The Dangers of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 28. "Getting there is half the fun"

by Skytower

Daisy Obrien sipped the tart wine very slowly. Across from her Brent watched her drink. His strong jaw was set in a tight clench and his well-built body was tense under his robe.

"Brent I'm fine." Daisy said. "I only took a little fall."

"You rolled down a hill." Brent said.

Daisy put down her cup. Brent was her husband, she loved him, but there were times his need for absolute certainty tried her patience.

Then again its not like I can go to a hospital and be checked out, Daisy thought. And that's the only thing that would satisfy him. Or better yet two hospitals and three different doctors, just to be really safe.

Daisy hid her smile with another sip from the wine.

They were in the throne room of Simone's castle. The throne and table were still there but Merry had brought in a couch for Daisy to lie on while Simone was asleep upstairs. Daisy had been impressed by Merry's thoughtfulness. Simone had been injured as well and Daisy could tell how much that had torn at the First Knight of Dollopolis. But after seeing to Simone Merry had dragged an overstuffed Victorian lounge down the steps and invited Daisy to rest. Then she had gone out to deal with Ms. Dream. There had been a wild look in Merry's eyes. It was a paradox to Daisy how Merry could be so careful and gentle with her and Simone. Merry had tortured Lady Goth and the way she had knocked out Ms. Dream had left no doubts in Daisy's mind about how good a fighter Merry was. Merry always seemed tense, ready to explode almost perpetually angry.

"What's going on up there?" Abigail asked.

"I don’t wanna know." Brent said. "This isn't the United States, hell I'm not even sure it's Earth, the laws are different."

"Simone won't let Merry go too far." Daisy said and believed it. If there was any check on Merry's seemingly constant anger and paranoia it was her Duchess. Daisy stretched as best she could on the chair. The fabric covering it was rougher than it should have been, but the dark red and greens of the Victorian pattern was still there. It was soft at any rate. The drug that had eased most of Daisy's pain was fading. Her legs were aching and so was her back. Her breasts were sore. Daisy felt her stomach. Her child was normal sized, but she was doll sized. It was a dangerous combination. She looked at Abigail's round face. They were more sisters the cousins, but what Simone was going to do scared her. Even if it was the only way to save her child.

A while after Merry had been gone Jessie and Lizzie had shown up just in time to help Simone walk down the stairs. Simone had sent them back with orders for Merry not to do anything and then made sure everyone was safe. Then she had hurried out herself. That had left Daisy, Brent and Abigail with nothing to do but wait. And Daisy knew that Brent hated to wait.

"Did she really torture someone?" Abigail asked.

"We heard the screams." Brent said. "Simone said that Merry used to be some sort of big time soldier."

"Looks like she still is." Abigail said. "Did you see the way she took out that woman?" Abigail mimed some martial arts moves. "Like a Jackie Chan movie."

Daisy was about to speak up on Merry's behalf when Merry and Simone walked into the throne room. Simone looked calm; Merry looked angry.

"What happened?" Abigail asked.

"Ms. Dream did not come here directly from Earth Force." Simone said. She held up a scroll. "She was directed here by the Goddess Ida. Ida has requested that I give Ms. Dream a fair hearing and that she have free passage in and out of the city."

"Freaky!" Abigail said.

"A goddess?" Brent asked.

"There's more." Simone said. "But Merry and I must review this scroll and other details in private."

"Where's Ms. Dream?" Abigail asked.

"Lizzie and Jessie are patching her up." Merry said.

"What did you do to her?" Brent demanded.

"Not much." Merry said. "Not as much as I wanted too. Got to spank her a few times before I was ordered to stop." Merry took a step toward him. "Got a problem with that?"

"Merry." Simone said. Merry took a step back.

"Sorry." Merry said.

"Ms. Dream did something to offend Ida." Simone said. "And she was punished for it before she came through the portal. Jessie and Lizzie will bring her here once they have seen to her. I don't wish to impose Daisy but will all of you keep her company while Merry and I are busy?"

"Of course." Daisy said.

"Tell Lizzie and Jessie to bring in more food and drink. Oh and tell one of them to get extra cushion for her chair." Simone said. She walked over to the far wall and Merry followed her. "By royal command, open." Simone called out.

The wall opened, splitting in two to reveal a bridge that seemed to vanish into the clouds. Simone and Merry walked out of the room and the door closed.

"Well this is certainly interesting." Deborah said.

"It's not often you get postcards from gods." Delilah agreed.

"This will definitely force a change in plans." Tremont said.

"It's amazing that all of this stems from a chance meeting Merry had with Lucy." Molly said.

"I thought she'd keep her word!" Merry protested. She was standing on the table next to the scroll. Simone at full sized was sitting behind her. They were all in the lab and the samll nude Merry and the archaic scroll looked very out of place next to all of the high tech machinery.

"We're not blaming you Dolly." Deborah said.

"Actually it is rather thrilling." Delilah said. "Ida has kept our secrets, but she is pretty insistent that we help out Lucy, Prudence and Mary."

"Well I was going to the island anyway." Merry said.

"I don't see why you have to risk your life for them." Simone said.

"A simple rescue should not be dangerous." Tremont said.

"Not against ICE agents anyway." Molly said.

"But we can not let it appear that this is something that you two are happy about." Deborah said. "Not to the Obrien's or Ms. Dream or Lucy and Prudence."

"It would be utterly inconsistent with the characters you have presented so far." Delilah said.

"At least the Obrien's are doing most of the explaining for us." Tremont said glancing at a display screen. On it they could see the throne room. Ms. Dream was sitting next to Daisy on the lounge and everyone seemed to be talking at the same time.

"I was scared when she shot through that portal." Merry said. "I really thought that Earth Force would be right behind her. I can't fight them! I wouldn't stand a chance!"

"We might have to do something about that someday." Delilah said.

"But for now we must convince Ms. Dream and the rest that Dollopolis is off limits." Deborah said.

"That's not the problem." Merry said. "The problem is making them stay away. These are superheroes; they go pretty much where they want when they want. They do it with the best of intentions but they do it. We've got to make them think that the price of going to Dolloplis, hell even looking for Dollopolis, is too high. Lucy's half way there, I'm sure of it. Same with Ms. Dream."

"Being stripped of your powers would do that." Molly agreed.

"What do you have in mind Merry?" Simone asked.

"We just have to play our parts." Merry said. "We just have to play them harder then before."

"Are you up to that Officer Dolly?" Delilah asked.

Before Merry could reply an alarm sounded.

"You better get back down there." Tremont said. On the screen they could see that Ms. Dream was struggling with Lizzie and Jessie.

When Merry and Simone entered the throne room the fight between Lizzie and Jessie and Ms. Dream was over. Jessie and Lizzie were on the floor unconscious. Daisy was bending over Brent who was out cold and Abigail lay beside him. The remains of two chairs were on the floor. Ms. Dream was over at the door to the dungeon. She was pulling and twisting at the bars and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Merry left Simone to deal with the wounded. She ran toward Ms. Dream and was deciding on the best attack when the heroine spun around to face her.

"Where is the key?" Ms. Dream snarled. "I must free my love!"

She was the picture of insanity. Ms. Dream wore nothing but a sheer skirt and a bra. Her hair was in tangles. Her slim body shook making her larger than average breasts tremble. But her eyes, hazel and shining were the clue Merry needed.

"I have the key!" Merry said smiling. "Come and get it."

It worked as Merry knew it would. Ms. Dream in her right mind would never have fallen for the trick, but Ms. Dream mind controlled was different. And Merry had seen that look before in people that The Group was controlling. There was a slight hesitation of the eyes to focus; shouted anger but a face that was slow to show any emotion. She abandoned the cage door and charged at Merry with a full-throated scream.

Merry dodged the first attack and the next one and the next. For a few minutes she twisted and turned, keeping out of Ms. Dream's grasp. She didn’t expect the enslaved heroine to get tired, but as Ms. Dream attacked Merry noted the way she attacked. A few minutes into the attack Merry saw her opening. Ms. Dream had backed her up against the wall and had her hands locked around Merry's throat. Ignoring the pressure on her windpipe Merry brought her legs up and wrapped them around Ms. Dream's stomach. Ms. Dream grunted as Merry started to squeeze. When her legs were secure Merry let go of Ms. Dream's arms and struck out with two crooked fingers into Ms. Dream's eyes.

Ms. Dream grunted and her grip loosened. Merry did it again and this time Ms. Dream let go of Merry's throat and backed away. But Merry kept a hold on her and her weight toppled them to the floor.

They hit hard but Ms. Dream took the worst of it. Now that they were on the floor Merry started to squeeze her legs together more. Ms. Dream was on her stomach and Merry lay perpendicular too her. Merry's robe was open and Ms. Dream's skirt had been torn of in the battle. She bent and twisted her body to get at Merry but Merry held on.

"Merry!" Simone shouted running over to them.

"Hold her hands!" Merry shouted.

Simone grabbed Ms. Dream's hands and easily held them because of her larger size. When she was in Dollopolis Simone liked to keep a height of two feet tall, twice as tall as everyone else.

"She's being mind controlled!" Merry shouted. "Hold her down!"

Simone held Ms. Dream's arms down on the floor and Merry twisted her body up and started to spank the helpless heroine. She spanked harder and faster until Ms. Dream stopped struggling and started to sob. Suddenly the heroine let out massive scream and then lay still.

Merry nodded at Simone who let Ms. Dream's hands go. Then Merry released her grip and pulled her body out from under the heroine.

"Someone told her Lady Goth was in the dungeon?" Merry asked as she sat on Ms. Dreams back and pulled her wrist together.

"She just went crazy and said she had to release her love." Daisy said.

"They do have a history together." Merry said. She had used the rope from her robe to tie Ms. Dream's arms tightly behind her back, wrist to elbow. Ms. Dream was shaking her head and mumbling to herself. "I'm betting the last time Lady Goth had her enslaved she planted some fail-safes into her mind. A good amount of pain usually shocks a person out of it."

"She was incredible." Daisy said. "No one could stop her."

"How are they?" Merry asked as Simone went over to Lizzie.

"Out cold and at least a broken arm." Simone said. She cradled an unconscious Lizzie.

Ms. Dream moaned and stirred. With her palm raised Merry motioned Simone and Daisy back.

"What happened?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Plenty." Merry said and spanked her.

"OH! Hey!"

"Once you were told that Lady Goth was in my dungeon you went insane and attacked everyone." Simone said. Brent was awake and he climbed to his feet.

"Ah damnit!" Ms. Dream said. "That damn bitch! That dyke! I hate her! I hate all of them!"

"Merry can you handle this while I see to Lizzie and Jessie?" Simone asked.

"No problem." Merry said. "She ain't moving."

{Take them to the temple of healing.}

{We'll handle it from there.}

"I'll help." Brent said offering to take Lizzie.

"Thank you." Simone said handing Lizzie to him. "We'll take them to the temple."

Simone picked Jessie and they carried them out of the throne room toward the town.

"What did I do to them?" Ms. Dream asked.

"At a guess I'd say broken arm and concussion." Merry said. "I'm telling you right now if you did anything worse to them I'm putting you back into the stocks and you'll get old and gray before I'm through with you."

"It was mind control." Ms. Dream protested squirming under Merry.

"Figured as much." Merry said shifting her weight so that she was sitting on the back of Ms. Dream's knees. "It's useful against the weak minded."

"Merry!" Daisy snapped. "Can't you see how horrible she feels about this?"

"No but the back of her head looks pretty bad." Merry said.

"Get off of me!" Ms. Dream snarled as she squirmed under Merry. "I'm ok now!"
"Shut up and stay still." Merry snarled back spanking her.

Ms. Dream growled and continued to squirm. Merry grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked Ms. Dream's head back. Ms. Dream screamed in pain and Merry bent close to her.

"Listen heroine, you just attacked everyone in sight and nearly killed a girl, your nothing but trouble to this place and your staying there until the Duchess tells me to let you go of you. You wanna be thankful I don't put you in the dungeon with Lady Goth!"

Merry let Ms. Dream's head go with a shove and looked at Daisy.

"I don't care how she feels about what happened." Merry said slapping the back of Ms. Dream's head. "She attacked us and her kind always has an excuse!"

"It's a reason not an excuse!" Ms. Dream protested.

"Shut up!" Merry said spanking her.

Ms. Dream cried out and Merry spanked her again hard.

"You sadist!" Daisy shouted.

"What?" Merry looked up.

"You heard me!" Daisy said. "The only thing I've seen you do since we met is hurt people! You’re a sadist!"

"Hey I saved you!" Merry shouted. "I was the one who volunteered to hold your baby so you could get well and I'm a sadist?"

"I'd never let you carry my child or any child!" Daisy said. "You're not fit!"

Daisy never thought herself capable of harming Merry but as soon as the words left her mouth Daisy knew she had been wrong. Merry's mouth hung open in shock at her words and for a moment her entire body seemed to fail her. Her eyes went wide with pain.

"Lady you don't know what a sadist is." Merry said. The vulnerability had only lasted a few seconds and now the fierce knight was back and mad.

"I'm…" Daisy started to speak but Merry interrupted her.

"I'm taking Ms. Dream up to the Duchess's room." Merry said standing up. With a rough jerk she pulled Ms. Dream to her feet. "I'll keep her there until the Duchess gets back."

"Hey…" Ms. Dream started to speak but Merry drove her knee into the heroine's stomach.

"Shut up and walk!" Merry snarled spanking her again.

Daisy quickly moved out of the way as Merry shoved and spanked Ms. Dream across the room and up the stairs. When they were gone Daisy fell back onto the couch. Her body was trembling but with fear or anger she couldn't tell.

She's human, Daisy thought as her body calmed down. She's human and I hurt her.

Daisy tried to tell herself she was wrong but she knew she wasn't. She had seen pain close to agony in Merry's eyes. Did she loose a child? For the first time Daisy thought about the life Simone and Merry must have led on their world. A life lived in constant danger. They had lost that world, what other heartache lay in that past?

"What happened?" Abigail asked waking up a few minutes later. She slowly sat up.

"When you told Ms. Dream that Lady Goth was in the dungeon you triggered some sort of mind control." Daisy said. "She went crazy and tried to get into the dungeon."

"Oh boy." Abigail said. She climbed onto the couch beside Daisy.

"She broke Lizzie's arm, Jessie might have a concussion. Brent is helping Simone get them to the temple of healing."

"Where is she?"

"Upstairs with Merry." Daisy said. "By now tied and gagged."

"Are you ok?"

"I’m alright." Daisy said. "I think I hurt Merry's feelings though."

"My First Knight is a hard person to hurt." Simone said walking into the throne room. "But she can be. What happened?"

"Ms. Dream's snapped out of it." Daisy said. She struggled to her feet and faced Simone. "But Merry wouldn't let her go. I thought she was being too rough and said so."

Simone folded her arms across her chest and her face seemed to draw into a mask.

"What exactly did you say to her?"

"I… I told her she was a sadist." Daisy said. She sat down. "I told her that she wasn't fit to carry my baby or any baby."

Simone seemed to absorb the information impassively.

"I see." She said.

"She didn't mean it!" Abigail said.

"I was scared and Ms. Dream…"

"Is a heroine of your world." Simone said when Daisy trailed off. "And Merry is just… a savage?"

"I didn't say that." Daisy said.

"No. That she would have laughed off." Simone said.

"Look I…"

"Enough." Simone said holding up her hands. "Merry will be fine. She has endured far worse in her life. Brent is on his way back. I will talk with Ms. Dream in my room. I would prefer it if you stayed here."

Simone left a cold chill behind her as she turned and walked toward the stairs.

Ms. Dream knew anger and she knew pain and she knew when the two combined. Merry shoved her into the bedroom and onto the round bed.

"Shut up!" Merry snapped as Ms. Dream rolled over onto her back. Merry paced back and forth angrily for a few minutes, her robe becoming a cape around her nude body. It flared as if the heat from her body was causing a wind. Her fists clenched and unclenched. "Stay on the bed or I'll put you in chains!"

Merry stalked over to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Ms. Dream felt the cloth rope that held her arms. It was tight and well tied. She could get free but it would take a while. She took a deep breath and lay still, forcing her mind back over the last half-hour. Up until Abigail had told her about Lady Goth Ms. Dream had been learning a lot about Dollopolis. What she had learned filled in a lot of blanks and had made some sense. But as soon as Abigail mentioned the villainess Mary had felt a cloud drop over her mind.

Lady Goth. The last time they had seen each other was after Lucy had freed Mary from Lady Goth's hypnotic control. It had taken Lucy and Moon Girl to keep Mary from killing her former captor. For over a year Ms. Dream had been gone, her personality warped by Lady Goth into Ms. Nightmare. It had been the third time Lady Goth's sick obsession had re-wired Mary's mind and it had been the worst. As Ms. Nightmare Mary had stolen, beaten and nearly killed. She had loved Lady Goth the way a dog loved a master. Mary shuddered as she remembered the sexual games Lady Goth had forced her to play. Not only with Lady Goth herself but also with other supervillains. Lady Goth had loaned her pet out in exchange for favors or money or simply the prestige of having a member of Force Group J as a sex slave. The villains Dark Miss, Poison Fog… and others, even the heads of organized crime families, men and women and others had used Mary's body and Mary's altered personality had reveled in it.

When it was over Miss Shadow and the Young Ancient had poured over Mary's mind, finding and eliminating the post hypnotic suggestions. But not all of them.

And this was a great time to find out, Ms. Dream thought. If I had any friends in this place it was Lizzie and Jessie. Damn I hate this life! I hate it! I hate it!

Merry came out of the bathroom. She'd been crying but her face was back to its mask of control. For a few minutes she paced. Then she stopped pacing and sat on the bed.

"Ok, you can say it now." Merry said.

"She was being hard on you." Ms. Dream said.

"No she wasn't." Merry said. "I'm a fighter, I'm a torturer and I'm a damn good one. Back on my world the only people who weren't scared of me were the ones who didn't know me. You should see the trophies I have in my room. Skulls mostly. Ask Lucy sometime how I killed Sebastion. She's right, a person like me doesn't deserve a baby."

"Is that what you think?"

For a moment Ms. Dream thought that Merry was going to tell her to shut up again. But the woman pulled herself together.

"I think you're trying to work into my good side so I'll forgive you and you'll get your powers back." Merry said. "That was spelled out in the scroll." She rested her hand on Ms. Dream's thigh. "How far you gonna go?"

"That's not it." Ms. Dream said. Ms. Dream didn't know how stable Merry was. People who lost their words were often very unstable. But even without her powers the telepath could tell that more than that was eating away at her. But it was also obvious that Merry was trying to provoke her. "I've known fighters who've made great mothers."

"Like Lucy?" Merry asked.

"Yea like her."

"You really want your powers back don't ya?" Merry said. Her hand moved higher and shifted between Ms. Dream's legs. "Say anything, do anything…"

"Do you believe that?" Ms. Dream asked.

Merry looked at her and in that gaze Ms. Dream saw torment and frustration.

"How much did they tell you about our old world?" Merry demanded pulling her hand back.

"What they knew. What you told them. You were a lot freer with them than you were with us."

"You wanted to rip it out of my mind." Merry said. "Simone knew that they had to trust her or they'd never agree, and they'd die. Besides they may know the history, the circumstances but they don't know where we are now. We both know that once the Obrien's leave Dollopolis either you or some other telepath is going to tear into their minds anyway."

"I wouldn't." Ms. Dream said.

"With all the curiosity you've shown?" Simone said. She had entered the room so quietly Ms. Dream hadn't noticed. "With the paranoia Captain Pharaoh has demonstrated? Do you really expect us to believe that the Obriens' won't be assaulted?"

"Earth Force wouldn't." Ms. Dream said.

"But Force Group J would." Merry said standing up. "And will. I just hope their gentle about it."

"Merry." Simone walked over to her and enveloped the other woman in a hug. "Are you all right?"

"She's snapped out of it." Merry said. She returned the hug only for a moment before backing away. "I don't think it'll happen again."

There was a brief look of understanding between them and Ms. Dream guessed that Simone had somehow learned what Daisy had said.

"Untie her then."

"I feel safer with her tied up."

"I'm sure, but that makes polite conversation difficult."

"She can still talk."

"Merry."

"Yes milady." Merry said responding to the commanding tone. She rolled Ms. Dream onto her back and untied her.

"How are Lizzie and Jessie?" Ms. Dream asked rubbing her wrists and arms.

"Jessie has a fractured jaw and a concussion, Lizzie has a broken arm and a few badly bruised ribs." Simone said.

Ms. Dream felt her heart sink. If she had attacked with her powers the girls would have been mindless zombies. As it was… would they understand that she was being controlled? Or would they hate her? Or at least blame her? Because of her actions as Ms. Nightmare Ms. Dream was still a pariah too much of the superhero community.

I hate this life, she thought. I hate it! I hate it!

"And to think Daisy objected to me torturing Lady Goth." Merry said. "I shouldn't have stopped." Merry looked at Ms. Dream. "You want to have a go at her? Doesn’t take that long to heat up the irons."

"I don't torture." Ms. Dream said.

"Your loss." Merry said.

Simone pulled the chair away from the vanity table and sat near the bed. Merry kept standing and Ms. Dream sat at the edge.

"I do not hold you responsible for what happened." Simone said. "Mind control is just that. Lady Goth will pay for this as she has paid for her other crimes. I also do not hold you responsible for the tracing of the call."

Reaching into the pocket of her gown Simone pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Ms. Dream.

"Before I grabbed Abigail I scanned the mansion" Merry said, "these things are everywhere."

Ms. Dream opened the folder. Inside was a fuzzy picture of a mechanical bug that looked a little like a termite.

"This doesn't make sense." Ms. Dream said. "We scan for bugs. All the time."

"Not on the scale that we do." Simone said. "That creature is no more than 3 of your millimeters long. One of them together is not a listening device, but when three or more…"

"Bug Master!" Ms. Dream snapped. "Son-of-a-bitch! Bug Master!"

"One of the supervillains that Ms. Dream battled a few years ago." Merry said when Simone looked at her.

"I sent him to an E.I.A. prison." Ms. Dream said. "I guess they gave him a job."

"Your base is crawling with them." Simone said. "So I am prepared to accept incompetence instead of malice for the reason we had so much trouble."

Ms. Dream bristled but she bit back the response she wanted to make.

"The scroll told us much of what you want." Simone said. "But I would hear this all from you before I decide anything. Say on."

Ms. Dream struggled to get her mind together. There was a lot of ground to cover and for a moment she had no idea where to start.

"You're the key." Ms. Dream said pointing at Merry. "You have been for nearly a year now."

"I am?" Merry asked. "To what?"

"Lucy. Ever since Count Intelect's castle Lucy wasn't herself. There was something eating at her. It was you. Lucy hates a mystery, she has to have things laid out for her."

"You don't always get what you want." Simone said. "Surely any mature person knows that."

"Lucy's stubborn." Ms. Dream said. "When the thing with the Nephilim hit I think she was relieved to have an excuse to get you back."

"Yea that worked out didn't it." Merry snapped. "We got real close before I got thrown into the fire."

"When Lucy used your hairs to get you onto the Pyramid she broke her word." Ms. Dream said ignoring Merry's anger. "When she told me to read your mind she broke it again. When she did that she got Athena mad at her."

"So just sacrifice a captive." Merry said. "That's the way it's done with your gods isn't it? I'll give you Lady Goth. Hell I'll help you."

"No it isn't." Ms. Dream said. "Athena closed up the temple, if Lucy even went near it a lightning bolt stopped her. And once she had the twins Athena pulled her power out completely. Lucy can't be Goddess of Justice anymore. Everything that Athena gave her, the long life, the power, it's gone."

"Never a good idea to cross a goddess." Merry said with mock sadness.

"Lucy's saved the world ten times over!" Ms. Dream snapped.

"Your world Ms. Dream." Simone said. "To Merry and myself she has been nothing but a cause of worry and pain. It is very frightening to be walking along a path talking to your consort one moment and then have a plant eat her the next. Do you wish to know what my life was like as I searched for her? Or how close she came to death when I rescued her from you?"

"Yea ok, I get it, we were wrong, we're sorry!" Ms. Dream shouted. "But we couldn't say that until we found you!"

"So that's what you were doing at the auction." Simone said.

"Yea." Ms. Dream said calming herself down. "Look even without her powers Lucy has been driving herself. Yea I know you say it was hard for you, but think of her for a minute. Her husband betrayed her, her best friend turned out to be her worst enemy, her daughters mad at her, her goddess's thrown her out of the temple. You know what she does? She gets up the next morning and starts to work. She nearly goes broke building her home into a base for Earth Force, she goes through hoops for politicians to get approval and backing for the group, and she does this while she's pregnant and even after the twins are born and she's too weak to get out of bed she keeps it going!"

Ms. Dream paused to take a breath. Almost a year of heartache was pouring out of her and she could barely stop herself from crying.

"When she had the kids and Athena pulled out of her… even then Lucy didn't quit. She prayed every day for forgiveness and every day Athena cursed her. She'd spend an hour in really heavy pain or throwing up or worse. It tore Lucy apart emotionally and it really did a number on her body. Finally she couldn't even get out of bed at all. And all this time Prudence has been trying to help and… well she was trying anyway. But her life had been ripped apart too. She and Lucy had some real shouting matches over Mystery Woman and Sandy and her father."

"Finally Lucy gets out of bed one day. We were all busy so only Emserelda was at the mansion and she was looking after the twins. It's raining, a real storm. Thunder and lighting, the kind of storm only Maine gets. Lucy crawls out of bed, out the door and down to the temple that she has on the grounds. She crawls there in the rain, naked in the mud and finally she gets an answer from Athena. To get her powers back Lucy has to find and get forgiveness from the one she wronged. Mystery Woman."

"Ah-ha!" Simone said. "The same condition that Ida placed on you."

"Yea but with me it's different." Ms. Dream said. "I think she did it to me just so I could get in and out of here. With Lucy… I think if Lucy dies before she can find you her soul doesn't get to paradise. I think Athena will throw it into hell."

"And she isn't doing so hot." Ms. Dream struggled to read their faces. From Simone she saw sympathy but from Merry… it was like looking at stone. But there was something in the eyes, a little give in them that made Ms. Dream charge on.

"Lucy nearly gave herself pneumonia crawling around naked in the rain like that. But Prudence swore she'd find you and bring you to her mother."

"So you go to the auction, but things do not work out." Simone said. "Prudence is captured by ICE, we are captured by the two professors and Merry never gives you a chance to talk."

"I'm not saying I'm sorry." Merry said. "You're a telepath, you're dangerous to be around."

"Much becomes clear now." Simone said before Ms. Dream could say anything else. "You did suspect that we had Prudence, or knew where she was. But when we cut the first phone call short you had no chance to ask."

"Lucy didn't think you'd call back." Ms. Dream said. "I've never seen her that low before. We got her to bed and then we started tearing the place apart looking for bugs. While we did that she got to Athena again. I don't know what she asked but she got an answer. She left a few days breast milk with Esmerelda and then took one of our flyers and left."

"She went to find Prudence." Merry said.

"She's out there without powers." Ms. Dream said with a desperate edge to her voice. "And she's in the body of a fifty year old woman. She's dead unless she gets help. There's a legion of her enemies out there and if they find her first she's more than dead. I need your help!"

"Our help?" Simone asked.

"Just get me to her ok? Please? Ida sent me to you, you must have an idea of where she is! Just get me too her and let Lucy say she's sorry. You'll never see us again after that!"

"You are overlooking a part of the problem." Simone said. "For Lucy to once more regain Athena's favor Merry will have to forgive her."

"So?" Ms. Dream snapped. Then she looked at the cold hard mask that was Merry's face.

"You bitch you'd hold out on her?"

"What you want me to lie?"

"Yea!" Ms. Dream said. "Look this is her life on the line! Get over it!"

"Get over it?" Merry shouted. "After what she did to me?"

"Yea after what she did to you!" Ms. Dream shouted back. "You're safe aren't you? You’re here, where ever here is! What do you want blood or something? Look she's got two babies that'll be orphans if you don't forgive her! You want them to grow up without a mother? You going to take away their mother?"

The blood drained from Merry's face and Ms. Dream realized she'd gone too far. Merry stepped away from the bed and turned her back to it.

"You are perhaps the most un-diplomatic woman who has ever come to my land." Simone said crossly.

"Yea, I'm a bitch I know. Lucy's the diplomat. But please give me something here, I've…"

"We should help." Merry said turning back.

"Really?" Simone asked.

"Huh?" Ms. Dream gasped out her surprise.

"We know where the island is, I was going to have to go there anyway. Prudence is on the island. Lucy'll be there too. No mother wouldn't be there." Merry sighed. "Because of what we went through Prudence is a sister to me. By our laws and by Ida's power. I couldn't leave her with Little Darkness. And since I was going to the island anyway it's better to take Ms. Dream with me than leave her here."

"No. Every time you involve yourself with these people you endanger your life." Simone said standing up. "You've risked enough for them."

"You were the one who said that even though we lived by the thread of desperation that thread must support our laws and honor." Merry said. "And our law states that…"

"And if you die?" Simone said interrupting her. "What will I have then? What will protect Dollopolis? Or what happens if you rescue them and they decide to keep you? What do I do then?"

"We wouldn't keep her!" Ms. Dream protested.

"Your word is worthless." Simone said with a wave of her hand.

"Not this time." Merry said. "I have to forgive her before she can get her powers back. I have the edge. It's a good enough edge to keep me safe from them."

"I would have allowed you to go alone, to get what we need, perhaps even to help… But not to rescue. Prudence has Earth Force to save her."

"No she doesn't." Ms. Dream said. "Earth Force got into it with Force Group J the other night. No one but me, the Young Ancient and Esmerelda are in shape to fight. Esmerelda needs to look after the twins and the Young Ancient needs to look after the base. Look if you can get me there I can rescue them alone, I've taken on ICE before."

"According to Merry you usually get caught." Simone said.

"I've been studying this world's heroes for years." Merry said when Ms. Dream looked a question at her. She turned to Simone. "Simone they may be villains to us but ask Daisy what they are to this world. They are heroes here, and we are here."

"You are a hero too." Simone said.

"I'm the First Knight of Dollopolis." Merry said. "If there are risks to take I have to take them."

"No you don’t and you know it." Simone snapped. "You have a weakness Merry and she's found it and used it."

"Yes she has." Merry said. "But tell me you didn't see this coming the moment you read the scroll? Like them or not, trust them or not Ida wants us to help them. Can we really turn down a goddess? A friendly one? In our current situation?"

"And the Obrien's?" Simone asked.

"You don't need me for them." Merry said. "I can take her in Thunderbird 2. I can get what we need from the island, make sure they're ok and come back."

For a full minute Simone paced up and down. Then she stopped and faced Merry again.

Very well. Merry take Ms. Dream and go to the island. You may help her rescue Prudence and Lucy, but only after you have gathered what we need and you are not to put your own life in danger. As to your forgiving or not… Forgiving is your own choice. And after it is over you are not to bring anyone back to Dollopolis. This is the last time I want you involved with these people."

"That is all you will get from us at the moment." Simone said to Ms. Dream.

"Fine." Ms. Dream said. She could work on Merry's forgiveness for Lucy on the way. "What do you need on that island anyway?"

"The island is where the plants are that Lady Goth used in her shrinking potion." Simone said. "If your people know how to shrink yourselves it will make it that much more dangerous for us as we search for our people. Merry shall collect samples for study and then we will make sure that the island will not be used again."

"How?"

"You'll find out." Merry said.

"You need to suit up and I will prepare Thunderbird 2." Simone said. "Ms. Dream you can wait here. We will be at least two of your hours. Take a bath if you wish, the blue bottle beside the tub contains healing crystals that will help your foot."

"And your ass." Merry said.

"Thank you." Ms. Dream said.

They left and she collapsed backward onto the bed.

"Hell that was easy." Mary said to herself holding her face in her hands. She took a deep breath and got up. She hobbled over to the bathroom and looked in. "Next time maybe I should rip out all my hair first to make it hard."

Mary sighed. Sarcasm was wasted on an empty room. The bathroom seemed to be made for people of both sizes. There were two sinks and two toilets, one set large and one set (to Mary anyway), normal size. The tub was set against the wall, a half round clamshell set on a raised pedestal. Water flowed in from the base of the shell and overflowed to a drain at the base of the pedestal. Next to the tub was a shelf of small bottles. A small stairway with both large and small stairs led up to the tub.

"I love to live like royalty." Mary said. She eased her bra off. Her arms were sore from being tied up and her stomach ached. The water was warm as she slid into it and after a few minutes Mary took the blue bottle off of the shelf and poured some of the crystals into the water. A soothing light blue cloud expanded from the crystals and filled the tub.

"Ok this is better." Mary said. She took a deep cleansing breath and then gave herself to the bath. It was only after she was drifting off to sleep that Mary realized that the blue water was drugged.

Simone opened the door and looked in. Ms. Dream lay in the water up to her neck, her eyes were closed and she was breathing regularly.

"She's out." Simone said.

"How'd you know that she'd take the bath?" Merry asked.

"After all she was through today?" Simone smiled. "After the mind control, the fights, the spanking… Of course she'd take a bath."

{And we can direct drugs through the water system to any bath, tub or sink we desire.}

"What? I don't get the connection between spanking and baths."

"Well how do you relax?"

Merry shrugged.

"I watch monster movies."

"Merry remember what you said about spanking earlier?" Simone asking stifling a laugh.

"Yea, you said there was some fun to it. I don't get it and I bet she doesn't either after Ida worked her over."

"When you understand the fun part of spanking you'll understand the part that a good bath plays afterwards." Simone said.

"Right, this is something for later." Merry said. She stepped forward and pulled Ms. Dream out of the bath. Shifting the weight Merry threw the unconscious nude heroine over her shoulder. "Walking through the throne room like this should do wonders for my image."

"Merry." Simone stopped her as Merry started to move. "That woman hurt you I know. And Ms. Dream struck a nerve too. Don't tell me you just played a part."

"It's something from a long time ago." Merry said looking away from her. "I don't want to talk about it now."

"When you're ready then." Simone said stepping aside.

{This has all worked out very well and we are very proud of you two.}

{You have Ms. Dream completely fooled.}

"She's had a rough day." Merry said. "When it comes down to it though… I'm not sure about her or Lucy."

"Forgiving them?" Simone asked.

"Pretty selfish huh?" Merry said. She walked into the bedroom and eased Ms. Dream onto the bed. "I'd deny the world two great heroes because I'm in a funk about them breaking their word. Simone this is hard. I'm amazed she bought it, there was so much going on in my head…"

{You handled our instructions well as always.}

{And improvised brilliantly.}

{Do not worry about your feelings Officer Dolly.}

{You may be angry now and will be angry later but your innate nobility will rise to the surface.}

Simone sat next to Merry and put her arm around the other woman's shoulders.

"They're right you know. You can play this part all you like dear, at the end of the day you won't be this fierce, grouchy dark Xena clone, you'll be Merry McCormick and Merry McCormick will always do the right thing."

Merry leaned into her and for a moment they hugged. Then Merry broke away.

"Better get her out of here then."

"You want her clothes?" Simone asked.

"Nope. Looks better this way." Merry said.

Daisy couldn't help but gasp as Merry, Simone and Ms. Dream walked down the stairs. Ms. Dream was nude and wet, out cold and slung over Merry's shoulder. Merry hadn't bothered to put the rope back in her robe and her nude body flared in and out of sight as it fluttered around her. Only Simone was fully dressed.

"Jeasus!" Abigail said.

"What happened?" Brent asked.

"She took a bath." Merry said coldly.

"Where are you taking her?" Daisy asked.

"Out of Dollopolis." Merry said. "Permanently."

"What?!" Daisy shouted the word.

"Be calm Daisy." Simone said. "Ms. Dream pleaded her case and Merry agreed to help her, and I reluctantly agreed to let her. But the location of this duchy can not be entrusted to someone like her. She'll sleep on the journey."

"Oh." Daisy said. She couldn't look at the cold mask that was Merry's face.

"Permanent means a lot of things." Merry said as she walked past them.

"You go ahead Merry, I need to talk with the Obrien's." Simone said. "By royal command, open." She called.

The wall spread out to a door once more and closed as Merry walked through it.

"She's really just asleep right?" Abigail asked.

"Yes." Simone said. "Though it does not seem like it to you my First Knight is just as noble as your heroes."

"She didn't mean it like that." Daisy said.

"It doesn't matter." Simone said. "Merry and I know what she is. That is what is important." She walked over and sat on the throne. "What is important now is that the ritual to save your child must go on. We don't have much time. But since I am alone in this now there will have to be some minor changes in procedure."

"What sort of changes?" Abigail asked.

"As you would put it; 'Freaky' changes." Simone said.

Ms. Dream woke up all at once. She was lying on her back, nude but not bound. She was lying down on a cot in a small cabin. The vibration of the room told her that she was moving. Growling Ms. Dream got up and opened the door. There was a short corridor that opened up into a small galley on the left and a toilet and sink on the right. Ms. Dream stalked past them and opened the door to the cockpit.

"Good morning." Merry said from the pilot's seat. The cockpit was large, with curved windows framing four chairs, two in front for a pilot and co-pilot and one on either side that faced computer consoles. The windows wrapped around the cockpit given Ms. Dream a great view of the ocean.

"You drugged me?" Ms. Dream said slipping into the co-pilots seat. "Who the hell keeps drugs in their own bathroom?"

"The blue crystals are relaxants." Merry said. "One or two of them would have done it. You poured a bunch in and that knocked you out."

"So you couldn't label the damn bottle?"

"Safest way to get you out of Dollopolis." Merry said. "I would have had to knock you out anyway."

Ms. Dream didn't know if she was smiling or not. Merry was wearing a form fitting gray suit and a helmet that was a multi-faceted red gem.

"Ok, where the hell are we?" Ms. Dream demanded. "And what about clothes?"

"Here." Merry said hitting a control. A screen beneath the window lit up and showed a map of the ocean. "South Pacfic, fifteen minutes from the island." Another screen lit up showing a satellite view of the island. "You'll get something to wear when we reach the island, until then I can live with the sight of your tatoos."

"You got some good tech." Ms. Dream said as she studied the screens. She fought down her anger. "How come we're flying in a toy?"

"You don't like the Thunderbirds?"

"It's a program about silly puppets." Ms. Dream said. "Why are we flying in a toy replica?"

"That's my fault." Merry said. "When we discovered your world it was through the tv shows. I was in charge of the team that discovered the dimensional divide. I got hooked on the shows. So when it was proposed that we start exploring your world for women I suggested that toys would be the least likely to be spotted as alien."

"How long have you been at it?"

"Long enough." Merry said.

Ms. Dream sighed and studied the screen. It had been hard to read Merry without the mask, with it she might as well have been talking to a robot. It was also uncomfortable to be sitting next to the woman while she was nude.

"Why am I naked?" She demanded.

"Truthfully?"

"No, lie to me."

"I didn't see any point in putting a bra back on you, it wasn't like it was hiding anything."

"And my cloak?"

"It's in the cargo bay." Merry said. "Along with a pair of jeans, boots, a shirt, a bra and panties. You weren't my full size on the rest of it but we got the same size bust. There's also a hat, a can of OFF, a flashlight, a first-aid kit and some rope."

"Oh." Ms. Dream said surprised at all of the supplies.

"My turn." Merry said. "Why don't you have the tatoos removed? It's not like you love Lady Goth."

"I hate her!" Ms. Dream said putting her hand up to the tatoo on her chest. Just between her breasts were the words 'Lady Goth' written in black letters inside of a red heart. "I hate those dykes!"

Merry hit a control and the ship shuddered to a halt. In the same motion she swung her chair around to face Ms. Dream. Ms. Dream saw her own face reflected many times in the multi-faceted helmet.

"You want to stop using that word before I hit the eject button." Merry said coldly.

For another moment Ms. Dream saw her own anger reflected back at her. Then she saw it fade.

"I'm sorry." She said sighing. "Look I don't hate lesbians, but… Well it's like I'm trying not to be one."

"What?"

"In the past few years my minds been re-wired to be one. More than once."

Ms. Dream looked away from the reflections of her face and the hurt she saw there.

"When you're a heroine the villains do more than beat you up." She placed her hands on her breasts and squeezed. "I used to be a B cup you know. My body's been twisted like Gumby, and my mind… hell even worse. Three times in the past 10 years Lady Goth has taken me and made me hers. First her lover, then her daughter, then her slave. That was her. Then there was The Scourge, he turned me into his sex slave and made me like pain. Then there was Domino, she switched my mind with her body and when we switched back we got mixed up… God I think she was into doing it with demons… That's not counting the guys who've just raped me so bad I couldn't stand, or the women who've gone at me with vibrators till I couldn't stand… Seems like everyone with a costume and a bad attitude thinks my pussy is target number one! I'm so screwed up sexually I can't think of it anymore! I can't think of any kind of sex anymore! I can't even remember if… Hell! I can't remember if I'm gay, straight or both or neither!"

Ms. Dream wiped her eyes as the tears started to fall.

"I'm sorry." Merry said.

"I remember guys, I remember really loving a guy in high school and we did it, but… after that it's all a blur. But I'm not even sure he was real. I know my college room mate and I did it, but I think I was drunk. Then she sold me to get drugs so there's no love there. The sex thing… I'm just screwed up ok. I go all freaked out if a guy or a gal touches me."

"I know a little of how you feel." Merry said. "The process that they used to shrink everyone on my world, I was the first one they used it on. I was the test of the Four Great Powers. One of the side effects was something they called 'Experience Resonance'. When I'm small I'm an empathic receiver. The strongest emotion from the strongest person present is what I feel. I thought it messed up my orientation too. Before… Well I just didn't think of it. Now I think it just… helped me."

"What you were always gay and it helped you realize it?" Ms. Dream asked. "That's bull. Your born that way or not."

"I thought so once." Merry said. "But I think you can be born this way and have it smothered. Or you can hide it or smother it yourself. For the longest time I didn't know what to think. Ask Lucy about our time in Count Intellect's dungeon. I saw her tortured and I enjoyed it. But I didn't know why so I wondered at that point what kind of person I was. What Simone helped me, what she made me realize is that the sex of the one you love isn't the important thing. It's that you can love at all."

"What are you saying that I just need to find the right girl?"

"Or guy. I did." Merry said. "And I've been raped, I've been more than raped. I've been worked over by beings just as evil as the ones you've faced."

"It's not the same." Ms. Dream said. "My minds been shredded a couple of times. There's no way to straighten it out. Even if I find someone I'll never be sure if it's really me or not."

"Were you ever curious before your mind was re-wired?" Merry asked.

"I don't know."

"I wasn't sure and I buried it." Merry said. "I've slept with men and loved it. But none of them come near to what I feel for Simone."

"Good for you." Ms. Dream said. "But I'm not you and I'm not… Look can drop this?"

"I understand." Merry said swinging back to the console. She hit a switch and the ship started to move again. "And the tattoos?"

"Genetic." Ms. Dream said. "Mr. Ink used them as a way to mind control me when he got his hands on me. Then Ms. Goth and he teamed up, that's when I thought she was my mother. They messed up my blood so much that I need the tattoos. Mr. Ink did something to my organs, altered them. The tatoos are actually antidote factories, I can't get them off without dying."

"Could they be part of your gay problem?"

"I don't have a gay problem."

"Sex problem then."

"The medical bay in the pyramid says no." Ms. Dream said.

"Ok. So your either straight and your mind is messed up or your gay and your in denial."

"That's the point I don't know!" Ms. Dream shouted. "Look at what happened to me today! I look at a woman and I don't know if it's me or if it's something Lady Goth stuck in my head!"

"Then after this is all over you better find out." Merry said. "Trust me, I've been through it. If you don't know then your life is going to be nothing but hell."

"How'd you get through it?"

"Simone." Merry said. "There's never going to be anyone else in my life who's as wise as she is. She was patient, she was gentle and she was always there."

As an expression of love it was the purest that Ms. Dream had ever heard. But it didn't do a thing to solve her own problems.

"But even with all that it took Ida to help me realize how lonely I was. Ida and Prudence."

"See that’s the problem." Ms. Dream said. "You got love, I don't know if I'll ever have that and in the meantime my sex drive shifts from man to woman to neutral. It's all over supervillain land out there, you get Ms. Dream down you get between her legs and she's yours! Once the sex starts my mind just crumbles!"

"When was the last time you were sure?" Merry asked.

"I can't remember" Ms. Dream said.

"I'm sorry. But you have to figure this out. Trust me, I know."

"What if I figure it out and I don't like the answer?" Ms. Dream demanded.

Merry shrugged.

Ms. Dream wished she had her powers or at least could see Merry's face. This was a new side of the woman, a human side and Ms. Dream desperately needed it to stick around. There was no one she could talk to like this, not Lucy and certainly not Prudence. Merry seemed to be the first one who at least partially understood.

"The Young Ancient and Miss Shadow and Timidious all went through my mind after the last bit with Lady Goth." Ms. Dream said. "They said I was clean."

"They were wrong or they were lying." Merry said. "You were still in Force Group J then."

"If I survive I'll have them go at me again." Ms. Dream said.

"They can be wrong again. You need to see someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know." Merry said. "Isn't there anyone you can think of?"

"There was once." Ms. Dream said. "Terry and Tommy, twin telepaths. Great ones. But they were part of the group that the E.I.A. kept in their secret prison. We got them out but… they hate us. They blame me an Lucy for getting them caught."

"Can't say as I blame them." Merry said.

"No, can't really." Ms. Dream admitted.

"I wish I could help you." Merry said. "I really do. But I killed the last telepath on my world after she tortured me."

Ms. Dream shrugged.

"There is…" Merry trailed off.

"What?"

"The Four Great Powers." Merry said. "If they survived they might have been able to help. But we haven't seen them and besides Simone has ordered me not to take anyone back to Dollopolis."

"I keep thinking I should junk this whole life." Ms. Dream said. "No more bondage, no more lunatics out to take over the world or kill it, just…"

"Run away." Merry said. "Not an option. I tried it. The world follows you."

A buzzer sounded and Merry pulled back on the controls.

"Undersea spotters." Merry said pulling the ship to the right.

"What?"

"Small drones disguised as fish that swim around the island and detect aircraft." Merry said. "Don't you know about them?"

"No. How do you?"

"We can avoid them." Merry said ignoring her question.

After a few minutes of weaving Merry pulled back on the stick and Thundebird 2 hovered in mid air just a few feet above the waves. Ms. Dream looked at the monitor screen. It showed an overhead shot of the island.

"Volcanoes." She said. The island on the screen was an irregular oblong with a bulge of water near the southern end that formed the lagoon.

"Four of them, two semi-active." Merry said. "According to Lady Goth the ICE base is located near the lagoon on the southern end of the island, next to volcano 4. They use the lava flow on the other side of it to power the base. The ruins of the Greek city are between volcano 2 and volcano 3 in the middle of the island. Volcano 4 is at the northern tip, not active, but there's no growth near it. Grounds full of sulfur and steam vents. She thinks that a small group of escapees have set up a camp somewhere in the rocks between volcano 4 and volcano 2. Rejects from her early experiments."

"She told you all of this?" Ms. Dream asked.

"And more." Merry said. "In between screams anyway. The base is composed of old Quonset huts left over from World War 2. Three of them. Number one is the one closest to the water, ICE uses that for storage, number two is personnel quarters and a temporary holding place for the girls they brought to shrink. Aside from Lady Goth there were two other people; Little Darkness and somebody named Quincy. He was their security and Little Darkness sex slave. Hut number three is the one where they did the shrinking experiments."

"She told you all of this?" Ms. Dream demanded again. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"What I had to." Merry said coldly. "After the hell she put you through why do you care?"

"We don't use torture." Ms. Dream said.

"We do." Merry said. "I do. Deal with it."

Ms. Dream was silent for a few minutes as she studied the image.

"How do you plan on going in?" She asked finally.

"I'm working on it." Merry said. She started to speak, stopped and then went on. "In the old days I'd lead a score of knights onto the island and we'd settle things. Bury them up to their necks in the sand at low tide. Not now."

"You'd kill them." Ms. Dream said.

"Only if we couldn't take prisoners." Merry said. "You're not going to give me a hard time about how I do this are you? Lucy did when I killed Sebastion and Sidonia."

"I'm sure she did." Ms. Dream said. "What about Lucy, are you going to forgive her?"

"Not sure." Merry said.

"Oh come on!" Ms. Dream said. "I told you what she's been through."

"But you don't know all of what I went through because of her." Merry said coldly.

"What? Your arm was hurt…"

"That wasn't it." Merry interrupted her. "The first time I met Lucy we were in Count Intellect's dungeon. Once I got my memory back I was able to call Simone. I begged her to send a message to Force Group J. Lucy was pregnant by then and I didn't want her to loose her children to Intellect and Sidonia. I told Simone that it was safe, that I'd leave no trace and that Lucy would never tell anyone about me. But Lucy did. Under the laws of Dollopolis I was liable for her treachery. By vouching for her I assumed her guilt when she dragged me into the Nephilim battle."

"Oh." Ms. Dream said.

"Once I got back, once I was healed and then…" Merry clicked on a control and the screen shifted to a different view of the island.

"What?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Her punishment was mine. A month in the dungeon." Merry said tonelessly. "Daily whippings. Bread. Water." Merry gripped the wheel tightly. "It's one thing to be whipped, I've been whipped and worse, but when your First Knight only a noble can whip you. Simone was the only noble left. You want to know what it's like when the woman you love has to take a whip to your back twice a day for a month? I didn't cry; she did."

"If you tell Lucy this she will tell you she's sorry and she'll mean it!"

"We'll see." Merry said. "I thought she was sincere when she gave me her word in the dungeon. I knew she wasn't when were in the pyramid but I didn't have any choice then."

"What?"

"Oh come on!" Merry snapped. "You were there, Ms. Shadow was there, Timidious was there… any of you could have twisted my mind anyway you wanted if I had said no."

"We wouldn't have done that!" Ms. Dream shouted.

"Just like you wouldn't have read my mind if I hadn't broken your arm?"

Damnit Ms. Dream thought. Just when we were getting some where. Great if Lucy finds out that Merry had to take her punishment she'll never forgive herself, forget Athena

"I'm sorry?" Ms. Dream asked.

"I know you are." Merry said stressing the personal identifier. Lucy though…" Merry trailed off. "She'll get to grovel and grovel good before I say anything."

Ms. Dream shuddered at the tone in Merry's voice. This was the woman who had tortured and broke Lady Goth and Mary knew how tough the villainess was. This was a person who kept body parts as trophies. In her present state Lucy would agree to anything.

Ms. Dream was about to use Prudence as a shield for her mother, hoping that maybe Merry would be less enthusiastic about torturing Lucy if Prudence was there when Merry pointed to the screen.

"The way in for you." Merry said.

"For me?"

"Simone's orders were to get you here and let you do the rescue." Merry said. "I'll drop you off and swing by tomorrow morning to see if you're caught or if you succeeded."

"Ok, better than nothing." Ms. Dream said. She looked at the screen. They were looking at the southern tip of the island. To the north west was the lagoon with the Quonset huts, to the north east was the side of the semi-active volcano. In between was a jungle of palm trees. "What am I looking at?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Here." Merry said touching a control. The image shifted and zoomed in to the where the waves were crashing into the rocks. "It's low tide, I can stay low to the water and move between the rocks. I'll put you down in the jungle."

"You're that good at flying?"

"Never crashed." Merry said moving the ship forward.

Merry set Thunderbird 2 down at the edge of a clearing. Beside her Ms. Dream held onto the edge of her seat with a white-knuckle grip. Merry hadn't crashed, but she had come close. Inwardly Merry was trembling a little bit, but she was also trembling from excitement. The waves had been as big as the ship, the rocks razor sharp claws or teeth like the monster from The Empire Strikes Back. And Merry was in Thunderbird 2 on a rescue mission! Well sort of anyway. The thought of it was enough to get her heart racing. It was all Merry could do not to say 'F.A.B.'.

"I told you." Merry said calmly. "Never crashed."

"You wanna go back so we can pick up my stomach!" Ms. Dream gasped the words out.

Merry reached over and flipped a few switches. The ship shuddered and the view out of the cockpit changed as Thunderbird 2 separated itself from the cargo pod. For the first time she wished Ms. Dream could see her face, Merry desperately wanted to smile the way Han Solo would.

"Come on." Merry said standing up.

Ms. Dream followed her through the cockpit and into the corridor. A hatch with a ladder had opened and Merry went down it. The helmet filtered the air that reached her and the suit didn't let her feel the temperature, but there was no mistaking the balmy look of a South Pacific afternoon. Merry was grateful she was in the suit. If her face hadn't been covered Merry was sure her reaction would have shown.

To view the jungle from a height of twelve inches was to view a primitive Eden. The palm trees towered overhead and the plants and flowers around them were stunning in their detail and devastating in their colors. Suddenly Merry wanted to come back to this place. She wanted to walk through the plants, naked and free. She wanted to walk with Simone under the flowers and make love to her as the sun set.

Merry pulled her mind back to reality as the cargo door opened. Thunderbird 2 always reminded Merry of the Space Shuttle. But where the shuttle's cargo bay opened from above Thunderbird 2 used cargo pods that separated from the ship. The main frame of the green ship rose on four hydraulic lifts leaving the half round pod on the ground. The door fell forward to become a ramp and small lights came on inside.

"Let's go." Merry said. She walked up the ramp and grabbed a boot.

Ms. Dream grabbed another boot and between the two of them they dragged the package of clothing out of the pod and a little away from the ship. The door to the pod closed and the ship lowered and became whole again.

"Ok." Merry said facing Ms. Dream. "Here's what's going to happen. You go rescue Lucy and Prudence. I'll go find the plants. We'll meet back here tomorrow morning if you've rescued them. If not… well my orders say I can help as long as I don't risk my life. So don't count too much on last minute rescues."

"Sound's great." Ms. Dream said. "Really, fills me with joy."

"There's something else." Merry said. "Once you have your powers back you can contact Force Group J. Don't. If they show up tomorrow then the deal is off. If they try to capture me I will kill myself."

"What? Like you were serious about someone reading you're mind killing you?"

"It was a good lie at the time." Merry said. "I figured it would make you leave us alone. But this isn't a lie."

"My god you're serious!" Ms. Dream said.

"Yes I am. To protect Dollopolis I'll kill and I'll die, and I'll blow up Thunderbird 2 to stop anyone else from getting their hands on our tech. Those are my orders."

"Right." Ms. Dream said throwing up her hands. "Fine."

"I forgive you." Merry said.

Ms. Dream doubled over and then fell to her knees. Merry stood back as the woman slowly grew. It was an awesome sight. The way Merry and Simone grew was virtually instantaneous. But Ms. Dream took almost a half of a minute to reach full size. Merry looked up at her body the way the Liliputian's must have looked up at Gulliver.

{Now let us see how trustworthy she really is.}

Ms. Dream looked down and then bent down on one knee. Merry could imagine how doll-like she looked to the now normal sized woman. Doll-like and helpless. What Ms. Dream couldn't know was that Thunderbird 2's weaponry was aimed at her and that The Group controlled the guns.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning." Merry said turning and heading toward the ship. With each step she expected that a giant hand would reach down and grab her.

"If we aren't here wait for us." Ms. Dream called after her. "We're not talking sunup you know! I'm a late sleeper!"

Merry didn't answer. She went into Thunderbird 2 and closed the hatch.

Merry moved through the jungle slowly. The ship moved around large trees and at first she had gone through bushes, but doing so had disturbed a flock of birds that had responded by pecking at the ship for a few minutes. After that Merry had moved around the bushes. She moved steadily through the jungle, going around the volcano that supplied power to the ICE base. Merry still could not get over the beauty of the island. Before this she had been shrunk and gone on missions in the United States. The forests that she saw where like large parks to her. But this jungle was different. Life was more open here where winter never came. The colors were brighter and more varied.

The Group was silent as she searched and Merry wondered if they were still with her. Normally that would be something she'd take for granted, but not now. Now The Group had Dollopolis to deal with and the Obrien's and now Ida's scroll. Merry wondered if she could slip through the cracks and be free of them for a short time. It was thought that thrilled and scared her.

{There.}

Merry brought the ship to a halt smoothly even though the command startled her.

"By the tree?" Merry said looking at the display. At the edge of a rise was a palm tree with a black piece of lava rock next to it. Next that and surrounding the tree were a group of flowers. The flowers had four large green leaves and six smaller white leaves radiating out from a single stem. Most of the stems were yellow but a few were blue and the blue ones had seven petals, not six.

{Gardenia tiareman.}

{Tiare Tahiti.}

{And right next to them the flower that has no name in any book.}

{The flower that when used properly creates the magical shrinking potion.}

"I wonder who came up with the idea that stuff mixed up from plants and stuff can be magic." Merry said setting the ship down.

{That knowledge is lost to history.}

{I expect that it would be shortly after the first cook realized that a meal would taste better with a leaf or two thrown in.}

{Or it might have been as a primitive man ate his fresh kill under a tree and some of the leaves from that tree got mixed in accidentally.}

"Isn't it a bit of jump from good tasting food to magic?" Merry asked. The ship shuddered as it separated from the cargo hold. When it was done she set the early warning alarm on the ship in case any normal sized people came into the area. It wouldn't give her much warning but any warning would be a good one.

{You are not a gourmet Dolly.}

{There is a magic that comes with a great meal.}

{And to primitive man one form of magic was the same as another.}

{Magic was how their cosmology. It was how they understood the world.}

Merry took a shovel and an ax from the wall next to the ladder and climbed down. A quick look around told her that there was no danger, in fact there were no animals or insects at all. Merry was grateful. The last thing she needed was to fight for her life. She left the ship walked over to the plants.

"But was it primitive man or was it just the first men taught by Ida?" Merry asked. "Or Athena? Where did it all start?"

{I don't think you'd understand if we told you.}

{Does it matter to your current situation?}

"I guess not." Merry said. She walked over to the first plant. The white flowers came up to her chest and bellow the petals' was a central stem. She ran her hand over the stem. It was smooth and stiff.

"Go for the root?" Merry asked.

{Yes.}

{Dig softly.}

{Even at your size the possibility of damage is there.}

Merry bent down and started to dig around the plant. After fifteen minutes she had loosened the soil enough to pull it up and out of the ground. It was light and she carried it into the cargo pod of Thunderbird 2. Most of the dirt still clung to the roots and Merry sealed the plant into a glass tube.

"How many should I get?" Merry asked.

{Ten or twelve.}

Merry shrugged and went back outside. Over the next few hours she worked patiently around the plants. The suit kept Merry from feeling the heat or the humidity of the tropics and her own conditioning made the work easy. To her surprise Merry found it relaxing. She had never worked in a garden or thought of having one. It crossed Merry's mind that Simone's estate had an old green house on it. But then she reminded herself that Simone's estate was her estate, not Merry's, so Merry put the idea aside.

Merry was just starting on the last plant when she felt the shovel hit a stone. It wasn't the first stone she hit so Merry shifted her position. And then she hit another stone. This one shifted under her shovel and Merry pulled it out. It fell to the side and Merry started dig again.

{Wait.}

"What?"

{The stone. Turn it over.}

Merry reached over and turned the stone over. It wasn't one of the black larva rocks she had been encountering. This stone was square and gray. On the other side of it was a strange symbol.

"What did I dig up?" Merry asked. "And old Domino piece?"

{Domino's do not have ancient Sumerian burned into them.}

{Clear the dirt around where you found the stone, see if there are more of them.}

Nothing is ever simple, Merry thought as she started to shift shovel-fulls of dirt. After about ten minutes she had uncovered what looked like a small cobblestone road. Merry followed the stones and dug her way up the rise and the road vanished when she reached the top. Then she started to follow the stones down the rise toward Thunderbird 2. The stones were only a few inches down.

"This was made by shrunken people." Merry said. "It had to have been."

{It is both a road and a message.}

{It reads 'Follow me ye who are small and I will grant you…'}

"I don't like the sound of that." Merry said pausing. "Things that tempting have to be traps."

{Perhaps.}

{Keep digging.}

Merry kept digging and by the time the sun set she had uncovered a road that was six inches wide and nearly twenty feet long. The same message was written in Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek and Latin.

"Follow me ye who are shrunk and I will grant you a happy life and if ye be large I will grant you a shrunken life. A life of pleasure and plenty where the wine flows as water." Merry read after The Group had translated it. "That is definitely a trap."

The road had led up to a mound and stopped.

{And if it isn't?}

{There may be valuable knowledge here Dolly.}

{It has been thousands of years.}

{The traps are doubtless gone by now.}

Merry could have argued but she knew it would be useless. They were curious; she was their agent. Without any further comment she started to dig at the side of the mound. After the first few shovel-fulls of dirt were tossed to one side Merry hit something hard and then the ground opened up beneath her feet and swallowed her.

… To be continued.

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