The Dangers of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 20. "Traitor"

by Skytower

In the vast files of the Earth Intelligence Agency-as well as in the files of nearly every spy organization on the planet Earth- there were at least two hundred pages of information on Sandy Sommerset. Family history, psychological profiles, likes and dis-likes and more. There were photos of Sandy since she had joined the Peace Corps and even before that going as far back as her baby pictures.

Sandy knew what the latest identification pictures would show. They had been taken no more than a year before and would show a tall slim woman fast approaching old age. A slim face that had once been handsome and strong had been reduced to a lined, tight face stretched over aging bone. Her brilliant black hair was now streaked with iron gray. As per E.I.A. regulations the photo's showed any tattoos or scars on her body. Sandy smiled ruefully. The scars were gone, but the 'Make Love Not War' slogan psychedelically fonted was still on her stomach, proudly proclaiming the idealism of a seventeen year old girl in the Summer of Love.

"They must be going crazy." Sandy said as she looked her nude body in the mirror. "The psychology guru's must be tearing their hair out. How could one of their solids, their concrete's, one of the bedrock mountains of the Earth Intelligence Agency move to the other side?"

This new body, her old body actually, her old body renewed to be specific, was part of the reason. Sandy couldn't remember the last time she had stood nude in front of a mirror and not winced. Or seen a potential lover not wince at her nude form. Now her hair was once again deep and black, her face held the energy of youth and it crackled in her blue eyes. Her limbs were long and supple and her breasts didn’t just hang off of her chest anymore, they stood sharp and proud, her bright pink nipples ready for action. She bit into a golden apple and shivered as the energy of the Norse gods coursed through her body. No more scars from the hundreds of times she had been caught and tortured. No more souvenirs of over thirty dark years in the E.I.A. Sandy was seventeen again and the world had a chance. More importantly she had a chance.

"What made little Sandy turn bad?" She laughed the question out loud as she bit into the apple again. A seed found its way into her mouth and Sandy carefully picked it out of her teeth and put it into a plastic film case that she kept in her purse. "That's what they'll be asking."

"Don't eat too many of those." Said a man who came up behind her. Like her he was nude and like her his body was again in the prime of life. Not a bad body at all, Sandy thought, making sure he didn't see the case. Six feet five inches, solid muscles and wavy black hair. Square jawed and hazel eyes Senator (former senator now) Stephen Rothschild was an excellent lover. He was also a skilled politician and the wife of someone who thought of Sandy as a friend. But Lucy hadn't realized that Sandy had stopped being her friend long, long ago.

Sandy was looking forward to what was coming. Lucy was about to realize that being hooked up to a goddess didn't really make her omniscient. The Goddess of Justice was about to be brought down to Earth. Hard.

Stephen hugged her and reached around to play with the sharp triangle of black hair between her legs.

"Plane touches down with-in the hour." Sandy said easing out of his grip and going toward the bed. "She'll be on it."

"There's got to me more to her plan than freeing Teen Force." Stephen said. He turned away from the mirror and walked over to the bed. Sandy made a point of pulling on a pair of white panties. He was a great lover but he really didn't know when to quit.

"That's plan A at least." Sandy said. She was glad when he took the hint and started to get dressed himself. "According to I.C.E. the rest of Force Group J is scattered around the planet trying to rescue a lot of the independents. Lucy probably wants her body back too. Besides they can't just let us get away with this."

"Not like they can do a lot." Stephen said smiling.

"Not really." Sandy smiled back at him while she put on a lace bra.

But he was wrong, and Sandy knew it. She had worked as liaison and then historian for Force Group J for nearly twenty years. They literally did not give up until you pounded them into mush and even then all you had to do was turn your back and they were on the move again. She had megabytes of data files filled with supervillains who thought that they had won. Sandy was certain that they had more planned then freeing Teen Force.

Sandy put on her diplomatic dress, a sensible knee-length blue dress with a white shirt, blue blazer and a nondescript string of pearls. She matched that with blue shoes. On the lapel of her blazer she pinned the new flag of Kromania. It showed a hand coming out of the sea.

"What about the politics in the states?" Sandy asked.

"Confused." Stephen said. "I got most of the senate calling for my head, but I'm getting a lot of calls from the old men about those apples." He smiled. "All I had to do was send a video of me eating one. The president is fighting for military action, but he's looking at re-election and the opposition is calling for Force Group J to do something." He knotted a tie, perfecting his Ken-Doll look and laughed. "As usual chickens with their heads cut off have a better idea of what to do. A lot of them are applauding my offering to help the situation. They think that risking my citizen ship and a possible treason charge is heroic."

"And the public doesn't know what to think." Sandy said with satisfaction. She walked over to the window. The capitol of Kromania was called Kromania, not very original but it had served throughout the cold war. The place had been Stalin's and then Kruchev's dumping ground and the people, drawn from all over the Soviet Empire, didn't really have a national identity. It was a port city without any ships now that the old empire had gone. Throw in a dictator and an oppressive army as a police force and it was the perfect spot for the Nephilim to land. She looked out at the city from an old apartment block given to her and Stephen. The block was just as drab as any other Soviet complex, socialism in Sandy's opinion made for dull architecture, but there was more than enough room for her and Stephen's people. There weren't a lot of them, Sandy had just three and Stephen had the usual idiots who would follow a politician nearly anywhere. It was enough to serve though. It had served in the build up to the Nephilim takeover and both staffs were going a long way toward making the giants acceptable. One golden apple made a superb bribe.

Sandy looked past the old city, in the distance toward the mountains another city was springing up. This city at the mouth of a brand new valley would make the Kromanian capitol look like a slum. The Nephilim built along a mix of Greek and Egyptian styles. Their new city would be a walled town with pyramids. Built to the scale the giants demanded.

"The public never does and never will." Stephen said. "But what about the Committee?"

"To them I'm already dead." Sandy said more lightly than she felt. "If I didn't have a high public profile someone would have killed me by now."

That was an understatement and Sandy knew it. The executive board of the E.I.A. would do far more than kill her if they ever managed to get their hands on her. Not only was she a traitor to them she also knew a lot of dirty little secrets. Little secrets that if exposed could topple the E.I.A, at least three governments and who know how many businesses. Those secrets could even start a few wars. Sandy smiled at the thought.

"But they'll be busy with the crime syndicates." Stephen said. "So we’re set."

"As long as our new masters do what we think they will." Sandy said.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Sandy called.

The door opened and a short young woman walked into the room. She had long brown hair and deep brown eyes. Those eyes were glazed and vacant now but Sandy knew they were normally bright and active. The young woman was wearing a Roman-style tunic, black and square cut. The tunic went down to her ankles. She walked over to Sandy and kneeled.

"My lords command your presence." She said simply.

"That's fine honey." Stephen said walking over to the girl. He put a sour tone into the last word and slapped the young woman so hard she fell down.

"Go and tell them we are coming." Sandy said.

Not reacting to the slap the young woman got up and left without a word.

"Pretty cold." Sandy said but she kept the distaste out of her voice.

"I just wish it was her mother." Stephen said angrily. "When I think of the time I spent with her, with them… playing the perfect family…"

"Makes you blood boil I know." Sandy said. "But Prudence didn't know that you weren't her father."

"Lucy knows." Stephen said fiercely. "She's known since Prudence was re-born and she never told me." He started to pace angrily. "No, that would have destroyed her perfect little family world, the place she went to whenever being Goddess of Justice was too hard!"

"Cool down lover." Sandy said putting a hand on his shoulder. "We can't go to Anoc mad and make a mistake."

He took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.

"You're right." Stephen said. "Besides if you're right soon I will be able to do that to Lucy."

The phone rang and she picked it up.

"Have the car brought around and send word to Anoc and Anoc-hia." Sandy said. "And make sure Prudence is ready for the show."

"Let's get going." Stephen said smiling.

When you were in the company of royalty you showed respect. When you were in the company of royal giants you showed even more respect. Sandy had learned that on her first meeting with the giants. So she showed respect, but she didn't grovel. From that attitude had come the respect from the giants that she had desperately needed. Once they respected her they had listened to her. Sandy was sure that they still did not trust her, but they were listening to her. She had shepherded them through a four-year plan and so far the plan was working. They had a country, they had bodies and more bodies were coming, and they were on the cusp of truly becoming a power on Earth once more. All they had to do was follow Sandy's plan, play at diplomacy until the orchard was secure and the Nephilim would enslave mankind.

For now they played benevolent, harmless refugees who had deposed a dictator and now wanted nothing but peace and a small part of a smaller country. Toward that end they enlisted Stephen and he talked to the United Nations. Now the king and the queen of the giants waited for the plane to land.

Anoc and Anoc-hia. They each stood fifteen feet tall. He was handsome and she was stunning. Anoc had the swarthy skin color of a native Egytptian. His dark eyes looked out from a face that was long and narrow with a sharp chin. His black hair was cut short. He wore no armor, Sandy was sure the sight of the giant alone would be enough to scare the diplomats. Instead at her urging he wore flowing gray robes and carried a wooden staff. The result was very much like Gandalph from Lord of the Rings. That the giant would prefer to eat humans instead of talk to them was something Sandy was going to be sure to keep hidden, at least for a little while longer. If the world knew their true plans the giants would be wiped out in a day or less. On his head Anoc wore a solid silver circlet with an enormous diamond set into the center.

Beside him stood Anoc-hia and Sandy could barely keep from smiling. Her blond hair could have lit a room and her blue eyes radiated wisdom and compassion. She wore robes that were a shade lighter than his. The robes could not hide her incredible figure, or the fact that she was pregnant. Take away the extra height and anyone would have recognized Goddess of Justice. Sandy knew that Lucy would.

Behind them all was a large crowd of Kromeranians and the press. Every so often Anoc or his queen would turn back and smile or wave. The cheers doubled and tripled when that happened.

And not a soldier in sight, Sandy thought. They really do love these two, and all of the giants.

Again Sandy had to struggle hard not to smile or laugh. A week ago these had been old men and women who were seeing a lifetime of work consumed by an idiot dictator. These were men who had lived to build the Soviet Empire and had lived long enough to see it decay and collapse. A few apples for each had restored them and their families to health, and the giants played well at being benevolent. As far as the people of Kromania knew the Nephilim was a small group of people looking for a place to call home. They came bearing gifts and were hailed as liberators. They were gentle giants and everyone knew that idiots wrote the old legends and bible stories. The people said so and the reporters that Sandy had let have the run of the city reported it that way.

Which meant, and Sandy did smile now as the diplomats started to come down the stairs, that no military would make a move against Kromania. They couldn't justify it and besides the Nephilim were too much of a military question mark. All she needed to do was to keep the world off balance for a little while longer.

"Which one is she?" Stephen asked in a whisper.

"I don't know." Sandy said. "I didn't think I'd be able to tell."

"We'll find out soon." Stephen said stepping up the meet the diplomats.

There were twelve of them from as many countries. But Sandy knew that only two of them really mattered. The leader was an old man who still held himself upright. He walked stiffly up to Stephen. Lord Montgomery Balmsy was no fool and he did not like Stephen one bit. But he was a diplomat of nearly fifty years and smiled convincingly as he and Stephen shook hands.

Lord Balmsy would decide, Sandy knew. He would decide what to tell the Security Council. The rest were a diversion.

Stephen led Lord Balmsy over to the giants and Sandy gave the man credit that he took them in stride. Of course Lord Balmsy had been the one to negotiate with the Slathern after their invasion attempt had failed. If he could deal with what were basically sentient jellyfish he could deal with giants.

"King Anoc, Queen Anoc-hia" Stephen said "Allow me to present from the United Nations Lord Montgomery Balmsy."

"We greet you Lord Balmsy of the United Nations." Anoc said and his voice was a deep as everyone expected it to be. "May your visit be pleasant."

"Thank you your majesty." Lord Balmsy said bowing.

"Before we conduct you to your guest quarters that you might rest we have a small ceremony." Anoc said. He raised his hand and Prudence walked through the crowd.

Sandy watched the diplomats sharply. They were curious, but no one showed any recognition.

Oh, you’re here somewhere Lucy, Sandy thought.

Prudence walked between the giants and the diplomats carrying a giant bowl. She put the bowl down and bowed to the king.

"With this light of truth let all be assured that we start only from truth." Anoc said. He nodded to Prudence who took a match from her tunic, struck in and dropped it into the bowl. A small but brilliant fireball flared up and into the sky. For a moment it hung there and bathed everyone in a bright white light.

Or almost everyone. In the center of the diplomats a short bald man in a business suit screamed and fell to the ground. As the white light faded the man seemed to fall apart. A few seconds later Lucy struggled out of the empty shell.

"Gotcha!" Sandy said aloud and knew that no one heard her because the crowd was shouting and the press was right with them.

Early on in her career with the I.E.A. Sandy had learned that nearly every supervillain, mad scientist or world conqueror had a dungeon. It might not be underground, or very big, but they all had one. Some of them were too sophisticated to call the place a dungeon. They called it the 'persuasion room' or 'the punishment room', but it was always the same sort of place. A small or large room where you could inflict pain on a helpless victim. Sandy had been in many. Lucy she knew had been in many more.

But not like this, Sandy thought smiling. The dungeon of the royal palace was underground. It had been the first part of the palace built. Built to the giant's scale the dungeon was a vast open place. A large firepit in the center of the room gave off heat and light. Blood red stones comprised the walls and floor and black stone the ceiling. There were cells enough to hold at least two hundred people. There were nearly that many torture racks and stocks. And of course there were plenty of chains. Lucy was carried in by Anoc-hia and the sight of Lucy in her hands was enough to make Sandy laugh. Lucy was wearing a plain orange jumpsuit and looked like a doll. The giantess held Lucy in place while Anoc placed chains on her wrist. The chains hung from the ceiling and suspended Lucy a foot off of the stone floor.

"Kinda strange isn't it." Sandy said walking over to Lucy but taking care to stay out of the captives' kicking range. "To be tied up by yourself. The ultimate in self-bondage I guess. Gotta thank you Lucy. Thanks to you we got to expel the U.N. team for a couple of days. The world thinks a spy tried to sneak in and Lord Balmsy's going to be busy denying it."

"Why Sandy?" Lucy cried out as her hands tried to grip the chains and relieve the weight on her wrist. "WHY?"

"A lot of reasons." Sandy said. "About twenty years worth of dark and dirty reasons. You know them, you just don't think about them. You're too much of a superhero to think about them. But you know them. But I think there's someone else you need to talk to now."

"Stephen?" Lucy asked as Stephen walked up to her. For an answer he slammed his fist into her stomach and then into her jaw.

"Not mind control honey." He said hitting her in the stomach again. "No magic spell." Again he hit her in the face. "Just me and you and the lies."

"What lies?" Lucy demanded almost desperately.

Stephen stepped back and snapped his fingers.

"Slave." He said. After a moment Prudence walked from behind Anoc-hia and kneeled in front of him.

"This lie!" Stephen shouted kicking Prudence in the stomach.

"NO!" Lucy shouted but the most she could was swing her legs at him. "You monster that's our daughter!"

"Your daughter." Stephen screamed kicking Prudence again. "My daughter died in the invasion! This is YOUR daughter with some alien freak!"

"She is your daughter!" Lucy screamed.

"No she isn't!" Stephen screamed back and charged toward her.

When he got close enough Lucy's legs came up like a jackknife closing and hit him in the stomach. Stephen stumbled and she wrapped her ankles around his throat. For a few minutes they all stood there as she choked him. Then a chuckling Anoc-hia reached over and easily parted Lucy's legs. Stephen fell back grabbing at his throat.

"The only way to save Prudence was for her to be born again through the Zenalina!" Lucy shouted. "You know that, I told you that!"

"You only get born once!" Stephen shouted. "What I got here is just a copy! My little girl died! She died because of you and you were too scared to tell me so you made this one!"

"She is the same!" Lucy shouted. "Every part of her is human, every part of her came from us!"

"Then how come only your DNA shows up in a test!" Stephen demanded.

Lucy started to talk and then felt silent.

"A few years ago as part of a bio-class project Prudence took one of your hairs and one of my hairs and matched it to hers." Stephen said. His fist clenched and un-clenched as he talked. "I convinced her she just got it wrong and switched the hairs for the next test, but I knew it was right. Just to check I had samples from all of us tested. You and her and a question mark. That's what I got back."

Lucy looked away from him.

"Still say she's our daughter?" Stephen demanded.

"When…" Lucy stopped and swallowed and then started again. "When the stray shot hit her Prudence started to die." Lucy was crying and tried to shake the tears away. "The Zenalina machine could save her, rebuild her, but it had to have two samples to work from. Female and male. I was there, on the ship. You weren't. There was no time to get you."

"Who was it?" Stephen demanded.

"I was afraid that this is how you would react." Lucy said. "That is why I never told you."

"WHO?"

"Mr. Armor." Lucy said quietly.

"Of course." Stephen said. "The dickless wonder in the tin can."

"To his credit neither he nor Ms. Iron have ever laid claim to Prudence." Lucy looked at him and her face was a hard sad mask. "Even when they were desperate for a child and they knew we were having troubles with our marriage."

"Well they can have her now." Stephen said kicking Prudence in the stomach again.

"She is your daughter!" Lucy shouted desperately. "The only thing the machine did was repair her body, her mind and her soul were the same!"

"She's a copy! A fake!" Stephen screamed back at her.

"She is mine." Anoc-hia said in a voice that seemed far to high for her massive frame. "She is my body slave and the pain in her soul pleases me."

"She is aware!" Lucy gasped.

"Part of the slave spell." Sandy said smiling. "Little Prudence is well aware of everything that's going on, she just can't do anything but what she's told to do."

"Prudence…" Lucy started.

"She's heard some fun pillow talk." Sandy said putting her arm around Stephen.

"Sandy no." Lucy whispered and the pain on her face went beyond physical. "Please no."

"Come on Lucy." Sandy said smiling. "You think he retired just to write a book?"

"Stephen please…"

"And for your information it started long before Prudence dropped her bomb." Stephen said. "I got tired of being married to perfection. I got tired of my body getting older and your body staying fresh." He spat at her. "But most of all I just got tired of you."

Lucy's left eye was already swelling from the beating she had taken and her jaw was turning purple. Sandy guessed that Lucy's stomach felt like hell. But none of that truly hurt her the way her husband's words hurt her. Lucy's control broke and she started to cry.

Sandy and Stephen started to laugh but their laughter was drowned out by Anoc-hia's mirth. For a few minutes they all laughed until at last Lucy managed to control herself. The tears stopped and she looked at them with a dead face.

"What now." She demanded.

"I want to kill you." Sandy said. "Cause right now you're in more pain than you've ever been in and I know I can't make it last. Besides I really don't trust you alive. But her majesty needs you."

"It's true." Anoc-hia said. "Without your life force this body will not continue. A woman's body… you can not know how we have longed for such a body. Because of you I will be the mother of a race of Nephilim."

"See Lucy the problem is that the Nephilim are giants." Sandy said. "So they can mate with women, sorta, if they're careful, but the child is too big for a normal woman to bear full term. But Goddess of Justice is a big girl and it was easy to make her bigger."

"And is very fertile." Anoc-hia said rubbing her stomach. "I shall birth ten times ten times ten from this body before it dies."

"So we're gonna keep you alive and Prudence is going to spend the rest of her life as a living zombie."

"If you hate me why do you hurt her?" Lucy demanded. "Sandy you're her godmother!"

"But she's your daughter." Sandy said. "Funny when she and Ian were growing up…"

"You blame me for Ian?"

"Lucy I blame you for everything."

The look of puzzlement infuriated Sandy even though she expected it.

"Don't worry Lucy." Sandy said. "What ever happens to Prudence you'll know about it. I'll make sure of that."

Sandy's cell phone beeped and she answered it.

"Yea. Everything? All the scans negative? Right, throw it all into an acid pit."

Sandy closed her phone and looked up at Anoc-hia.

"Her bags contained nothing, your majesty." Sandy said. "Nothing that could be a threat to us."

"You are suspicious." Anoc-hia said.

"Yes your majesty. She would not come here without something, a weapon, a communicator… something."

"Let us search her then."

Anoc-hia reached over and pinched Lucy's ankles with her fingers. Lucy struggled as much as she could but she was helpless against the giant. Anoc-hia didn't bother trying to unfasten or unzip the jumpsuit, she just tore it off of Lucy in small pieces. Lucy struggled and cried out as the giantess pinched her skin when she tore her suit. Underneath Lucy wore a black bra and panties and these were torn off of her as well. When it was done Lucy hung naked by her wrist and glared at her captors. Her body was covered with red marks and bruises.

Sandy had been picking up and scanning the pieces of the jumpsuit as Anoc-hia had tossed them away. Her scans showed nothing. Not even in the bra and panties. There were no strange chemicals or hidden electronic devices.

"There is nothing hidden in her clothes your majesties." Sandy said to the giants.

"That does not sound like the woman I have heard of." Anoc said.

"Nor is that the feeling of the woman who's spirit used to possess this body." Anoc-hia said. "I feel the echoes of her resolve."

"Grab her and spread her." Sandy ordered Stephen.

With a smile he dashed forward and got behind Lucy. Bending down he grabbed her legs and pulled them apart.

"Let me go!" Lucy shouted struggling wildly.

Sandy stepped forward and ran her hands up and down Lucy's body. Lucy struggled futilely.

"Nothing up your sleeve because you don't have one anymore." Sandy said. She let her hand travel down Lucy's stomach and let it rest on her pussy. The large tangle of dark brown pubic hair was rough. But the look in Lucy's eyes told Sandy she was right. She moved her hands quickly and plunged them both into Lucy's vagina. Lucy cried out in pain and pulled against her bonds and Stephen's grip but both held. Sandy ignored Lucy's reaction. Carefully she felt her way into the other woman. It could be a trap. Sandy knew of at least half of a dozen devices that could be hidden inside a person. But Lucy had never gone in for those before. But there was something in Lucy's eyes that told Sandy she was on the right. Holding Lucy's pussy lips apart Sandy probed deeper and deeper into the helpless woman. Lucy clenched a few times but Sandy just smiled and kept going. At last she felt something. It was long and smooth and it wasn't attached to anything.

With two fingers Sandy carefully pulled the object out of Lucy.

"What is it?" Stephen asked as Sandy stepped back.

"Don't know." Sandy said. The object was about six inches long. It was brown and smooth, still slick from being inside Lucy. "Looks like Green Dream's work."

"It is." Lucy said crossing her legs. "A contraceptive."

"Really?" Sandy asked. She looked closely at the object.

"I knew that if I were found here I would be raped." Lucy said.

"No you didn't." Sandy said. "And yes you will be." She looked again at the object and then with a quick move threw it into the firepit.

"NO!" Lucy screamed and tried again to break out of her chains.

Sandy ignored her and watched the firepit. After a few seconds the object blistered from the heat and then blew up. A brown and gray smoke rose from it and the remains of something bubbled and boiled away from the heat.

"Well that's that." Sandy said and the look on Lucy's face told her that she had guessed correctly. "What was it Lucy? A new weapon? Magic plant?"

"Sandy Sommerset." Lucy said in a voice so deadly calm that even the giants blanched for a heartbeat. "I swear on my blood and honor, on my soul and heart that you will know Justice for what you have just done."

Sandy just shrugged and turned away from her.

"She is defeated your majesties, but she is still a deadly threat. I ask again that we find someway to kill her."

"We need her alive." Anoc-hia said. "Let her be bound well."

"As you wish." Sandy said. She turned to the shadows and called out "Bring out the cage."

A pair of trolls walked out of the shadows. They were Asguardian trolls and walked with a miss-shapen stagger. They were parodies of men, with arms that were not the same length and faces that were on heads that were too large for their bodies. Dressed in crude leathers they dragged a wooden cart. On the cart was a cylindrical metal cage. The trolls dragged the cage up to Lucy and between them Sandy and Stephen pushed her into it. Once the cage was swung shut one of the trolls banged the metal three times with a stone hammer. The metal responded and shrank until the bars pressed tightly against Lucy's skin. It coiled itself around her legs and between them, then around her stomach and breasts and her neck and shoulders and at last around her arms.

"No locks." Sandy said. "Just solid Asguard magic. Solid iron."

Lucy stayed silent but the look in her eyes was a terrible one. But she was trapped and she knew it.

"One last touch." Stephen said walking up to her. He pulled something out of his pocket and slammed his fist into her stomach again. Lucy's mouth gapped open in pain and Stephen stuffed a bit-gag into it and secured it to the bars. The he stepped back and smiled.

"All those years Lucy… Everyone in a cape got to tie you up except me."

Lucy stared at him and Stephen turned away.

"Slave." Stephen called out.

Prudence walked over and kneeled in front of him.

"Look at her Prudence. That's your mother. The big heroine."

Prudence looked but there was no reaction in her face or eyes.

"Enough." Anoc said. "There are duties we must attend too. The trolls shall guard her."

Merry had been asleep and at peace when the world blew up. It was instantaneous and shocking, debilitatingly shocking for anyone else, but for Merry intense shock as she woke up wasn't something new. She woke to find herself floating and surrounded by chaotic waves of intense heat. Merry knew they were hot, she could see the energy in them and a part of her could even feel it, but she didn't burn. Instead they carried her, bouncing her along like a person in a room of trampolines. The trip was almost a random one, but it always returned to lifting Merry upward. Time had no meaning for her in this world. There were no sounds in her ears except the slight whine and crackle of released energy. There were no smells at all. The colors were every color Merry had ever seen all on a background of scarlet red and smoky black. Merry felt strangely at peace in this place she did not know.

Eventually her upward motion slowed and then stopped and Merry drifted around aimlessly. Then she reached some unknown border and began to fall. At first Merry fell slowly and with many changes in direction. Then she began to fall faster and at the same time the heat started to bother her. The world was constantly shifting focus and the bands of energy were becoming smaller and smaller. Soon a room began to take shape out of the smoky blackness.

{Merry you are nearly large enough for the heat to hurt you. Roll away from it as soon as you can.}

The command was a mental one and for Merry it was a command she obeyed without thinking. As soon as Merry felt her body grow solid and fall she began trying to roll. She achieved only a slow twirl in the air but kept it up anyway. The heat was beginning to bother her now, going from a warm summer's walk in the sun to a hot August run across a parking lot in her bare feet. As her reality grew more solid and hotter Merry moved more surely. As soon as she hit the hot stone Merry rolled wildly away from what she now saw as an immense fire. Merry rolled silently and did not cry out. As she rolled away from the firepit Merry realized that she was in a dungeon.

Of course, Merry thought, where the hell else would I be?

The tableau beyond the fire would have done a sword and sorcery illustrator proud. Merry recognized Lucy easily. She was the nude woman hanging in chains from the ceiling. Lucy was saying something.

"…you will know Justice for what you have just done." Lucy said.

Merry pulled back a bit more and looked around. It was a dungeon all right, but it was a big one. So far the only captive was Lucy.

{She was right about being caught.}

{But some other things surprised her.}

{When they found your cocoon they must have thrown it into that fire.}

{We saw the temperature readings go sky high and reduced you to a microscopic size so that you could survive.}

"What now?" Merry whispered as Lucy was put into her cage.

{You're at six inches.}

{See if you can get to the tall female giant and hide in the folds of her robe.}

{We need information.}

"What about Lucy?"

{Later.}

{There is no way you can free her now.}

There were right. There were two giants in the room and Merry had no idea where she was. Lucy would just have to wait.

Merry pulled herself up and started to run. A man was just putting a gag into Lucy's mouth and all eyes were on the two of them. Merry ran flat out and made it to the hem of giantess's robe just as she started to turn. With a leap Merry jumped onto the back of the robe and dug in with her hands. Luckily the robe was designed fold and flow so Merry had no trouble hiding herself in the fabric. After all the times she had been shrunk and forced to climb curtains or clothing Merry had become nearly an expect on fabrics. This one she knew did not come from Earth. The pattern of the threads was too irregular and far too large. The threads were course and wild. Whatever hands had woven this stuff Merry guessed that they were not human. She started to climb as the giantess walked, swinging easily with the gait of the woman.

Not too high not too low, Merry told herself as she climbed. Too low and she might be knocked off as the robes brushed against a wall or a piece of furniture, too high and the giantess might notice her or accidentally brush Merry off of her body with a giant hand. The best place was near the hip, just bellow the place where the hand fell naturally.

"With your permission your majesty we shall return to the city." Sandy said.

Merry swung around so that she could try and see something. But she was midway up the back of the giantess's robe and the most she could see was a corridor.

"We shall expect you back tonight." Another voice said. Merry was sure from the tone and volume that this one came from the male giant.

What ever else anyone said was quickly lost as the giantess Merry was on started to move. She moved with a steady gait but that didn't help Merry who almost lost her grip more than once. The rustle of the fabric filled her ears and Merry tried to climb higher. A few minutes later she made it and found a curve in the robe just bellow the giantess waist. Merry tucked herself into the fold and dug into the fabric with her fingers and toes.

At six inches tall Merry could still see easily enough but the world around her was a vast change from even the one she was used to. At twelve inches tall Merry was small, at six inches tall on a woman who stood over fifteen feet tall Merry barely qualified as an insect. Still the world that Merry saw as she peeked out from the robe would have been stunning at any height.

They were standing at the foot of the valley. Behind them a large palace was taking shape. So far only the foundations had been laid out but Merry recognized a solid center with two wings. It told Merry a lot about the Nephilim that one of the first things that they had completed was a dungeon. Peering out from the robe Merry looked down on Sandy Sommerset and Merry recognized Senator Stephen Rothschild. They were hugging and kissing each other goodbye. Whatever else he was Merry guessed that the Senator was not a captive. Beside them stood a young woman in a gray tunic. She stood completely still.

The giant Merry was on suddenly turned and Merry saw the valley. It was a beautiful place filled with apple trees and flowing rivers. The trees were not spaced in rows as in some of the commercial orchards Merry had seen. Rather they were scattered into groups and some of them seemed be experiencing different seasons. Some of the trees were bare as if in winter, some of them had full ripe apples and some were full of white flowers. The apple trees were the only trees to be seen, but there were numerous types of bushes. Many rivers flowed from the valley walls and tall green grass was everywhere. At the mouth of the valley was a ten-foot tall black obelisk.

The giantess turned again and Merry saw two giants guiding a large stone across the foundations. The stone was twice as tall, thick and wide as the giants were. It was shaped into a six-pointed star and if Merry was right it was granite. It glowed bright green as they pushed it and then the glow faded as they lowered it to the ground. After a moment they moved off. The giants were both blond with pale skin and wore only loincloths.

The giantess Merry was on started to move and Merry saw that they were going into the valley. Looking back she saw Sandy and the Senator and the girl get into a car that took off and flew away.

Lord of the Rings meets James Bond, Merry thought.

The giants moved through the valley with great care, not touching any of the trees. After about twenty minutes they came to a small cottage. It was a one-room house made of wood with a thatched roof. It had a rustic feel to it but there was also something dignified about the place. In front of it was a woman. She stood at five feet high and had a strong handsome face. Her short hair was red and shined in the sun and her skin was pale. Even before she could see anything else about the woman Merry was struck by her bright blue eyes. The woman wore rags. Her ankles where chained together and so were her wrists. A black metal collar and cage surrounded her head. A chain led from her ankles to a post near the house.

The giants went up to the woman and said something. The woman answered back with defiance.

{A language barrier.}

{Here is something we did not expect.}

{What are they speaking?}

{Some Norse dialect from the BC era I suppose. We best get busy translating it.}

"The giants are gloating, she's telling them to stuff it." Merry whispered.

{Yes.}

{That we could guess.}

{But we'd like a bit more exact translation than that if you don't mind.}

{Though we are sure that is Ida.}

Suddenly there was a wild yell that froze Merry's blood in her veins. As soon as the yell faded it was answered by a crow's call followed by more crows calling.

Merry looked over the edge of the fabric and saw two men and what looked like a flock of crows coming at the giants from behind the cottage. They were dressed in chain link armor and carried axes. Each had a helmet with horns on it.

The giants moved into battle naturally but still they called for help, there was no mistaking the tone in their shouts. The male giant moved forward and swung his staff but the first attacker dodged it and swung his ax at the giant's legs. Merry had no idea if he connected or not. The second attacker closed in on her giant and faked a swing with his ax then sliced upward with it when the giant reached for him. She screamed in pain and so did the male giant.

Then things became more complicated as the crows swarmed in. They were everywhere tearing and biting and Merry found one trying to tear and bite her. The creature had gotten both it's claws and it's wings tangled in the giant's blouse and it was striking blinding at anything in reach. Merry twisted and bent her body as the crow stabbed forward with its beak. Merry dove forward and tried to grab the crow's neck but it pulled away from her. She might have screamed out a challenge but Merry's voice was lost in the bellows of the giants, the cries of the warriors and the constant cries of the crows. The giant started to fall and the crow pulled out one of its legs at the same time. Merry twisted herself nearly in half to avoid being raked across the stomach. She grabbed the crow's leg and nearly had her arm snapped off by its beak. The giant hit the ground a then and Merry was thrown against the crow and managed to roll over it. Getting to her feet Merry found herself in the middle of a war zone. She picked a direction at random and ran with everything she had. Merry managed to get a few feet away from the battle when the crow hit her in the back. The impact carried them both further away and a split second after Merry slammed into the base of an apple tree the crow slammed into her.

Merry's head swam but she refused to pass out. From beneath the prone body of the crow she watched the battle. Both of the giants were down but each had managed go grab hold of their attackers. The men hacked away at the hands of the captors with their axes but soon those axes were plucked from their hands. Ida could only shout encouragement from the end of her chain.

Two giants came through the trees at a run and one of them carelessly kicked Ida aside. She flew through the air and slammed into her house. Crumpling into a heap near the door she lay still.

The female giant reacted with rage. She stumbled to her feet and roared at the giant who had kicked Ida. That giant fell on his face and groveled. The male giant tried to stand and failed. Merry saw that his leg was bleeding heavily. One of the giants reached over to one of the apple trees and shook loose a few apples. He handed them over to the fallen giant who downed them all at once. Merry watched as his leg stopped bleeding and instantly healed. More apples did the same to the giantess. They stood and she quickly checked on Ida. After a moment she stood and talked more calmly. There was a huddled conversation and then the two new giants moved on. The female giant slammed the two attackers together, knocking them out and then she and the male giant talked a bit more and moved on.

The crow started to stir and Merry crawled out from under him. She wasn't hurt except for a lot of bruises.

{You need to follow them.}

Merry felt the world shift and staggered back against the tree as she reached her normal height. For a moment she kept her balance, then she fell back and landed on her butte.

"Whoa!" Merry said as the world spun around her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and then got to her hands and knees.

"Just give me a minute." She said taking deep breaths.

{Not to rush you but we need information.}

{Still, giants should be easy to follow.}

Merry heard a hoarse cry and looked over to see the crow that had attacked her. The crow was on his feet and looked in worse shape than she did.

"Got an idea." Merry said. She took hold of the tree and used it to pull herself up. For a moment the world spun again but Merry fought it off. Then she reached up and grabbed one of the apples. "It works for them it'll work for me." Merry said opening her mouth.

{Wait.}

Merry froze with her teeth only a few inches away from the apple.

{Those apples keep the Asguard immortal. They do that in part by reducing them in age.}

{Eat too much and you could end up in childhood.}

{Or further back than that.}

I could be free of you, Merry thought. Her heart ran fast but her stomach dropped as she thought it. If she ate the apple and her body regressed it would be to a point before The Group had altered her. They would no longer be able to control her.

{How much do you think would be safe?}

{Surely a bite, no more than that.}

{But if we are wrong?}

{It's very hard to calculate without data.}

Merry swallowed hard and looked at the apple. It was shiny gold and she saw her own reflection on the skin.

I could be free. But what then? No, nothing after that. Just freedom, me. Me alone deciding what to do, how to do it. But… Me alone! Just me! No more Dollopolis, no more Group, no more Simone… Simone! What about them? What about them all? They can't do missions. What about Lucy? What about the world? I can't finish this mission without The Group. I can't, I'll mess it up. I know I will. Will I? Do I want… can I…

"Ouch!" Merry exclaimed. She looked down and saw that the crow had hobbled over to her and pecked her ankle. She hopped away from him and the crow sat and stared at her. Merry looked down at her ankle. There was a red mark but the skin wasn't broken.

{Merry can you make it without the apple?}

{We've translated the giant's language.}

{We know what they are planning to do to those captured Asguardians.}

{We need to see that.}

"You translated the language in under 15 minutes?"

{Are you surprised?}

"No." Merry said softly. She let the hand holding the apple fall to her side. "No I'm not and I don't need the apple to keep going." Merry bent down and put the apple in front of the crow. "I think he wanted it anyway."

{Can you get another?}

"Got it." Merry said leaping up. Her strength was returning apple or no.

{Put it in Ida's hand and get going.}

Merry walked over to the fallen goddess. Ida asleep radiated a dignity and presence that no mortal awake could have. It didn't matter that she was chained and dressed in rags. Her large chest rose and fell quietly and Merry could have sworn that she heard the goddesses heart beat. That she was in chains infuriated Merry.

"Should I try to free her?"

{Look closely, there are no locks on those chains.}

{She is held magically.}

{She might get free with the apple.}

"Which is why you told me to get it." Merry said placing the apple into the hand of the sleeping goddess.

{Of course. We spotted the lack of locks when we first saw her.}

{With luck she will wake up and be able to utilize it.}

"The giants went this way." Merry said starting off at a trot. Merry realized that she was running naked through a forest but it didn't matter. "I'll find them."

The three people who made up Sandy's staff were an odd bunch to say the least. One was a Welsh mercenary that she controlled with money. The only name he used was Montgomery. The other was an ex-LA prostitute that she controlled with brutal sex. Her name was Daisy Pure and she was as good at killing as she was at begging for pain. The last and the only one that Sandy didn't plan on killing someday was the secretary who had been with her for more than fifteen years. She had saved Doris Manfeld's life and the life of her son and daughter. That act had bought Sandy lifelong gratitude and absolute loyalty.

Because Doris had been with her for so long, she was the only one who could have walked into Sandy's office and told her that Sandy's son was on the phone. She was the only person from whom Sandy would have accepted the look of sympathy and regret.

Sandy waited until Doris left before she picked up the old plastic telephone. The cell phone network in the city was short range only, a security precaution. For someone to call in from the outside world they had to go through the old mechanical switching system. It was safer that way and it didn't affect the sound quality at all.

"Hello mother."

Not 'Hi mom', not 'Howdy ma', just 'Hello mother'. Formal; aggrieved, dismissive.

"Hi Ian." Sandy said. "What'd they offer you for this?"

"They didn’t need to offer me anything." Ian said. "I told them to go to hell. I never wanted part of your world."

He never had. That much Sandy knew. From the night his father died and he found out what his mother truly did for a living, Ian Sommerset had pretty much disowned her.

"So how'd they get you to call?" Sandy asked. "Threaten to pull funding from your agro-project?"

"You know them so well." He said bitterly. "Why'd you do it mother? Get tired of dancing in the shadows with the cockroaches?"

"You'd never understand." Sandy said. "You never have and you never will."

"Maybe if you leveled with me." Ian snapped. "Maybe if you leveled with the world and told everyone what you were doing, then we'd understand."

"Before or after you finished burning us at the stake?" Sandy laughed. "God Ian I wish you weren't so willfully naïve. You're way to old to keep up the act."

"Like you did with dad?"

"Yea." Sandy said. "Maybe I should have leveled with him, told him what I did. You gonna keep stabbing me for it for the rest of my life?"

"I didn't mean it that way." Ian said.

"Yea you did." Sandy said. "Always have, always will." She heard a click and a tone on the line and smiled. "You can tell them that the tone failed."

"What tone?"

"Every executive level operative of the E.I.A. gets a nice little implant right next to their ear." Sandy said. "It's a little thing that's set to explode if it gets the right coded tone."

"What?"

"That's why they wanted you to call me." Sandy said. "They knew you're the only one I'd accept the call from. Trouble for them is I had it taken out last month."

"Bloody hell mum I'm sorry." Ian said and Sandy was amazed to find herself believing him. Not that her son didn't hate her, Sandy had been forced to accept that long ago, but it was a little comforting that he didn't hate her enough to kill her.

"It's alright Ian." Sandy said. "Don't be too hard on them son, I'd have done the same thing."

"Use a son to kill his own mother? Mum your kind is unbelievable." Ian said.

"I wish we were." Sandy said. "Have a nice life Ian."

Sandy hung up the phone before he could say anything else.

For a few minutes she stared darkly out of the window. The she picked up a piece of pen and wrote a quick message on a piece of paper.

'Monty, you can do what you want with her for an hour. No marks, nothing permanent. Sandy.'

"Slave come here." Sandy said. Prudence walked over to her and kneeled. "Take off your clothes." Prudence pulled the dress over her head and let it drop to the floor. She was a pretty young woman, very much like her mother. Sandy folded up the note and handed it to her. "Take this to room five. Give the note to Montgomery. Follow his instructions for an hour and then return to this room. Clean yourself up. Get dressed. Write down everything that happens. Do not tell him that you are going to write it down."

"Yes mistress." Prudence said. She took the note and left.

Sandy gave a large sigh and then walked over to the map on the wall. She was studying it when Doris opened the door.

"We found the warehouse." Doris said. "There's thirty of the devices in there."

"More than enough." Sandy said. "Load three of them into a truck for me, I'll place them. Scatter the rest around the borders. Use the stealth shielding we swiped from the pyramid." Sandy walked over to her desk and wrote something down on a pad of paper. Then she handed it to Doris. "Use these codes and frequencies."

"I'll do it myself." Doris said.

"Don't hang around much longer." Sandy said. "I've put enough for you and the kids to live wherever you want for as long as you want, you know the account number, you know how to vanish."

"Right."

Sandy handed her the film case with the seeds in it.

"Ian." Doris said.

Sandy nodded.

Doris left without another word, something Sandy was grateful for. After she left Sandy went over and sat down at her desk. Opening her lap top she turned it on and linked up the E.I.A. computers. She smiled as the link was established. They'd found forty of her two hundred back door passes. Given another two days and they'd find the rest of them. They didn't have another two days. No one did really.

"Time to cook you bastards!" Sandy swore starting to type. After a moment the screen changed to show an office with a pleasant looking young woman. She was a junior level clerk, from the looks of her just out of college. Her face was blurred, as were the faces of all such operatives. Sandy remembered her own days in the communications rooms, taking messages from field agents and passing them on. She'd been young and nervous.

"Omega Level!" Sandy shouted.

The girl almost fell out of her chair as the alarms sounded. She wasn’t seeing Sandy, she was seeing the face of the man the E.I.A. had long ago sent into Kromania as a sleeper agent.

"Omega level confirmed." The girl said excitedly. Sandy could see her tap a few keys on her console. "Please enter in ID."

"Oh-five-seven-Kelter." Sandy said.

"Confirmed." The girl said. "Oh my god you're in…"

"I was spotted." Sandy said. She spoke softly but she knew the software would be making her sound like a man desperate to get a message out. "But I got the info. Tell them, there are unlimited giants ready to step out of a portal tomorrow at dawn, the portal is in the valley near the north wall. Tell them…"

Sandy cut the connection. Then she leaned back and laughed. The message would be checked of course. They'd test it a dozen different ways, but the committee would believe it. It sounded right. By dawn tomorrow the E.I.A. would have at least a division of M troops marching into Kromania. Troops by international law that the E.I.A. were not supposed to have. Black opps troops, mercenaries of the lowest order. Sandy knew them well. She'd recruited many of them, including the man who would act as their general.

"Time to cook you bastards." Sandy said again.

Merry had been jogging steadily through the orchard for nearly and hour. The giants hadn't been hard to follow. They took care not to hurt the trees but their foot prints in the grass were impossible not to see. The only two problems Merry really had were sore feet and a sore chest. She hated not having a jog-bra.

An hours worth of jogging had carried Merry to the edge of the orchard. She saw now that the orchard stopped about fifteen feet before the valley wall. The wall of the valley rose upward at a steep angle and was filled with loose rocks and dead shrubs. Merry slowed as she reached it and ducked down behind an apple tree when she caught sight of the giants. Slowly she went from tree to tree, keeping out of sight as much as she could.

The giants stood next to a part of the valley wall that had been changed. Instead of the rough dull stone it was a solid black circle. Glowing red lines of force shown on it. Merry got down on her stomach and crawled through some bushes to get closer.

One of the captives lay in a heap on the ground bound hand and foot. The other had been stripped naked and staked out in the middle of a pentagram. The pentagram he was in was in the center of a larger pentagram. The male giant was holding up his staff and chanting something. The female giant stood over the staked out Norseman holding an ax.

{That is Anoc, king of the giants.}

{The woman he was with is Anoc-hia, queen of the giants.}

"What are they doing?" Merry whispered. "A sacrifice?"

{We have an idea, but wait, we may be wrong.}

I doubt it, Merry thought. She considered freeing the captive Norseman but decided against it. Merry stood six feet one inch but she was naked and the giants both stood over fifteen feet tall. In her mind Merry started to plan a fight anyway, just in case.

"That ax." Merry said suddenly recognizing it. "That's the one that the Troll was holding in the hologram."

The giants suddenly looked up and Merry froze. There was a reality wrench and Merry realized that she had been shrunk down again.

{Safer this way.}

Merry agreed and kept silent. Anoc-hia took one step in Merry's direction and looked carefully. Merry held her breath but the giantess turned back after a moment and the king began chanting again.

{You're at twelve inches Merry.}

{Think you can get closer without being seen?}

"Count on it." Merry whispered. "But that is the ax that the Troll used on Goddess of Justice, I'm sure of it."

Going through the orchard at twelve inches was a lot different than going through the orchard when she was at her normal height. For the next few minutes Merry climbed over roots and walked around deep furrows in the grass. The grass itself came up to her waist and scratched at her bare skin. Once she stopped dead as a large furry creature walked past her. He was covered in brown and black fur and had a narrow head and deep black eyes. Either the creature was friendly or he wasn't hungry. With a glance at Merry he moved on.

Merry finally got to the edge of the orchard and ducked down into the crotch of the base of an apple tree. She wedged herself in tightly and pulled a few leaves over her body. The giants and their captive were about ten feet away. He was still chanting and the air was starting to buzz.

"I didn’t think they had gods." Merry whispered. "Who are they sacrificing him too?"

{They aren't.}

{If you are right and that is the ax that the Troll used on Goddess of Justice then they are not sacrificing him.}

The black wall shimmered and then turned transparent. Beyond it was a place that chilled Merry and only the fact that she knew that The Group needed to see what was going on kept her eyes open. Beyond the black wall was a wasteland. But beyond the wasteland was paradise. It was such a stark contrast that for a moment Merry was sure that she was looking at two different pictures. The wasteland was one of steaming red sand and dark clouds, yet it stopped at the walls of a gleaming city. The walls reached higher than the clouds and yet Merry could see through the stone at the same time she could see the stone itself. And beyond the stone was a gleaming city of color and light that took her breath away. Inside the city beings of pure light existed, moving serenely and paying no attention to the force gathered outside the walls. That force was a mob of giants. The Nephilim tore and smashed at the walls with fist and teeth that had no substance. They didn't seem to notice and kept up the attack.

"Heaven?" Merry whispered in awe. "Is that heaven?"

{The theological aspects of this are staggering.}

{That may be one of the seven heavens of legend.}

{Or it may be the one true heaven.}

{It makes sense; hell was created for man, and it would not accept man/angel hybrids. When the Nephilim died in the flood their souls may have made it to the gates but not inside.}

"Limbo." Merry whispered. "Denied heaven and hell?"

{According to Dante hell was indeed filled with mythical creatures.}

{But the Nephilim were not strictly speaking like the old gods or centaurs. They were completely a creation of fallen angels and man. And Dante may just have been a good writer.}

{What ever they are, wherever they are they certainly want in.}

{Not all of them.}

Merry watched as one of the mob attacking the walls suddenly stopped and looked behind him. He saw the open portal and began to run. Soon the rest of them saw the portal and ran toward it. It became a combination race and battle as the Nephilim dragged each other down to the sand and battled fiercely to reach the portal first. The closer they came the more repulsed Merry felt. Her stomach churned at the sight of them. The creatures were rotting, some of them falling apart. She could see it in their eyes; anger and hate alone drove them on.

One of them reached the portal and slammed through it. The instant he passed the king stopped his chant and the stone turned black again. At the same time the queen swung her ax into the bound captives stomach. The blade did not cut his body but he screamed and Merry saw a gray spirit leave him. It flew away screaming and the spirit of the Nephilim that had just come through the portal fell into the body. Energy flared around the pentagram and the body jerked to life and thrashed against it’s bonds. The bonds gave and the body suddenly grew until it reached the limits of the outer pentagram. For a few minutes it lay still. Then the eyes opened and the newly created giant stood. It stood naked, almost as tall as the king did and had muscles that stood out against hard skin and a strong handsome face. For a moment the new giant stood and breathed, then he turned and knelt in front of the king.

"Welcome Krin." Anoc called.

Krin looked up and saw Anoc-hia.

"A woman!" He shouted. "Pregnant? My King do we…"

"We will!" The king shouted smiling. "No longer shall we be the mules of the Earth, what was denied us we shall take and we will breed. Behold Anoc-hia, mother of all of our sons! And then once we have the army of the Earth we shall march on that cursed city and find our fathers! They shall pay for our making!"

The three of them cheered and the cheers were filled with enough hate to make Merry cry.

{Merry we've seen enough.}

{You have to move.}

Merry quietly slipped out from under the leaf and crawled away.

"What now?" She asked in a small voice.

{We have to get that ax away from them.}

{That won't be easy.}

"I thought it through." Merry said. "If I'm lucky and I catch one of them off guard I think I can take out a giant."

{Not that we don't have faith in you Merry but they are not alone.}

{What about Teen Force?}

{We have to find them first.}

Merry looked back. She could hear the chanting again.

"Can you grow me into a giant?" She asked.

{We could.}

{But only for a few minutes.}

{The strain on your body would be tremendous.}

{Possibly fatal.}

"Well…" Merry stopped talking as a shape suddenly loomed up in front of her. She froze and took a step back. In front of her was a crow. Merry took another step back and found herself against a tree. The crow took a step toward her.

{You have the habit of acquiring the strangest friends.}

"That's the crow I gave the apple to?" Merry asked.

{Yes.}

"Odin." Merry said. "He had crows. Two of them, Huggin and Muggin. They were his eyes and ears."

The crow turned away from Merry and with a quick leap flew into the air.

{What was that about?}

"I don't know." Merry said. She stepped away from the tree and looked around. The crow was nowhere to be seen. "Maybe he was just scou-owwwwwwwwwwwwtttttttttttttiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggggggg!"

Merry finished the last word in a scream as the crow appeared from nowhere behind her and grabbed her shouders with its talons. In a split second Merry was being carried aloft.

Sandy watched as the two giants moved away levitating the giant stone between them. She was only a short distance away from the sight of the new palace. In front of her was a deep square pit that had been dug out by bulldozers and steam shovels. A giant mold in the form of a star had been erected in the pit using plywood and other building frames. The walls of the mold were ten feet high. As the giants moved the new stone away trucks came from the city carrying sand. They started to dump the sand into the mold. Sandy drove her truck in with the rest of them and stopped next to one of the star's points. Getting out she looked around. She'd dressed in jeans and a work shirt and a hard hat. No one was looking at another dump truck. Sandy operated the controls and the back part of the truck lifted up and dumped its load of sand into the point. No one noticed a large crate that was dumped into the sand as well. Sandy smiled and then drove out. A half of an hour later she drove up to the mold in her own car, wearing her blue dress. The mold was almost full and Sandy watched as the last dump truck finished filling it. While that was going on Sandy headed toward a giant who sat with his back against the pit wall. In his hand was a small black woman and he was playing his fingers over her body. When the truck had driven away the giant stood up and walked over to the mold. With a careless move he tossed her onto the sand.

"Hail Nonoc." Sandy called stopping her car next to him.

"Hail woman." Nonoc called back. He was the same as all the other giants. A stolen Asguardian body that he'd yet to spoil. Unlike the others Nonoc wore nothing, a fact that caused many people to stand and gape at him. Sandy ignored the giants nudity and got out of the car.

"I need to talk to her before she makes the stone." Sand said.

Nonoc nodded and picked her up. Jaded as she was Sandy could not deny the thrill that went through her body as the giant's hand closed on her. It was the body of a weight lifter expanded to proportions that would have satisfied an army of women.

Nonoc placed her carefully on the sand and she walked over to the center of the star. Granite Girl, still in her human form slumped in the sand.

"You're not done for the day yet Aslana." Sandy said.

The girl looked up at her and slowly stood up. She was short, five feet tall and stout with a wide body. Her hands and feet were big and her face was wide with a large mouth. Aslana Beuregard had never and would never be called anything but ugly. Her long hair was course and wild and her too big ears poked through it. She had large breasts and wide hips. Like every other captive she was dressed in rags that barely covered her body. Yet somehow Aslana managed to look defiantly at Sandy. Aslana was a born elemental; she could turn nearly anything into any type of stone. If she was strong enough her body could turn to stone as well. When she did that Aslana was beautiful.

"This is the twenty-first one today." Aslana said. Her voice was even raspier than usual. "I gotta rest."

"After this one." Sandy said. "But this one's special."

"How?"

"When you transmute the sand to stone you'll feel a wood crate in the sand. Pass over that. Don't convert it."

"Why not."

Sandy punched her in the stomach and Aslana fell back gasping for air.

"Because I said so." Sandy said bending down. "And because if you don't I'm going be wearing an Esmerelda wolf skin tomorrow."

"I'll do it." Aslana said breathlessly.

"Don't worry this'll be the last one today." Sandy said. "I'm even going to get you away from Nonoc tonight."

Aslana sat up and placed her hands palm down on the sand.

"I'm better off with him then you traitor." She said with a voice full of hate.

Sandy just laughed and walked away.

Merry lost her fear after the first five minutes of the flight. After the first two seconds she didn't bother trying to get loose. It was obvious that that crow wanted her to go someplace not eat her. So she tried not to scream and grabbed the bird's legs in a death grip. The fact that she was flying nude through the air was brought home with every chilly flap of the bird's wings. The smell of the bird struck with each flap as well. It was a scent that reminded Merry of a wet down jacket. But the view she got was spectacular. Bellow her was the entire valley. In the distance she could see the foundations of the new palace and beyond that the old city and the sea. Merry saw the rim of the valley and she saw the obelisks that were keeping the orchard anchored to Earth. She saw it all and kept seeing it. Merry didn't shut her eyes; she would not give into that sort of failure. But Merry knew that she would remember this flight in her nightmares. The Group was silent.

The flight ended slowly as the bird flew in a long lazy circle downward. It flew through the trees and skimmed along the ground, dropping Merry into the grass. Merry rolled along until her momentum was spent and then lay flat on her back breathing deeply. Her entire body trembled and if there had been anything in her stomach it would not have stayed there.

"Are you tired after your flight?"

Merry sat up and looked in the direction of the voice. Ida sat on a chair in front of her house and smiled warmly at her. She still was held in chains and dressed in rags but the goddess looked stronger. Her voice was deep and strong.

"Tired?" Merry stood up someone unsteadily and staggered over to her. "No… Not… tired." She said trying to steady her breathing.

"Drink." The goddess said handing her a cup that was just her size. Not bothering to ask why she had such a cup Merry drank. The drink tasted of honey and milk and made her feel better instantly. Close up and awake Ida was impressive. Her face was a combination of strength and beauty. Her jaw was strong and square, her nose was long but not pointed and her mouth was broad and firm. Her blue eyes were not as bright as Merry had first thought, they were more of an ocean blue, and they seemed as deep as an ocean. The cage was like a globe covering her head with the black bars spaced a few inches apart. She wore what was left of a green blouse that exposed her midriff and a torn green skirt that left most of her legs bare.

"Thank you." Merry said handing the cup back to her. A moment later she remembered who she was talking to. "Thank you… goddess? I'm sorry I'm not sure about the way to address you."

"Ida will do for now. Ages ago you would have called me 'goddess', but" She held up her wrist and clinked the chains "can you truly call one goddess who is chained and humiliated?"

"You're not humiliated!" Merry snapped angrily. "Being in chains doesn't humiliate anyone! It humiliates the ones who put the chains on you!"

She stopped and stuttered but Ida smiled at her.

"Well spoken."

"Look…" Merry said. "I think I can help, how much do you of what's going on?"

"Not as much as I need too." Ida said. She locked eyes with Merry. "Not as much as I will know shortly."

There was no chance for Merry to look away or even think about what was going on. No time for the Group to warn her. In a single instant the goddess had browsed through Merry's mind and Merry's entire life. Merry fell back and passed out.

Merry was only out for a few seconds. She opened her eyes and sat up. Merry had never had her mind read before. She had only had the faintest warning tingles when Timidious had started to read her mind and the Group had warned her then. She had no idea what that would have felt like. But Ida's mental probe hadn't bothered her much at all. It had felt like someone had gently ran their hand through Merry's hair and then kissed her forehead.

Merry looked at the goddess and found herself unable to say anything. She wasn't angry. She wasn't hurt.

"I… I could have told you." Merry said at last.

"Mortals set a great deal on speech, but it is a pale thing for a goddess." Ida said.

{Don't feel bad Merry, she read our minds as well.}

"I did." Ida nodded and Merry nearly fell as she realized that the goddess had heard the same mental message as she had. Ida reached over and stroked Merry's hair and a feeling of peace flowed over the shrunken woman. Merry reached up and ran her fingers across Ida's. "And a more exceptional group of minds I have not encountered in many an age."

{Thank you.}

"Sit." Ida ordered and Merry sat down at her feet.

{Don't worry Dolly.}

"But…"

{You did not fail us.}

{In fact that is the most enlightened fun we have had in our lives.}

{We must now deal with the many problems at hand.}

"I agree." Ida said. She looked at Merry for a moment and then picked her up. A table appeared beside the goddess and she placed Merry onto it. "Come, sit and we will take council."

"You can really hear them too?" Merry asked stumbling as she was placed on the tabletop.

Ida smiled as Merry sat down.

"I am a goddess Merry, I hear many things."

"So you know what we all know?" Merry asked.

"In reading all of your minds I know much that was hidden from me." Ida said nodding. "I see a vast network of trusts that were broken and friends cruelly used." She reached over and stroked Merry's hair again. "I see a very tormented, very capable woman pulled into an affair not her own. But you are needed here Merry. Not only by The Group, not only by the world, but by me."

Something about the goddess was very re-assuring. Merry had the feeling that even if she were at her normal height, and at six feet one inch she would have topped Ida by at least a foot, the presence of the goddess would not have been diminished. Merry wondered if the mortals who had first met the Asguardians felt this way. Merry felt as if she was standing the shadow of a great building. But at the same time Merry remembered the view she had seen of heaven, or of a heaven in the Nephilim portal. But the fact that she was next to a goddess meant that the old gods were real.

"Before we go on could I ask you something?" Merry asked. Ida nodded.

"O.K." Merry said. "Ahmm… You're a god, a goddess, Lucy works for a goddess, but the Nephilim are descended from angels, so that means… there should be only one god, but… that one god said no other gods… so…" Merry trailed off.

{Inarticulately spoken but it mirrors our confusion as well.}

"There is one god and many gods." Ida said. "You mortals have never grasped the concept that One God may exist, yet at the same time all Gods may exist. Just as many stars exist in the night sky and yet all of them are suns, and yet the one closest to you is The Sun. Yet can two suns co-exist in the same sky? They can not yet all suns exist together in the night sky."

Merry stumbled through the thoughts that Ida's words had started in her mind and then fell flat.

"My words make no sense to you do they?" Ida asked.

• • Merry shook her head no.

{Give us a little more time.}

{We'll figure it out.}

{Pi into PI.}

{More like PI into Pi.}

"I'll never understand will I?" Merry asked.

"No one who still lives ever has."

"O.K., the answers can wait." Merry said. "Tell me what to do."

"I can tell you what must be done." Ida said. "But not how you can do it."

She started to take her fingers away and for a moment Merry started to reach up and stop her. Then Merry let her hands drop to her side.

"If you tell me how to do it I'll figure something out." Merry said. "I won't fail…" Merry stopped before she could finish the sentence. Merry wasn't sure if she would have said 'The Group' or if she would have named Ida as the one she would not fail.

I'm like a moth, Merry thought, going from power to power. The Group first, then Ida? Am I that fickle?

"You might." Ida said.

{It will not be for lack of trying.}

"No, it won't be." Ida said.

"Then what do I do?" Merry asked. The hell with it, she thought, first I'll save everyone and then I'll figure out whom I'm doing it for.

"The Nephilim must be stopped and this orchard must be returned to Asguard. You Merry must get the Ax of Lenin from the Nephilim, free Goddess of Justice and Teen Force, or you must smash the totems that hold this orchard here. And you must do all of this before the next sunrise."

Merry looked at the sun. It was late afternoon. Merry sat down.

"There's a few problems with that." Merry said. "I don't know where the ax is and I don't know where Teen Force is. Plus I really don't know how to use an ax."

"An ax is a very simple weapon to use." Ida said.

"I wish it were a gun."

"The totems that hold the orchard to Earth are well guarded." Ida said. "And your plan of surrounding this area with more totems may work but the cost will be high to both your world and mine. Even if the spell succeeds it will make both universes unstable. It could unleash such chaos as has never been seen before."

"Oh."

"Your Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream believe they can overcome the instability." Ida said. "They are wrong."

"Should I try to stop them?"

"No." Ida said. "For their attempt will be the perfect diversion. Tonight Lucy and Teen Force will both be in the dungeon of the Nephilim. They will be gathered for a feast of degradation and pain, for such is the way of Nephilim over those they conquer. I will not be there because they need me alive and un-hurt to tend this orchard. Use the Ax of Lenin to re-unite Goddess of Justice and Lucy Rothschild, she will then be able to free Teen Force and then you can smash the totems."

"How do I get the ax away from the giants?" Merry asked.

"They do not keep it with them. They keep it in a place near the portal to their hell." Ida said.

"That's dumb." Merry said. "That's supervillain level dumb. Why not keep a weapon that important handy?"

"The Ax of Lenin is a necromatic weapon." Ida said. "It hungers for souls. To even stand in its presence is to risk loosing your soul. The Nephilim, all save Anoc, have been souls without bodies for eons, they fear to take that chance."

"But I'm supposed to use it?" Merry exclaimed. "Won't it take my soul?"

"I can protect you from its hunger for a short time." Ida said. "The ax steals the life force from the soul and leaves it a wandering waif; unless it is used on a body that is either divine or two bodies fused into one. You must use it against Anoc-hia and then have Lucy touch the empty body of Goddess of Justice. Once she touches it they will be re-united."

"I gotta get to her first." Merry said. "It's gonna be a trick sneaking in there."

"No it will not." Ida said. "Once you master the ax it will match your size."

"It will?"

"Did you not notice how the Troll who is no taller than you wielded it and yet so did Anoc this morning?"

"Oh. I did miss that." Merry thought for a moment. "So it'll grow and shrink too?"

"It is a magic ax Merry." Ida said smiling. "Have you so soon forgotten your AD&D rules?"

"Oh yea." Merry said. "O.K., the obelisk next to the dungeons it the best one to go after. I rescue Lucy, we free Teen Force and then we smash it. What then?"

"The orchard and I will return to Asguard. Without the apples the Nephilim can be easily defeated. The rest will have to be sorted out by mortals. I can only pledge that the rest of Force Group J will be able to return to Earth once the Dark Elves and their allies are defeated."

"Right." Merry said. She stood up. "You won't mention me and The Group to the rest of Force Group J will you?"

"No." Ida said. "But if you succeed the gods will know of your deeds Merry."

Merry felt herself blush.

"How long will I be able to hold the ax?" She asked.

"That I can not say." Ida said. "But when your limbs are like ice and your breath is tortured and you feel your heart begin to stop, then you will know that the end will be near. Drop the ax then and do not touch it again or it may consume your soul."

"Right." Merry said briskly with more confidence than she felt. "O.K. How do you protect me? Magic charm? Magic drink?"

"Charms and drinks are for mortal wizards." Ida said. Ida reached over and picked Merry up and then sat back in her chair, putting the shrunken woman on her lap and stroking her back. Merry's body tingled with energy even as her mind reveled in peace. Ida stroked the bottoms of her feet and then moved up Merry's legs to gently stroke Merry's butte.

"What… ah… ummm… " Merry tried to ask but her voice failed her.

Ida turned Merry over and stroked her breasts. She smiled and hummed a tune that Merry didn't recognize. Merry moaned as the goddess's fingertips teased her nipples.

"So… so what are you doing… why?" Merry begged. Not that she really wanted to know. Merry wanted nothing more than to lie on her goddess's lap and be cuddled.

"I must help you gird yourself for battle." Ida said running her fingers down Merry's stomach and rubbing one finger on Merry's wet slit. Somehow the humming continued even as the goddess talked. Ida raised the finger to her mouth and licked Merry's juices off of it. "Know that you are a true warrior Merry and that you have chosen your masters well."

Her finger returned to Merry's pussy and she started to rub.

"I didn't…" Merry started to speak but her voice was lost in a moan of pleasure.

"You did not choose them at first, but you chose them later." Ida said. "And while they have been harsh with you Merry they have been fair. I have known such as them in my immortal life. They have a destiny beyond yours and you have recognized that. That is your special quality Merry, the ability to sacrifice yourself. Had I still worshipers I would gladly accept you as one of them."

Merry felt her self melt into Ida's lap and her hands started to grasp and squeeze her own breasts.

"But… gods… must have… worship… Ahhhh!"

"Worship is a pleasure to us, but we do not need it to survive." Ida bent down and ran the edge her tongue across Merry's stiff nipples. Merry cried out and her body arched with pleasure. Ida's tongue moved up and down Merry's body and the bliss was overwhelming to the shrunken woman.

"And I see in the mist of time that your masters have a destiny that they have not realized yet." Ida said sitting up. She held Merry in her two hands and her thumbs moved up and down Merry's body.

{We have?}

{That sounds exiting.}

"It will be." Ida said. "If you survive to reach it and seek the wisdom you need to match your intellect."

{Well any pointers would be appreciated.}

Ida laughed and Merry laughed with her. Merry was lost in rapture, she felt like her soul and the soul of the goddess was joining together.

"You have all of the directions you need, you simply need to follow them." Ida said. "But beware power for powers sake. Power must always have a reason."

Merry cried out and Ida looked down at her. She smiled gently but there was firmness in her eyes. Merry managed to look a question at her.

"Do not think I do this to satiate a simple lust Merry." Ida said. "To handle the ax you must be more than mortal for a time, you must be of me."

"So we have sex?" Merry managed not to scream out the question but it was hard. The idea seemed crazy and at the same time Merry knew she wanted it.

Ida smiled and moved part of her torn blouse. The goddess's breast fell out and Merry looked at a huge pale nipple.

"I mean to stir your lust so that you will be more willing to partake of me." Ida said. "For I know of your reluctance and confusion toward women, and yet this is the best way for you to receive my strength."

She moved Merry up toward her breasts and suddenly Merry understood. By this time her body was in control and even if she had wanted to say no, Merry couldn't have. And while Merry still wasn’t sure she wanted another woman Merry knew that at that point she wanted the goddess. She wanted any part of Ida she could get. Merry reached out with both hands and cupped Ida's aureole. Ida's fingers ran over Merry's breasts and she felt them get heavier. A heady aroma came from the goddess, one that awoke a primal instinct in Merry. Her head leaned forward and her mouth closed on the giant nipple. Merry sucked and the milk filled her mouth. It tasted glorious. She swallowed and then sucked again. Ida's hands cupped her body and Merry felt herself melt into the goddess.

"Drink of me and of me take my strength." Ida said. "Let my spirit join with your spirit Merry McCormick, let our bodies become one."

Merry didn't know if Ida meant that literally or not. She only vaguely felt her own body. The only physical sensation she really was sure of was the glorious taste in her mouth. Merry hazily realized that she was humming the same tune as Ida was.

Sandy had been listening to Prudence's report of her time with Montgomery when a special cell phone she had placed in a drawer of her desk rang. It rang only once but that was enough.

"Stop." Sandy ordered. Prudence stopped. "Go into the next room and wait for me."

Prudence turned and left and Sandy smiled. Montgomery had been thorough in his rape, as she knew he would be. After everything else she had done to Lucy it was really a minor thing. But it would make her cry.

Sandy laughed quietly as she took a small bottle out of her draw and set it onto the desk. Then she walked across the room and angled a small television toward the desk. Going back to the desk Sandy picked up a remote control and turned on the television. A newscast appeared on the screen. Then she took a plastic bag filled with golden apples off of the floor and put it on her desk. When all that was done she opened the bottle. An inky-black smoke flowed from the bottle and the spread through the room. It flowed everywhere, into ever corner and under every surface. When it was done with that the smoke gathered itself in front of Sandy's desk and slowly formed into a human shape. The shape was that of a man, small and old with a short gray beard and no other hair on his head. Small green eyes searched the room before the rest of the body formed. He wore a black robe that was belted at the waist with a white rope.

"Hello Logan." Sandy said.

Logan looked at the bag on her desk.

"Twenty four apples." Sandy said. "What is that… one apple equals a hundred years of life?"

"More than that if you know what you are doing." Logan said.

"Payment then." Sandy said turning down the television set.

"Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream are going use the same spell the Dark Elves used." Logan said. "They'll set up obelisks outside the orchard tonight and send the whole thing back to Asguard."

"Just them?"

"The Legion is helping them." Logan said. "They've set up three of the obelisks already, the fourth one they'll set up on the North boundary tonight after sunset."

"Good plan." Sandy said. "Dangerous what with the dimensional forces at work though."

"They have enough power." Logan said.

"We'll see about that." Sandy said. She nodded toward the apples. "All yours."

Greedily the treacherous mystic picked up the bag of apples. Sandy casually leaned back in her seat and pressed a button on the remote control. A small panel on the front of the television slid open and three small darts hit Logan in the back. He died instantly and slumped to the floor. In a few seconds his body started to dissolve. Sandy ignored him and left her office.

…To be continued.

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