emotionless and too perfect.
It wasn’t the first time that Icarus had seen a skin mask, however. Bennett Wakefield’s face matched his photos, at least the ones shown to the public. The detective had wondered why he couldn’t find any private photos of Bennett’s face. He even questioned if this was an imposter.
Yet, Icarus had a hunch that this was the real man. It just wasn’t certain what he was concealing. But Icarus bet it had something to do with maggots and parasites.
Regardless, the billionaire’s voice was cold. “So, you’re asking Wakefield Enterprises to fund this unknown campaign of yours. What would we get in return for our generosity?”
The detective wasn’t deterred by Bennett’s tough-guy act. The fact that he even bothered to show up at the door, meant that he was already interested in Icarus’s scheme. “Magic,” Icarus replied bluntly. “I’ve heard that you are skilled in fencing, archery, gymnastics, and even the martial arts. You have money, you have influence, you have everything. But the one thing you don’t have, and probably want, is magical ability.”
Bennett Wakefield clenched his fists. “Why should I believe you? You’re speaking as though you’re some superhero.”
Icarus chuckled. “I’m not a hero, just a magician.” He held out his hand. An orb of golden yellow light seeped from his palm into the air. When the light faded, a thin sword was in his hand. Bennett eyed the weapon with wariness, until Icarus handed the sword to him, hilt first.
Bennett frowned as he took it. “Aren’t you afraid that I would attack you with this blade?”
Icarus smiled and shook his head. “I believe you are a man of honour. You wouldn’t attack someone who has never done you any harm. Besides, this is a sincere gift from me. I know that I’m just a stranger, so I invite you to try out this blade, to prove to you that my help is genuine. The sword is not hard to use, and will not harm the bearer.”
Bennett glanced over at Lysander. “It better not. Otherwise, you and your husband had better watch out.”
***
“Are you sure this will work?” Lysander whispered when they were miles away from the mansion.
Icarus grinned and squeezed his hand in reassurance. “Trust me, it will.”
“But you know what happened with the Icarus of Greek mythology. He flew too high and fell to his death,” Lysander persisted.
Icarus scoffed. “You tell me that every time you’re worried about a mission.”
“I just don’t want you to get killed,” Lysander said. “This Bennett Wakefield isn’t just some broody, filthy rich villain. He’s got something deeper up his sleeves. Please be careful.”
Icarus gave his spouse a quick peck on the lips. “Don’t worry. I will.”
***
Back at Wakefield Enterprises, Bennett Wakefield stared with amazement at the magical sword. Everything was as advertised. He could shoot beams out of it like it was a laser gun. It was a fun new toy. His advanced analyzers did not find anything strange about the blade, either. Could the boy truly be sincere?
He didn’t find anything odd about the young spell caster or his husband. They could have given fake names, but their faces seemed to match their photos. The spell caster, who called himself Dioneo, used to be the son of wealthy parents, but they had cast him out of their will because they refused to acknowledge his gender. A transgender boy who had issues with his parents, huh?
Bennett became even more intrigued by Dioneo’s motives than by the magic sword. One thing was certain. He had to meet the spell caster again.
The following day, he managed to persuade Dioneo to meet him for lunch, though the latter said that his husband would not be attending this time. That in itself wasn’t a cause for concern. Bennett was confident that he could catch them either way, if there was any deception on their part.
During their meal, Bennett noticed that Dioneo was a very handsome man. He also had a lack of social grace, which ironically made Bennett feel less on guard.
He plied the spell caster with questions, however, and was surprised by Dioneo’s candid responses. Apparently, he had many friends whose parents had been killed or viciously harmed in some way. His husband Corinth’s parents had been wrongfully exiled from the country as well.
Bennett inquired about Dioneo’s relationship with his husband. And soon, the billionaire became intrigued by the boy’s backstory.
At the end of the meal, Bennett Wakefield smiled and said, “All right, I can sponsor your fundraiser. But only if you promise to teach me magic.”
Dioneo nodded calmly. “I promise.”
Thank you to Zane Dickens for his We Need a Hero prompt. A number of authors wrote a story about their fictional villain. Four top villains were chosen based on the highest number of fans (clappers). Our mission was to write a short story with our superhero to vanquish one of these villains. I chose Jann Christoph von der Pütten’s villain, Parasite, aka Bennett Wakefield. Parasite is a twisted version of Batman, which I was very fascinated by.
Originally published in Queerly Trans on Oct 31, 2022
