The Dangers of Daring Officer Dolly
Chapter 22. "Retirement Planing"
by Skytower
Prudence didn't really wake up because she hadn't really been asleep. Not true sleep anyway. Later Prudence would remember hovering between two worlds but not being able to remember either of them. She opened her eyes and looked into the night sky. The stars were beautiful, more beautiful than Prudence had ever realized before. She took a deep breath and the air was fresher than ever before. She looked around. The woman she had seen earlier was sitting next to her.
Prudence felt her chest.
"I was sure Aunt Sandy shot me." Prudence whispered.
"She did." The woman said. "But we saved you."
"We?"
The woman helped her sit up and Prudence saw another woman walking toward an apple tree. She reached the tree and picked one of the apples. The woman turned around and Prudence realized that she was completely nude.
"Wow!" Prudence exclaimed as she saw the woman's chest. Her breasts were larger than any Prudence had ever seen in her life.
"Milk counters closed." The woman called to her. "No more drinking." She started to eat the apple and Prudence's mouth fell open as she saw the woman's breasts start to shrink.
"Drinking?" Prudence thought deeply as she tried to pierce the mist of her memory. Suddenly they cleared a little. "Oh my god!" Prudence shouted. She looked down at her chest and saw the strangely shaped scar.
"Goddess." Ida said. "I am the goddess Ida, also called Ilthun."
"Thank you… for saving me…" Prudence said. She couldn't remember everything, but she remembered being dead, looking down at her own body with a hole blasted into it's chest and then not being able to go anywhere. Prudence looked at the nude woman with the apple.
"Your mother has named her 'Mystery Woman'." Ida said as the woman walked back to them. "So should you call her until she chooses to reveal her true name and origin."
"Mystery Woman is corny." Prudence said. "It's like the 1930's or something."
"Like 'Goddess of Justice' really rolls off the tongue." Mystery woman said.
"At least my mother has a costume."
"At least I'm not half naked." Mystery Woman said.
The three of them broke out laughing as Prudence started to cover herself and then stopped.
"My god what am I doing?" Prudence said. "I just died and I'm laughing?" She looked at Mystery Woman. The woman was tall, blonde and Prudence felt like they had known each other their entire lives. "I really did… drink… from…"
"Yea, you sucked milk right out'a me." Mystery Woman said blushing slightly. "It was the only way."
"I don't know you." Prudence said softly looking at the blonde woman. "But I think I know you. Sort of. I guess?"
"You do now."
"In order to save your life Mystery Woman joined her soul to yours." Ida said. "You are now soul sisters and both are of me."
"What now?" Prudence asked.
"I've got to take the ax and slice it through your mother's captured superhero body." Mystery Woman said. "Then I've got to get Lucy to touch the empty shell so that her body and Goddess of Justice will merge again. After that… well think of just about any massive comic book battle you've ever read."
"You'll never get close." Prudence said. "Aunt Sandy thought of everything."
"She planned for everything she knew." Ida said. "Mystery Woman is un-known to her."
"That's impossible." Prudence said. Her mind cast back over the past few weeks. She had stood next to Sandy as file after file was displayed on her computer screen. Even now Prudence felt admiration for the way each super powered person was integrated into her Aunt Sandy's plans. Those that could have been a threat had their weaknesses sold to the I.C.E., International Crime Enterprises, those that weren't a threat were put on an E.I.A. hit list for capture. "Aunt Sandy knows everyone."
"Your mother and I met only once." Mystery Woman said. "I rescued her from Count Intellect on the condition that she never mention me, never tell anyone about me and never try to contact me again. She gave me her word on it."
Prudence could hear the anger in the older woman's voice and for a moment shared it.
"It's not easy being my mother." Prudence said defensively fighting away the other woman's anger. "She's got a lot of responsibility."
"Yea, I've gone through this with her already." Mystery Woman said. "Fate of two worlds, blah, blah, blah. O.K. I'm helping her, just so long as I get the same deal as before, no mention of me in official reports, nobody talks about me and nobody, NOBODY reads my mind."
"You're scared of being seen." Prudence said. "You're scared… of… something… You’re a… servant?"
"Do you use that part of her that she gave you to betray her Prudence." Ida said sternly.
"I’m sorry." Prudence said as she saw the dismay on Mystery Woman's face. "I won't do that again."
"All I want is my privacy." Mystery Woman said softly. "I'm risking my life and my soul for you and your mother. Is that too much to ask?"
"I'm sorry." Prudence said again. She felt the sense of betrayal from the other woman and it fueled her guilt. "Really."
"Mystery Woman shrink." Ida said softly.
There was a slight shimmer in the air and Prudence watched as Mystery Woman suddenly shrunk down to doll size. A loud voice came from the East and Prudence looked up to see two giants coming toward them. Behind them in her flying car was Aunt Sandy.
"You bitch!" Prudence screamed leaping to her feet. It was a leap of fury and it carried her further than Prudence had thought it would. Suddenly she was flying through the air and by the time she reached the giants she was as tall as they were. Rage buried her surprise and Prudence started to fight.
The Group responded to Ida's warning almost before Merry had time to realize it. One moment she was terrified that Prudence knew everything about her and the next moment she twelve inches tall. From that height Merry watched in amazement as Prudence flew through the air toward the giants. More than that Prudence suddenly shot up to the same height as the giants, ripping her clothes in the process.
{You gave her a bit more than a drink.}
{Ida had much to do with this.}
{No doubt.}
{Prudence will probably be able to shrink as well.}
Merry watched the scene unfold into a battle. There were two giants, one was Anoc, the other was a stranger to her but he was nude. Prudence charged into both of them causing the nude one to fall backward. He hit Sandy's car and flipped it over shooting Sandy into the air. She crashed into a tree and lay dazed on the ground.
"She doesn't have a chance." Merry said. Anoc had already grabbed Prudence's arm she and was trying to match him with sheer strength. The other giant was starting to get up and as he did so Merry saw Sandy's car right its self.
"The car." Merry said. "It's my way into the party."
Merry reached down and picked up the ax without thinking. Immediately her soul was enveloped in darkness.
"As you humans say sweet soul" The demon said as Merry found herself in the ax again. "round two."
This time his attacked wasn't clumsy. Merry tried to side step and one of his tentacles wrapped around her leg. Merry was pulled off balance and fell hard on the floor. He was on her before she could get up or roll away; seizing both of her wrists with his hands and sitting on her chest. Merry felt his tentacles wrap around her legs. She was held firmly and he smiled as he forced her arms to the floor.
"I expected more sport from you." The demon said as his tentacles snaked up her legs and started to probe her vaginal lips.
"Maybe I want this." Merry said smiling. She puckered up her lips. "Come closer?"
With a laugh he bent down to kiss her. Merry lunged up and her teeth closed on his nose. She bit with all of her strength and he screamed and lost his grip. Merry struck out as hard as she could, hitting him in the throat with both hands. The blow would have killed any human but he only fell back gasping. Merry got up and ran to the ax. As her hand closed on the handle the demon laughed.
"Till next time sweet soul!"
Merry blinked. The fight in the ax had only taken a moment. Prudence was still fighting. Merry stood up and ran, going around the battle and taking advantage of the trees and the grass. The ax was light in her hand but colder. By the time Merry reached Sandy's air car Prudence was nearly done. Anoc had grabbed her legs and the other giant had grabbed her arms and they had lifted her writhing body off of the ground. The two giants laughed as their hands roamed over her nude body.
Merry reached the car and jumped through the open door and into the back seat. A basket of apples was on the floor and she climbed into it. The other door was open giving her a view of the fight. She peered out and watched as Prudence was forced to the ground. Despite her struggles Prudence's arms were tied behind her back at the elbows and wrist and her legs were tied at the knees and ankles.
{Remarkable.}
{Not five minutes with super powers and she is already tied up and nude.}
{Family tradition?}
{So it would seem.}
Merry worked her way under the apples but made sure she could see out. Sandy got up off of the ground and walked over to Prudence.
"You know shooting someone through the heart usually does it." Sandy said.
"You…" Prudence voice was cut off as the nude giant stuck a branch into her mouth and tied it into place.
"Looks like you have another woman for breeding." Sandy said to Anoc.
"You have only a short time to live Anoc!" Ida called. "A short time before you join the hoard of despair!"
Anoc laughed and the nude giant and Sandy joined him.
"Take her Nonoc!" Anoc said. "This night's feast will be one to remember!"
Nonoc picked up Prudence and slung her over his shoulder. He moved off and Anoc joined him. Sandy closed the doors of the car, got in and drove off.
Time to go to a party, Merry thought.
Early on in her time with Goddess of Justice and the E.I.A. Sandy had learned that supervillains nearly always had a title and those titles were usually royal titles. The one she would never forget was Baron Dread. He was a freak of nature and magic. In his castle Sandy had truly changed from a friend to an enemy of Goddess of Justice. Sandy was reminded of that dungeon now as Nonoc carried a bound and gagged Prudence into the dungeon and laid her in front of Lucy. Still gagged and bound Lucy's eyes went wide as she saw her daughter.
I should be beyond this, Sandy thought. I've made it; I'm in the clear no matter what happens. But damn the look on her face… goddess help me I love it.
"Don't look at me." Sandy said putting the basket of apples down by the table. She walked over to the mother and daughter. The dungeon had been made over into a feasting hall. In the center of the chamber meat was roasting over the fire pit. In the cells that lined the walls Savage and the Young Ancient lay helpless in chains. On either side of Lucy Ms. Dream and Miss Shadow were bound tightly to chains that went through rings in the ceiling and floor, stretching them out so that no part of their bodies was without access. Both still had their bondage hoods on and their eyes were cloudy with confusion and frustration. On the other side of the room Granite Girl, Esmerelda and Moon Girl were suspended upside down by chains that kept their legs apart. More chains held their arms behind their backs. Next to them was a table where three of the giants were already eating.
"No, don't look at me Lucy." Sandy said again as Lucy's eyes bored into hers. "I was sure I had killed her, blew a hole through her chest big enough to walk through. But Ida saved her, gave her some power. Your family just has luck with gods I guess."
Lucy threw herself against her metal bonds with a fury that delighted Sandy. At the same time Prudence started to struggle. Sandy stepped back from Prudence.
"She has fire in her." Nonoc said coming over to them. He carried a set of chains and attached them to rings in the floor.
"Be careful." Sandy said.
Nonoc smiled and taking Prudence's hair bashed her head against the floor a few times. After he was done Prudence's eyes had glazed over and the girl moaned as he untied her and then started to chain her limbs.
"Remember Baron Dread Lucy?" Sandy asked as Lucy screamed through her gag. "Remember what he did to my little girl and Thaddeus?" Sandy felt hate and anger rising within her and welcomed both emotions. "My first husband, my daughter? Remember what he did and why you didn't let me kill him? You said Justice had to prevail. Justice!" Sandy spat the word."
The giants cheered and Sandy looked over her shoulder to see Anoc and Anoc-hia walk into the dungeon.
Swallowing her hate Sandy gave Lucy one last look and then walked over to them.
"Your enemies are vanquished your majesties." Sandy said bowing.
"They are and more." Anoc said. "When we rule this world you may have the country you wish."
"Thank you your majesty." Sandy said. She walked over to the table and reached under it. An old suitcase was there. Sandy opened it and out wafted the scents of her youth. Inside were a sleeveless red top, a gold belt and a matching red mini-skirt. Underneath them both was a pair of gold Go-Go boots. Not bothering about modesty Sandy took off her blue jumper and got into the old clothes. The only thing she kept from the jump suit was a PDA, which she clipped onto her belt.
Merry crept out of the basket and crawled under the table. The air in the dungeon was warm and dry, almost musty. A quick glance at the room showed her the odds and she didn't like them.
{So many heroes, so little power.}
{Give us a scan of the room Dolly.}
Merry looked around the dungeon more slowly. Savage and the Young Ancient were chained in their cells. Savage was a time traveler from the far past, a youth with a lot of strength and good looks. He slumped in his cell dressed in furs and armor. The Young Ancient was also a time traveler from the far past, a mystic with a thin body and no hair. He too was in chains but the chains were wood and covered with carvings. His robes were torn and his face bloodied. Both of them were gagged.
Ms. Dream and Miss Shadow were naked X's ready for rape. Lucy was still bound and in front of her lay Prudence. Sandy was taunting Lucy. Across the room Moon Girl, Granite Girl and Esmerelda hung upside down. Esmerelda was in her human form and the ring that allowed her to control her change hung from a string just in front of her but out of her reach. Moon Girl's skin was nearly white. If Merry had heard correctly that meant that she was dying from exposure to some sort of radiation. A small glowing rock underneath her head showed where that was coming from. Granite Girl was unconscious.
"Sandy's really fixed everyone." Merry said.
{We can grow you to giant size, but only for a few minutes.}
{Not long enough to cut Anoc-hia out and drag the body over to Lucy.}
{She has to be right in front of Lucy so that you can hit her from behind and push.}
{There is a chance she will taunt her as Sandy is.}
"We can't count on that." Merry whispered. "We need help. Damn it why are they so easy to tie up?"
{You just have to know how to hurt them.}
"Wait, how are they holding The Young Ancient, Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream?"
{He is being held by a spell carved into the wooden chains. They are being held by brain scrambling devices set into their bondage hoods.}
Merry thought for a moment. Torches and the fire pit lighted the chamber. That left a lot of shadows for her.
"If I could free just one of them, which one has the best chance of freeing everyone else?"
{Ms. Dream. She's a telekinetic.}
{If she can see it she can move it.}
Merry looked at Ms. Dream. She was to the left of Lucy and Merry was sure that Ms. Dream could see everyone but Savage and the Young Ancient. If she craned her head back maybe Ms. Dream could even see them.
"How do I shut off that hood?" Merry asked.
{Two studs on the right side.}
"O.K." Merry whispered. "I'll turn that thing off, she can free the others, while they fight maybe I'll have a chance."
{Even if she frees them all it will be an up-hill battle.}
{Not if Merry succeeds with Goddess of Justice.}
{To do this she will have to get to Ms. Dream undetected.}
{Not easy to do.}
"Everyone's going to be looking at Prudence." Merry whispered. "I'll use the chain, just like I did in Count Intellect's castle."
{Then your plan is the best option at the moment.}
{Proceed Officer Dolly.}
Merry hefted her ax and set off. First she ran to the wall. Once there she started to move slowly toward the back of the dungeon. When she passed Savage's cell Merry got a better look at him. He was more than handsome he was stunning. The Savage had red hair, tan skin and muscles everywhere. He saw her but gave no reaction. Merry put her finger to her lips and saw understanding in his gray eyes. Then she went past the Young Ancient's cell. He was barely conscious and Merry wished she had one of the golden apples to give him. His nose was broken, one of his eyes was swelled shut and his left arm hung to one side, obviously broken. He looked young and Merry guessed he was barely seventeen.
"They might as well beat up Harry Potter." Merry whispered. If he saw her, the beaten youth gave no sign.
At the back of the dungeon Merry crept past empty cells until she came to a rack that the chains were attached too. Each chain was attached to a wheel that could be loosened or tightened. Merry found the ones that held Ms. Dream. For a moment she tested the weight of the ax in her hand. She couldn't climb the chains with it. But the hardest part of wielding the ax was in picking it up. As long as Merry was just holding it or using it the ax was merely cold in her hand. It was slowly but steadily getting colder as the demon inside it grew more powerful. Her hand was turning a threatening shade of black the longer she held onto it. But he would only drag her into the ax if she let go of the ax and then picked it up again.
"Gotta chance it." Merry said. She put the ax against the wall and then leapt up and climbed onto the wheals. Choosing the one that led to Ms. Dream's right wrist Merry started to climb. The chains were warm under her hands and smooth. They were brand new, not the rusted ones that she had climbed before.
Luckily Ms. Dream didn't move too much. Merry was glad of that because if she did Merry could have easily had a foot or a hand pinched off in the links of the chains. That was about the only thing Merry could find to be grateful for. The chains were new enough to still be covered in oil. That made holding onto them nearly impossible. Merry moved as quickly as she could and as carefully as she could. She couldn't crawl up like a bug, using her hands and feet alone, instead Merry had to crawl up hugging the chains against her body and inching along like an Earthworm.
Merry reached the ring at the ceiling and looked down. For the past few minutes Merry had been sure her ears were playing tricks on her. But they weren't. A portable stereo had been set up on one of the tables and a wild sixties song, one Merry could not identify, was playing. While it played Sandy, dressed in a Go-Go dancing outfit was dancing on the table in front of Anoc and Anoc-hia.
{As evil plots go this is definitely a curveball.}
{To think Go-Go dancing was once considered provocative.}
{It's cute if you ignore the fact that she is a heartless killer.}
{I wonder if we could teach Lizzie and Jessie to do that.}
Merry didn’t say anything; she just started to climb down. It was a harder climb. From the wheel to the ring Merry had been climbing up at about a thirty-degree angle. But climbing down to Ms. Dream's wrist was a nearly straight down climb. Merry's body was slick with oil and her own sweat. She climbed down link by link until she felt her feet touch Ms. Dream's hand. Now was the tricky part. If anyone were looking at Ms. Dream they couldn't help but spot the twelve inch tall woman on her arm. The lighting in the dungeon wasn't that bad. Merry slowly climbed around so that she could look at the room. Sandy was still dancing on the table. Anoc and Anoc-hia were staring at her. Sandy reminded Merry of herself and the many times she had preformed when shrunk. On the other side of the fire pit seven giants sat and drank and ate and talked. They threw bits of food at the captive girls.
O.K. Merry thought, never get a better chance.
Merry let her feet go and dangled from the chains. Then she moved hand over hand until she reached the manacle on Ms. Dream's wrist. Grabbing it Merry hung on for a moment and then started to move hand over hand down the woman's arm. At first it was easy but as she neared the elbow Ms. Dream's arm got thicker and Merry had a harder time holding on. Ms. Dream didn't seem to notice her. When she got to the elbow Merry swung up and wrapped her legs around Ms. Dream's arm. Then she grabbed handfuls of skin and hair and worked her way onto the top. From there it was only a short slide onto Ms. Dream's shoulder. There were two small studs set into the neck of the bondage hood. Merry pressed them both with her feet until she felt them click.
Instantly Ms. Dream's body stiffened.
"Don't move!" Merry hissed into Ms. Dream's ear. Ms. Dream settled back down. "Look I've just managed to shut this thing off, you can use your powers on stuff you can see right?"
Ms. Dream gave a slight nod.
"Right, free who you can, but do it quietly. I have a weapon that can put Lucy back into Goddess of Justice's body, the same ax the troll used. But we have to get the bodies to touch after I use the ax."
Ms. Dream nodded again.
Merry looked over at the table. Sandy had stopped dancing and was looking at a PDA in her hand. Suddenly the entire dungeon shook. Then it shook again.
"What has happened!" Anoc demanded.
"Nothing good." Merry hissed. "Sorry Ms. Dream but I don't think I have time to climb up that chain again. This ain't gonna be gentle."
She grabbed the edge of the bondage hood and swung herself behind Ms. Dream's back. Then Merry took hold of Ms. Dream's long scarlet and black hair and started to climb down the bound heroine's back. The hair felt like silk in Merry's hand and she could smell a hint of Sally's Strawberry Shampoo, special formulae for petite ladies.
"I can't believe we use the same shampoo." Merry whispered, thinking of the logo on the woman-shaped shampoo bottle of a tiny woman with large hair.
When she got to the end of the hair Merry realized that she had a problem. The hair only went a little past Ms. Dream's shoulder blades.
"Well, sorry about this." Merry said. She let go of the hair and grabbed a fistful of Ms. Dream's skin. Then another and slowly started to climb down the rest of the heroine. Merry dug in her toes to help. Ms. Dream tensed and Merry guessed that it was like having someone pinching your back. And actually that was what she was doing.
{Merry a number of nuclear explosions have occurred on the borders of Kromania.}
"My lord giants!" Sandy's voice rang through the dungeon. "I have preformed another service for you. A vast army was moving toward this city from the north. An army made up of the foulest of human filth. I have just destroyed that army with one of the weapons I told you about."
{That answers that.}
{An entire army with one blast.}
{She must be using her PDA to control the nukes.}
{She's a cold one.}
The giants were cheering and Merry was trying hard to concentrate. Getting all the way down Ms. Dream's back had been relatively easy. But now she was just above the crack in Ms. Dream's butte and there was no way Merry was going straight down. She had to inch her way off center and then keep going. Trouble was Ms. Dream was starting to sweat.
Merry managed to keep her grip and moved to the left. Then she started down again. Ms. Dream's butte was solid muscle and she was tensed up, making it hard for Merry to get a grip, but she managed to keep going and slowly moved down the leg. Now Merry really did need to use her toes to dig in because Ms. Dream's leg was pulled out diagonally. Merry managed to make it to Ms. Dream's knee before she lost her grip and fell. Merry fell awkwardly and landed on her back. Lying on the stone floor Merry tried to get her breath back. Above her was Ms. Dream's body and Merry was getting a view of it that few had ever seen.
"Gotta get the ax." Merry whispered to herself. She could hear the giants cheering and that couldn't be good. She rolled over onto her stomach and started to stand up. Her ankle screamed pain and Merry fell to her knees. "Oh come on!" She snarled. "No way am I getting a twisted ankle now! Not now! That's a slasher flick! That's what happens to those bimbos in the woods!"
Merry tried to stand again and again the ankle went out on her.
"Hell with it." Merry said and started to crawl on her hands and knees.
Sandy entered in another code to the PDA and stood up, attaching it to her belt. The giants were cheering and toasting. Sandy joined them thinking of the M troops she had just wiped off of the face of the planet. The next step would be the Pyramid, and the remaining twenty nukes that ringed the giant's new city would take care of that. She had perhaps an hour, no more. Sandy stood up and bowed.
"My lord giants may I ask a favor?" Sandy called out. It was hard making herself heard over their shouting.
"You have only to ask!" Anoc laughed.
"Allow me to torture Lucy." Sandy asked.
Anoc laughed and nodded and Sandy went over to the wall and picked out a cat-o-nine tails whip. Then she walked slowly over to Lucy. There was a dread gleam in the captive's eyes. Sandy knew that gleam well.
"Mad Lucy?" Sandy asked swinging the whip casually. "Mad at me?" Sandy reached up and took the gag out of Lucy's mouth.
"I am disappointed in you Sandy." Lucy said.
Sandy laughed and slammed the whip across Prudence's breasts. Lucy winced but that was all. Prudence screamed through her gag and twisted in her chains.
"Not even honest enough to admit that you hate me." Sandy said again whipping Prudence's breasts. She played the knotted ends of the whip harshly against Prudence's nipples.
"Why have you done all of this?" Lucy pleaded.
"WHY!" Sandy screamed and her voice was so filled with anger and pain that even the giants fell silent. "Look at me Lucy! Look at ME!"
Sandy turned away for a moment, spinning in a dancer's move and then turned back and used the whip on Prudence's stomach.
"This is how I was when we first met! Remember? I was a Go-Go dancer on the sunset strip when you managed to get us both captured by Mr. Righteous. I got you out of that and you said someone with my brains should be more than a dancer. So I joined the Peace Corps and what happens? We end up together in Africa both get captured by a dictator. I got you out of that one too and met Thaddeus!" Sandy's voice choked on the name and she lashed the whip across Prudence's pussy.
"The two of you said the Peace Corps wasn't enough. That I should join Thaddeus and the E.I.A. So I join and Thaddeus and I got married. Happily ever after. I even had a daughter."
"Sandy…" Lucy started.
"Shut up!" Sandy screamed. She wiped away tears and struck out at Prudence again.
"Just shut up! You want to know when I started to hate you Lucy? It was after Baron Dread… after… what he did to Thaddeus and Aquaria. After what he did to my husband and daughter! You wouldn't let me kill him! You had to have justice! So he went to prison and five years later he broke out and killed my parents and you still wouldn't let me kill him so five years after that he broke out again and he killed John. John had no idea what I did for a living and neither did Ian. Ian never forgave me for that."
"He tried." Lucy said. "But you shut him out of your life."
"It was the only way to keep him safe." Sandy said. She remembered the child screaming hate at her as she left him at Thaddeus's parent's house.
"You could have left the E.I.A."
"Leave? Leave?" Sandy screamed at her. "How? The only way I could have left the E.I.A. was to submit to a full memory wipe! And that wouldn't have mattered because Baron Dread was still alive! I was his hobby! He would have come after me again! Because you wouldn't let me kill him!"
Sandy took a deep breath and used the whip on Prudence's stomach a few more times.
"Well I was through being a target Lucy. I was through being your some-time sidekick. I worked and I worked and I worked, you can't know what it's like to work like I did. I worked my way up through the E.I.A. until I was on the executive committee."
"All that and then this?" Lucy demanded.
"This is a sideshow." Sandy said. She struck out with the whip a few more times. It wasn't leaving much of a mark on Prudence's skin but she was feeling it. "This is payback for everything you've ruined in my life."
"What are you talking about?" Lucy shouted.
"ME!" Sandy screamed back. "I've spent my life in the E.I.A. because of you Lucy. My entire adult life watching my soul shrivel because of you!" Sandy looked at her face and saw the confusion there. And it suddenly occurred to Sandy that she had been wrong.
"Didn't you ever listen to me?" Sandy pleaded. "Don't you know what the E.I.A. is? What we do? What I've done? What I did to keep Earth safe?"
"I know you have to make ethical compromises to make to keep the world safe." Lucy said but her composure was beginning to crack. "But…"
"Shut up!" Sandy said and she lashed out again at Prudence. "God Lucy didn't you ever listen to me? I told you! I warned you!"
"You said it was hard, that you had to cross the line at times." Lucy said.
"Cross the line? Lucy in the past twenty years there have only been three honest elections on the entire planet! You think the Soviet Union collapsed on it's own? You think the drought in Africa and the disappearance of the Weather Maiden was a co-incidence? It was how we got rid of Lord Montibutu! Do you know many people we had to starve to push them into revolution! We run the world Lucy! It's all us! Force Group J and the E.I.A. and The M troops that you never wanted to hear about."
"We did not…"
"What do you think we do with that stuff in the Deep Pit? You know the stuff by international law we aren't supposed to have."
"I thought it was going toward planetary defense in case of alien invasion." Lucy said.
"It goes to secret weapons that we use to keep power." Sandy said. "That we use when we need one of you to help us in something you might not want to help us with." Sandy laughed and turned away. Then she turned back and used the whip on Prudence again. "Or at least we did at first. Then you started telling us what we needed to know."
"Me?"
"Who gave me the report on the Weather
Maiden?" Sandy demanded. "Who won her trust and then told me how to catch her? You ever wonder why she vanished? Where she is? She's in a deep dark place the E.I.A. keeps super powered people we might need. We got specialists who make sure their minds are adjusted so they think the way we want them to think. You think this is a torture chamber Lucy? We got one that makes this look like Toys R Us! What about Lava Guy? You think Earthquakes in the Middle East happen by themselves just when a war is about to start?"
"Sandy you…" Lucy started.
"Of course me you idiot!" Sandy shouted. "I've been doing it for years! Supervillain, superhero, they were just raw material for us." Sandy laughed. "I really thought you knew, I couldn’t imagine you didn't know, at least not after I had Baron Dread castrated! He caught us both after that Lucy, didn't you listen to his rants?"
"He was mad and you denied them." Lucy said.
"And you trusted me." Sandy sat on Prudence's stomach and laughed. "What a joke."
"I trusted you." Lucy said. "I thought you were a friend."
"I was until John died." Sandy said. "Well even if you don't know Captain Pharaoh does. He's on the executive committee of the E.I.A. too you know."
"What? But that's…"
"Against the charter of Force Group J." Sandy said. "I always thought you knew, I guess he made sure you didn't and you made sure never to look too closely at what was going on."
Sandy looked at the whip in her hand and sighed. Then she stuffed the but end into Prudence's vagina. Prudence screamed and writhed but Sandy ignored her. She stuffed it in and wiggled it around before giving it one last slap. Prudence screamed behind her gag but Sandy was past caring.
"We're both pathetic jokes Lucy." Sandy said. "You the great heroine, me the great spy. I thought you pretended not to know what I did, I really did. Maybe I just projected a lot of my grief onto you. It doesn't matter now though. We all have about an hour. I guess Captain Pharaoh is the one I should hate."
"If what you say is true he has a lot to answer for." Lucy said. "But so do you."
"What about what you have to answer for?" Sandy growled. For a moment she had forgotten Lucy's ability to skirt the truth, but now she remembered all of the briefings where Lucy had been conveniently absent, or had been there but distant, removed.
"You've made an art of bobbing and weaving around the truth haven't you Lucy!" Sandy turned and faced the three upside down heroines. "Hey Moon Girl, where do you think I got the krell stone? It's not like there's a lot of it around. You really think your ship isn't repairable? That it crashed by accident? That your family just doesn't know where you are?"
Sandy didn't pause or miss a beat while she ranted but inwardly she was amazed.
You did it again didn't you Lucy, Sandy thought. She noticed that the krell stone was gone from under Moon Girl and that Granite girl was slowly turning herself into stone. Esmerelda's ring was drifting toward her. Moon Girl's skin was turning gold.
"So your misplaced hate is why you have betrayed us all?" Lucy demanded. "Sandy I swear to you I did not know."
"You know I bet you didn't." Sandy said. "I guess because you never really wanted to know what was really going on. Hell you never caught on to me and Stephen and I wasn't too subtle about it. But tell you the truth Lucy I would have done all this anyway."
"Betrayal for power." Lucy said. "A motive as old as man."
"You're not even close." Sandy said turning around. Her eyes shifted slightly and she noticed Ms. Dream's eyes were not cloudy or lifeless anymore. She laughed. "And as to betrayal…" Sandy turned to the giants. "You're not the only one I've betrayed."
"What do you mean?" Anoc said the look on his face going from intrigued to concern.
Suddenly the dungeon was completely still.
"I mean this Anoc." Sandy said. "Five years ago I found out that you and the Dark Elves were working together. Five years ago I, just after I got out of the hospital I approached you. For five years now I've worked with you. A few hours ago I stopped working with you. Ten minutes ago I betrayed you. Look outside. The obelisk, all of them are rubble. I planted bombs under each one of them and they were set to go off when the nukes went off."
Nonoc rushed out of the dungeon and Anoc and Anoc-hia rose.
"My beef was with Force Group J and the E.I.A." Sandy said. "Not the rest of the planet. Right now Ida and the orchard are back in Asguard."
Anoc and Anoc-hia rose and started for her.
"The orchard is gone!" Nonoc's voice filled the chamber. "GONE!"
Incoherent with rage Anoc and Anoc-hia rushed at Sandy. Sandy stood perfectly calm. The instant she had seen the krell stone gone Sandy figured out what was going to happen. What had happened so many times in so many dungeons. Lucy, damn her, had found a flaw in Sandy's plans. At least part of them. Anoc and Anoc-hia rushed toward her. It didn't matter because Sandy was ready to welcome death. They were nearly on her when a naked blond woman appeared behind them. In her hand was the Ax of Lenin. She swung it like a baseball bat through their bodies. It didn't cut them; the enchanted blade went through them like it was made of smoke. But it consumed their souls. They screamed and Anoc fell lifeless to the floor. Anoc-hia started to fall next to him but the woman gave her a push. Sandy leaped out of the way just as the soulless shell of Goddess of Justice fell against Lucy's body.
Merry gave Goddess of Justice a push toward Lucy and then fell to her knees. Her bones were on fire and her muscles felt like water. As soon as she was on her knees Merry was her normal size again. She leaned over and coughed violently tasting blood. Then she fell flat on her back. The demon had been waiting for her and even if the rape hadn't been physical it hurt. Merry had endured it, beaten him back afterwards and claimed the ax. In real time it had only taken a few minutes. But she knew it was the last time she'd win. If Merry put the ax down one more time and picked it up she was doomed. Even now she could feel him clawing his way up her arm.
"I got a little more time." Merry said.
It was impossible for her to move at first. But she could see. The battle was extremely vicious as the giants fought and lost. After a few minutes Merry found a little strength again. She needed it as a giant nearly fell on top of her. Merry reacted with instinct. She rolled away and brought up the ax. It sliced through the giants body and while it left no wound Merry could hear the demon's howl of glee as yet another soul was given to him.
Struggling to her feet Merry backed away from the giant. The battle was pure chaos. Ms. Dream and Miss Shadow were trying to free Prudence from her chains. The Savage and Esmerelda stood over the Young Ancient. Moon Girl and Granite girl each had a giant. Granite Girl was turning Nonoc to stone and Moon Girl was using her chains to strangle her foe. Goddess of Justice was tearing into three giants at once with a rage Merry had never seen before. Merry looked at the arm that was holding the ax. Up to her elbow it was black and starting to whither. She could see a bit of white through her knuckles.
No one but Merry seemed to notice Sandy slip out of the dungeon. Getting to her feet Merry staggered after her.
By the time Merry had gotten outside Sandy was at her car. Merry's ankle was still sore but the rest of her body felt worse. The only reason Merry guessed that the ax had not consumed her was that the demon had three giant souls to deal with. Even so the ax was eating into her but Merry held onto it. She wasn't letting it go until she was sure she wouldn't need it anymore. Sandy reached into the car and put on a harness of some sort. Merry was moving quietly but Sandy still spun around before she could get close.
"Blaster against ax." Sandy said. "And a cursed ax too. How'd you ever managed to get hold of it?"
"I climb real good." Merry said stopping. "I heard most of your rant. Kind'a long way to go just to get even isn't it?"
"This isn't about getting even." Sandy said. "Getting even was just the icing on the cake." She raised the blaster. "Who are you anyway?"
Merry shrugged.
"Just a draftee who was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Merry paused then added. "Twice."
Sandy nodded and lowered the blaster.
"SANDY!"
Merry looked over her shoulder and saw Goddess of Justice and the rest of them coming out of the dungeon. Goddess's eyes were glowing with rage and power.
"Nice to have you powers back again isn't it Lucy." Sandy said tossing her blaster into the car. "Enjoy them while you can."
"You bitch!" Prudence shouted charging toward her. She was normal sized and was held back by Goddess of Justice.
"We're standing on a nuke aren't we." Merry said. She said it quietly but everyone heard her.
"Bingo." Sandy said smiling. "I don't know who she is Lucy but she's good."
"She's right." Granite Girl said. "When I made the last stone today Sandy told me not to transmute a wooden crate she stuck into the mold."
"Suicide Sandy?" Goddess of Justice asked.
"How'd you figure it out?" Sandy asked Merry ignoring Goddess of Justice.
"You have no way out." Merry said. "You said we all had about an hour. Laying around in pain is good for thinking." She walked over to Sandy and they all followed her. "You're little announcement to the giants downstairs clinched it. You talked to Ida today, just after you shot Prudence. Ida told me that you shocked her. It takes a lot to shock a goddess."
"I'm exceptional." Sandy said.
"Mystery Woman what have you found out?" Goddess of Justice asked.
"Mystery Woman?" Sandy laughed. "You're actually called that?"
"This wasn't about vengeance or power." Merry said. "There's no way the world would have let the giants sit here and build a nation, no matter how many apples they gave away. She knew that more than anyone. She used a nuclear weapon to wipe out an army. There is no way out for her. This was all planned, and planned for one reason."
"What reason?" Lucy demanded.
"This whole thing was set up so that Sandy could get to Ida." Merry answered.
"Why?" Goddess of Justice demanded.
"Let me." Sandy said as Merry started to speak. She faced Goddess of Justice.
"Remember when I took the bullet in New York six years ago Lucy? I was dead on the operating table for two minutes. I didn't get a tunnel of light. I got a tunnel though. I got a tunnel filled with everyone I've ever hurt or killed in the name of keeping this world safe. Not only the supervillains, but the low level twerps whose lives I destroyed to keep the E.I.A. operational. People I drove to suicide, murder, people I blackmailed… more of them than I thought. More than I remembered. At the end of that tunnel Lucy is a nice hot sea of flame. I was heading for hell and it was too late to change course."
"But you" Sandy let some hatred creep back into her voice "are chosen of Athena, you're going to the Elysian fields. I've bled white to keep this world safe. I've lost my parents, two husbands, my daughter, my son hates me and after all that I'm going to hell. But you… You're the one who dragged me into this life. I was going to be a dancer. You're going to paradise. It wasn't fair. So I set all this up to see Ida. I made a deal with her. I destroy the obelisks and the giants and she takes my soul after I'm dead. I don't wanna be a goddess, I don't want power. I got plenty o'power with the E.I.A. and I hate it! I told her to just give me a little cottage and a little garden to tend and someplace to dance the night away. My soul doesn't go to hell, it goes to her."
"The ultimate in retirement planning." Merry said.
Sandy nodded.
"I guess you were Ida's back up plan." She said glancing at her watch.
"I'm going to see that you live forever Sandy." Goddess of Justice growled. "I shall tear this place apart and disarm that bomb."
"Good luck." Sandy said smiling. "It's one of 19 I've ringed the place with as a little 'Hello' to Captain Pharaoh and the Pyramid. Don't even try." Sandy said and Merry looked over to see that Ms. Dream was staring at her intensely. "Like everyone on the executive committee I had brain surgery, the part of my mind you could read was taken out."
"If you want an easy afterlife tell us how to turn them off." Merry said.
"Or what?" Sandy demanded. "I want to die remember, you got nothing that scares me now."
"Wanna bet?" Merry said. She took a step forward and held the blade of the ax at Sandy's throat. Just moving her arm caused stabs of pain. Merry ignored the pain. "I've been in this ax, it's not a fun place. Once slice and your soul goes in there."
Sandy almost stumbled backward and for the first time Merry saw fear in her eyes. Then she pulled the PDA out of her belt and held it up.
"I could type in the wrong code and you wouldn’t have time to take me." Sandy said calmly.
"You don't know what else I can do." Merry said. "Mystery Woman remember? You deal in what you know. You can always kill yourself later you know. Or are you that much in a hurry to get Lucy to paradise?"
Sandy smiled and typed in a code. Then she handed the PDA to Goddess of Justice.
Merry dropped the ax and stepped back stumbling slightly. She couldn't feel her arm anymore. She felt someone brace her and realized it was Prudence.
"It's O.K., I got you." Prudence said.
"You're very, very good." Sandy said. "Here's a tip. Don't let Lucy do you to what she did to me."
"Sandy I swear I will stretch your life across the centuries!" Lucy swore.
Sandy smiled and laughed and Merry saw a blinking light on her harness.
"The harness is rigged!" Merry shouted shoving Prudence back.
She managed to get a few steps away when Sandy exploded.
Merry was floating in a deep sea. She wasn't on a boat and she wasn't in the water. She was just floating. It wasn't a bad place. It was that place between being asleep and being awake that was so loved by everyone. The place you visit every time you wake up a few minutes before the alarm clock. Dimly Merry could hear voices.
"Mom no! You promised!"
"We have no choice Prudence."
"All she wants is her privacy!"
"We must know who she is!"
{Merry wake up they are trying to read your mind again!}
Merry's eyes snapped open and she looked into the face of Ms. Dream. Merry was lying on the ground and Ms. Dream had cradled Merry's head in her lap. Before the other woman had time to react Merry moved. She rolled and brought her good arm up and her fist into Ms. Dream's eye. Merry was still moving as Ms. Dream reacted in pain. She sat up, grabbed Ms. Dream's arm at the wrist and gave a sharp jerk even as she was twisting it. Merry felt the bone snap and Ms. Dream cried out in pain. Merry ignored her cry and rolled behind the heroine. She sat up and pulled Ms. Dream against her and with her good arm Merry crocked her fingers and held them against Ms. Dream's eye.
"Don't move or I'll tear out her eye!" Merry growled. The group had been scattered by the explosion. Miss Shadow, Esmerelda and Granite Girl lay unconscious. Moon Girl, Prudence and Goddess of Justice stood a few feet away. Sandy and her car were both just a dark spot on the stone.
"Mystery Woman…" Ms. Dream began.
"Shut up!" Merry swore digging a bit into the eye. Ms. Dream cried out and then stayed silent.
"I told her to do it." Goddess of Justice said.
"Yea, but I can't tear your eyes out." Merry said. "What is it with you Lucy? I just risked life and soul for you and all I asked was that you let me go and don't ask questions."
"After this betrayal by a friend how can I trust a stranger?"
"And what about me trusting you?" Merry demanded.
"If I fail at my task the world ends." Goddess of Justice said. "The choices are not always easy and trust is often a luxury I can't afford."
"Trust isn't a luxury it's a necessity." Prudence said. "You used to tell me that Mom."
"Between friends, between family, between colleagues." Goddess of Justice said. "I trusted Sandy."
"Great choice." Merry said. "But you don't trust me."
"I do not enjoy this." Goddess of Justice said. "But what if you are an enemy? You are capable. Too capable. I don't know who you are, where you come from. I need to know these things! All I was going to have Ms. Dream get was a name and where you live."
"If I'm an enemy? Hello? What have we just gone through? Ask your daughter, my soul sharing sister if I'm an enemy!"
"You could have lied. You did not volunteer." Goddess said. "I had to…"
"Draft me." Merry said coldly. "No matter what I was doing, where I was, you're needs took priority."
"I have sworn an oath to protect this world."
"I haven't." Merry said coldly. "Goddess this is what you did to Sandy isn't it? You dragged her in and told her the world was at stake."
"I showed her that she could be more than a dancer." Goddess of Justice said.
"And you put her on a track to hell. You taught her the end justifies the means."
"She's right Mom." Prudence said. "You made a deal. You don't have the right to ask anything of her."
"And what if she is an enemy?" Goddess of Justice asked her daughter.
"If she isn't you're making her one." Prudence said.
"Just as you are making one of me." Moon Girl said. She stepped between Merry and Goddess of Justice. "Who caused my ship to crash?"
"I don't know." Goddess of Justice said. "By Athena I swear I don't know."
"Until you found me I was held. Raped." Moon Girl said. "You said you found me by accident. By seeing you mistreat Mystery Woman I question that."
"I found you on a tip from the E.I.A." Goddess of Justice said.
"Capture me, torture and rape me and then rescue me." Moon Girl said. "What better way to insure loyalty."
"It wasn't… I didn't…"
"Mystery Woman you may leave here under my protection." Moon Girl said.
"Oh great!" Merry swore and looked behind her.
Captain Pharaoh floated in mid-air. "Pyramid all fixed?" Merry asked as calmly as she could. It was an act and she suspected he knew it.
"Enough so that I could leave it." Captain
Pharaoh said. "And I see that I am needed here."
"Yea we could use another voice in this ethics discussion." Merry said. "Pull up a chair." She used her good arm to get Ms. Dream in a sleeper hold and felt her go limp.
{Stall Merry, we are coming.}
"Lucy you nearly doomed me." Moon Girl said and her voice sounded so full of pain Merry nearly cried. "You were the one who befriended me, who took me in and taught me about Earth. You were the one who convinced me to give you the krell stone. You swore to me to keep it safe and to tell no one else."
"I gave it to Sandy to put in a vault in the Deep Pit." Goddess of Justice said. Her voice held nearly as much pain as Moon Girl's. "I trusted her."
"More than you trusted me." Moon Girl said. "What other confidences have you broken? What about Weather Witch? Lava Guy? Where are they? Did my ship just crash or was the crash faked?"
"I can not…" Goddess started and then stopped. "I don't know." She said at last. "I trusted Sandy, told her what I knew of everything. I will find it difficult to trust again."
"Yea that works both ways." Merry said. "You think Moon Girl is going to give you another krell stone? I threw the last one into the fire pit."
"What about you?" Moon Girl said turning to Captain Pharaoh. "How much do you know?"
"I know it all."
"What?" Goddess of Justice demanded.
"I know what you chose not to know." Captain Pharaoh said. "What you hid from I embraced."
"No." Goddess of Justice's voice was almost a whisper. "You too… just like Sandy?"
"Too keep this world safe I'll pay any price." Captain Pharaoh said. He looked at Merry. "When Miss Shadow wakes up she will read only enough of your mind to satisfy us. No more."
"She tries and Ms. Dream here is going to need a Seeing Eye dog." Merry said.
"You are naked and alone Mystery Woman." Captain Pharaoh said. "Where do you think you are going?"
"She is going home."
The voice caught everyone off guard. Merry looked up and for a moment her mind refused to accept what she saw. Hovering in the air was a vast fleet of ships. She recognized vipers from the Battlestar Galactica, the original one from the 1970's. There were nearly two hundred of them. It was a sight that just didn't fit into the current situation and Merry blinked hard a few times before she accepted it.
{You can thank Molly and Tremont's obsessive model building for this.}
{Try to look humble and scared.}
{We are pulling a very big bluff here.}
"Who are you?" Captain Pharoah demanded.
"We are her people and she is going home." Simone called. "Stand aside."
"Who are you?" Captain Pharoah demanded again. He didn't move.
"Stand aside." Simone repeated.
One of the ships moved to land and he moved in front of it.
"Get out of the way Cap!" Prudence shouted. Merry looked up and saw that she had grown to nearly thirty feet tall. "You made a deal. Keep it."
"Tell your daughter to stay out of this Lucy." Captain Pharaoh said.
"I stand with Prudence." Moon Girl said. "Where do you stand Goddess of Justice."
"She stands with me." Captain Pharaoh said. "I have summoned the Pyramid, we can hold them off until…"
What ever else he was going to say was cut off as beams of white energy from Goddess of Justice's eyes slammed into him. The impact sent him flying across the landscape and he fell to the Earth and lay still.
"Go." Goddess of Justice said. She sank to her knees and started to cry. "Who ever you are, what ever you are… I am less than you. I am… I am old and foolish and… I'm sorry… just go."
Prudence returned to normal size and hugged her mother. After a moment Moon Girl joined her. Goddess of Justice sat on the stone and cried silently.
One of the vipers landed and Merry felt herself shrink. She started toward it.
"Wait." Prudence called. She left her mother and rushed over to Merry, shrinking as she did so.
"You will be ok?" Prudence demanded holding onto Merry's good arm.
"I'll be fine." Merry said. "I've been hurt worse."
"Give me something." Prudence pleaded. "Please. I mean… After what we went through I need something better than Mystery Woman. I want something better than that to remember a sister."
"Mystery Woman is the only name you shall have." Simone said. The canopy of the viper had opened and she had stood up in the seat. Simone was wearing an actual costume from the show, including a helmet that hid most of her face, but by now Merry accepted it. "I can tell you that she is First Knight of Dollopolis."
{Dramatic.}
{We have our reasons Dolly.}
"Dollopolis?" Prudence asked.
Merry hugged Prudence and then lightly kissed her.
"Be there for your mother. She's going to need you. And tell Esmerelda I'm glad she has friends."
{Get a move on Merry, the Pyramid is on its way.}
Merry gave one last look, hugged Prudence one more time and then limped over to the viper. She climbed in behind Simone and the canopy closed.
"That was very dramatic." Merry said. She used her good arm to put her other arm onto her lap as she pulled the seatbelts into place. The arm that had wielded the ax was little more than black skin and bone and it hurt like hell.
"You should have heard the speech I had prepared." Simone said. "If Captain Pharaoh hadn't shown up… I had a whole royal… Oh well."
"Yea, I could have done without him." Merry said.
"Ingrates." Simone said. "After everything you did for them."
"Lucy was right." Merry said. The tears were flowing freely now and Merry's voice choked as she talked.
"What?"
"Simone look at what we do, who we serve. The Group wants to take over the world. You don’t think Force Group J won't object? Sooner or later I'm going to have to take them on somehow. Hell in a few years I could be the Troll!"
Merry finished the sentence with a wail that she barely managed to choke
off.
{Merry after all that we've done to you it's hard to believe that you are
still that naïve.}
"What?" Merry asked.
{Do you think we are going to take over the world with an army of shrunken women?}
{As a cop you know that the dumbest thief is the one who uses a loaded gun.}
{We won't use armies or weapons to take over the world Officer Dolly.}
"You won't?"
{We have far more subtle methods in mind.}
{Methods that will actually have Force Group J working for us.}
"How?"
{As we said when we first met Officer Dolly. Your tiny mind could never comprehend.}
{Just obey us and everything will work out fine.}
Merry wiped the tears off of her face and then looked out the window.
"Where are the other ships?"
"There weren't any." Simone said. "It was just this one and a lot of holograms."
"What?" Merry was astonished at the bluff.
"It was decided to make them think that Dollopolis was a very populated, very powerful place."
"Why?"
{We'll let you have this question Dolly because you've been through hell.}
{The world is going to change drastically in the next few months.}
{More than you can imagine.}
{Our projections show that you will encounter Prudence again.}
{We decided to leave her with something tangible to think about.}
"Poor girl will most likely spend a lot of time searching for Dollopolis." Simone said. "All of them will. But as it didn't exist up too a few months ago they won't find anything."
"But it will give them something to do besides looking for me."
"Right. And if they think you have a city to serve maybe they'll think twice about dragging you through another plant."
"I hope so." Merry said. "Goddess I'm tired."
"Get some sleep dear." Simone said. "It's a long way home."
"Sleep." Merry repeated. "Not a bad idea I guess."
"You need it."
"I guess I do."
Merry leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.
Epilogue 1.
Dying wasn't like falling asleep. It was more like moving through a tunnel with a lot of traffic. But the trip was quick. One moment Sandy was watching everyone scramble for safety and the next moment she was in the tunnel and the next moment she was standing on solid ground.
Sandy looked around. She stood nude in the orchard. She was next to Ida's house. There was a peace in the air that she hadn't felt before.
"Welcome." Ida said.
Sandy turned around and her stomach dropped. Ida towered above her. The goddess was dressed in a tan dress and tunic. It was a simple garb but there were no tares in it. Sandy came up to Ida's knees.
"Oh…" Sandy said feeling despair fill her.
"Fear not Sandy our deal stands." Ida said smiling. She waved her arm and a small house appeared next to Ida's house and beside that small house was a small garden.
"Our deal was that you have a small house and a small garden." Ida said. "And now you have. And that you have a place to… how did you put it 'Dance the night away'." Ida reached down and picked Sandy up in her hand and pinned Sandy's arms to her side. "That I accept you and protect you and treasure you as my own. All this I will do. But you are mine now Sandy. By day you will tend your garden and live in your house." Playfully Ida spanked her. "And by night you will dance for me and other gods whom I have told about you."
"Hey!" Sandy protested.
"By night you will be mine Sandy." Ida said more firmly. "And not just to dance. And you have much to answer for." Ida spanked her again and then ran her finger along Sandy's pussy. "And you will answer for it all in many ways." Ida spanked her again and again until Sandy started to cry. "You have much to learn and much to forgive and be forgiven for."
She set Sandy down in front of her small house. Sandy turned and faced her. She was scared and her mind was racing, but every path her mind took was a dead end.
"What do you mean?" Sandy asked wiping away her tears.
"I am your goddess now Sandy. You do not ask questions of me. Go into your house and settle in Sandy." Ida ordered. "The sun sets in an hours time and you have a long night ahead of you."
Timidly Sandy nodded and then turned around and went into her new home.
Epilogue 2.
Merry sat at her kitchen table and scanned the paper. If Sandy had wanted to throw the world into chaos she had done it. Besides wiping out the covert combat troops that the E.I.A. weren't supposed to have anyway she had released all of the 'Black Files' to the press. Every covert operation that the E.I.A. had undertaken since it's creation. The files were more than shocking.
The E.I.A. had practiced social engineering on a global scaled and often their social experiments had gone horribly wrong. With unlimited funding and the scientific resources of Force Group J's alien finds and confiscated supervillain equipment the executive committee had played god. They hadn't done very well.
The Group won't make any mistakes, Merry thought forcefully.
The revelations had shattered Force Group J. The papers were sketchy on who was truly going but it was confirmed that Goddess of Justice and Teen Force had split off. They had liberated a place called 'Camp 04' and rescued superheroes that the E.I.A. had captured and tortured. Merry could only imagine what Lucy was going through. If the papers were right most of the heroes in Camp 04 had been captured because of information Lucy had told Sandy. Merry read the story of Stephen Rothschild. He was being tried in the Hague and Merry felt an ache in her heart as she thought of Prudence.
Force Group J was very near to having it's U.N. Charter revoked and the U.N. itself was cracking under the strain. Russia and China were close to war, France and Germany had actually declared war on each other and from what Merry could tell knives were being drawn all over the planet.
I wonder if in a few months there will still be a world for The Group to rule, Merry thought as she turned the page.
"Knock knock?" Simone called opening the door.
"Hi." Merry said.
"How's the arm and the rest of you?" Simone asked sweeping into the room. She was wearing a red dress with a black sash.
Merry held up her arm and flexed the muscle.
"Shows what a night in a regen tank will do." Merry said.
"And then right back to work the next day?" Simone said shaking her head. "That's too much dedication dear girl."
Merry shrugged. She was used to The Group watching during her missions, but Simone had watched too. That made Merry feel a bit embarrassed. Merry had woken up when the viper reached Pennytorch mansion and was immediately put to sleep. Merry wasn't sure if the regen tank was all that they had done to her. From the few snippets of conversation between Deborah and Delilah Merry suspected that the arm she had woken up with was a new one. She wasn't sure but Merry was sure that she wasn't going to ask.
"If I keep missing time on the job someone might get curious." Merry said. "How is Dollopolis?"
"Well I can't seem to stop Lizzie and Jessie from teasing Snowbelle, Monica is clearing land for a farm, I've got a mother cat and two kittens wandering about the town, and you can't believe how that looks, and we had to sedate Nora and return her to full size. Poor girl just won't stop shouting at us."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Deborah's working on that. In the meantime we've decided to leave Julia where she is for a while. She's too well watched for anyone to go in and get her."
"Uncle Micky?"
"Should be awake by next week. We'll deal with him then."
"I hope he'll be alright." Merry said. "I checked at the station, no one has noticed that Nora, Snowbelle, Julia and Micky are gone."
"With what's on the front pages I'm not surprised." Simone said. "I still say you shouldn't have gone in, not with just one night of rest. You could have at least come and seen my town."
Merry shrugged again.
"Well you're off for the next few days and you do have someplace to go." Simone said smiling.
"Dollopolis?"
"Maybe, but not tonight. Tonight you have to come with me."
"I do?"
{You do. Go along with Simone and follow her instructions.}
Merry shrugged again and stood up. Her time with Force Group J and her workload had made doing a load of laundry impossible so she was still wearing her uniform.
"Where too?" She asked.
"It's a surprise." Simone said holding up a blindfold.
Merry stumbled a bit and Simone steadied her.
"Careful dear." Simone said.
"Blindfolds make for lousy seeing." Merry said.
"I have my reasons." Simone said told her.
She guided Merry into a room and took the blindfold off of her.
"Wow." Merry said. She was in one of the bedroom of Simone's mansion. The place was filled with candles and a sweet smelling musk filled the air.
"Nice isn't it." Simone said handing Merry a crystal glass.
"Ida!" Merry said seeing a small statue set on a table near the window."
"Yes." Simone said. "You would be amazed Merry what money can do."
"Where…" Merry walked over to the statue slowly. The statue was two feet tall, carved from wood and while it was a little crude it was Ida. She was wearing a green dress and holding an apple.
"There is a museum in a small town in England." Simone said coming up behind her "A small town where I was introduce to the joys of archery and strip poker by Lord and Lady Stonewitch. I remembered the statue and made a few calls, dolled out some money… and here it is. For you."
"For me?"
"After helping to save the world you deserve a bit more than a night in a regen tank." Simone said. "The carving dates from the Viking time, so it may actually be her, or at least inspired by her. I think it will look nice next to your Wonder Woman poster."
"Thank you." Merry said softly.
"That's only part of tonight." Simone said handing her the glass.
"What is this?" Merry asked taking the glass.
"This my dear is a time when questions get answered." Simone said. She took Merry's hand and guided her toward the bed.
Suddenly Merry realized what was happening and stopped dead.
"I…"
"Merry." Simone smiled at her and then stood and faced her. "This is your night. Nothing will happen unless you want it to happen. There is no one here but us."
"No one?" Merry asked.
"No one." Simone said. "Not even them."
Merry actually felt her knees buckle slightly but held herself up. Simone undid Merry's uniform tie and tossed it aside. Then she started to unbutton Merry's shirt.
"I don't understand." Merry said.
"Yes you do." Simone said parting Merry's shirt and pulling it out of her pants. She slid it off of her Merry's shoulders. Merry was wearing a black lace bra underneath and Simone reached behind her and unhooked it. As she did so Simone let her lips brush Merry's.
Merry felt an electric shock go through her body at the contact. Simone pulled the bra off of her and Merry's breast fell free.
"Drink up." Simone said.
Merry drank automatically. What ever it was went down smoothly.
"What is this?" Merry asked as Simone pulled her over to the bed.
"Red wine."
"Red wine?"
"My dear you can not have a lesbian seduction without red wine and candles." Simone said smiling. She sat Merry down on the bed and pushed her onto her back. "It just isn't done."
"I'm not ready for this." Merry said starting to get up.
"Yes you are." Simone said pushing her back down. Merry lay on her back as Simone pulled off her shoes and socks. "You've got to know Merry, one way or the other. Especially after what you just went through. You've got to know before the next round of craziness hits."
"But…"
"You're not small." Simone said. "And I'm not small." She reached over and un-buckled Merry's belt and the unsnapped her pants. "You're not in some enchanted forest or dungeon. There's no whips, no chains, no bondage. No goddesses or demons. Just you and me. Two women."
Simone pulled Merry's pants off of her and then reached up and pulled Merry's blank panties down her legs. Merry lay nude on the bed and she backed up to the pillows. Simone stood up and undid her sash. She wore nothing underneath and Merry couldn't stop staring at her as it fell to the floor.
"Now." Simone said getting onto the bed. She reached up and took the glass out of Merry's hand. Carefully Simone set it on the nightstand and then turned back to Merry. "All you have to do is lay there. That's it." Simone leaned forward and kissed her again. It was a gentle kiss, their lips barely touched.
"Should you at some point decide to do anything; kiss me, shove me aside and run for the door screaming in terror… I won't stop you. This is all up to you."
Simone moved from Merry's lips to her neck and kept on going down. Merry's mind was paralyzed as her body sent her signals that she usually fought down or ignored.
"This is Sunday night after all." Simone said. "And Ida is a wise goddess don't you think?"
Simone had reached Merry's breast and she kissed it. She took the nipple into her mouth and rolled her tongue around the areola.
Merry started to giggle and then laugh.
"Well that wasn’t what I expected." Simone said sitting up.
Merry kept laughing.
"Your not doing much for my ego you know."
"I'm…. I'm… sorry…" Merry managed to get out between the laughter.
"Don't be." Simone said. "As I said this is your night." Simone bent down and kissed Merry's other breasts drawing more laughter from her. "You just keep laughing if that's what you feel like doing. I've never gotten a response like this before, but I can take it."
Simone laughed and Merry laughed and for a few minutes they kept laughing. Then Simone resumed her trip down Merry's body.
Merry wasn't sure what was happening to her. Physically she could feel the desire that Simone was causing. And emotionally she was amazed that Simone was doing it through the laughter. Merry's mind tried to shut down, to let her body rule her as it had done before. She had learned to let her body handle the sex while her mind hid. But Merry wouldn't let it. Not this time. Into her mind came the face of Ida and the warning she had given. Merry thought about the last few years of her life. She thought about the loneliness and the frustration before The Group had found her. She thought of Margarita and Esmerelda and Prudence. She thought of her small house with her dvd's and weights. And the small bed she kept on her dresser. The doll sized bed she sometimes stared at night. The doll sized bed she stared at when she couldn't sleep.
Merry stopped laughing. She looked down. Simone was still kissing her breast.
"Simone." Merry whispered.
Simone looked up and Merry sat up and took Simone's head in her hands and kissed her with all the emotion that had been dammed up for years.
It was at dawn of the next day when Simone slipped out of the bed. Merry lay on the bed asleep and for the first time since they had met there was a look of contentment on the woman's face.
Simone's muscles protested as she stood and she carefully reached for the wine and poured herself a glass.
"Ye gods girl but you don't know your own strength!" Simone said quietly. She drank the wine slowly. She tried to stretch but her muscles gave out. Merry's lovemaking had been basic but desperately forceful. "I better teach you to be gentle or next time you might break me in half." Simone sighed. "So strong but so weak."
That was the problem. Simone understood it fully now. Merry's emotional switch had two settings: on and off. She really didn't know how to handle things outside of those two ranges.
"If this was all it took you'd be all set." Simone said softly. "And make no mistake this was a good start. But…"
Simone let her mind drift. Last night Merry had come to realize her desires, accepting them fully would take time. It couldn't always be wine and candlelight, and it might not always be Simone, or even a woman.
Not that Simone didn't love her. She'd realized that when they were in Merry's bathtub. Merry was just about everything Simone had ever wanted in a woman, or a man for that matter. Strong, smart, beautiful… but she realized that Merry had a long way to go before she fully accepted her emotional and physical needs, and until that happened Merry just wasn't going to be ready for the kind of love Simone hoped they would have. The kind of love Simone had thought lost to her forever when she had been diagnosed with cancer. Simone had been desperately lonely for any kind of love during her illness. But all the men and women she had known had deserted her. She loved Merry and Simone knew that once Merry committed to her there would never be a desertion.
But there was a road for Merry to travel and Simone knew from experience how hard that particular road was. Simone had traveled it when she was 17 and had the strength of a young woman and a freewheeling lifestyle to help her through that time; Merry was 27 and had spent most of her life repressing her desires. Simone had mistaken infatuation and the joys of a physical relationship for true love and that had hurt. She was determined that Merry wouldn’t go through that pain.
"I'm going to get you through this love." Simone said. She stretched and tried to work out a kink her leg. "No matter how many of my limbs you try to pull off of me. You're too precious to let go. Even if I might have to someday. But just one of us alone isn't going to make it work."
Simone downed the rest of the wine and put the glass down. Then she eased her body down next to Merry and snuggled up against her. Still asleep Merry responded and put her arm around Simone. Her eyes fluttered open briefly.
"Let's stay in bed till Tuesday." Simone said softly.
Merry smiled. Her hand caressed Simone's breast and Merry closed her eyes. In two breaths she was asleep again.
Please goddess let her love me like I love her Simone pleaded silently. She realized suddenly that both of them, Merry and her, had been using 'goddess' instead of 'god' since Merry had met Ida. Ida hadn't read Simone's mind as she had the rest of The Group and Merry, but Simone used the feminine expression anyway.
Simone's eyes fell on the carving of Ida. As the last of the candles gutted and the muted dawn light filtered in through the curtains Simone thought she saw something. She blinked and it was gone. But Simone could have sworn the carving smiled at her. Simone drew Merry closer to her and stared at the carving of Ida until she too fell asleep.
End.
PREVIOUS CHAPTER SCARLET'S SANCTUM MAIN PAGE SKYTOWER'S MAIN PAGE NEXT CHAPTER