The Dangers Of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 30. "Confusion to the Enemy"

by Skytower

When Lucy Rothschild turned her mansion home into a headquarters for a new group of superheroes she had done so with the utmost care. Rothschild mansion was built on top of a Main seacoast cliff. There was room enough for at least fifty people in the mansion. Lucy had supervised the work (sometimes from a wheelchair, often times from a sick bed) re-enforcing the structure and foundation, putting in an aircraft hanger under the mansion with an exit on the cliff face, installing blaster cannons, shield generators and other weapons around the grounds. She had turned her home into a fortress. But that had been only part of it. Lucy had also made sure that the hospital wing was placed in the solarium so that anyone recovering could enjoy the sun and the ocean view. Anyone who was accepted to Earth Force was allowed their choice of rooms and there was a full set of financial investment programs for all members. There was a library, a media room and a set of gyms and swimming pools. For her conference room Lucy had chosen the room in the South wing that stretched across the top floor of the mansion. A person in that room could look in one direction and see the ocean and in the other direction they could see the road. The room could seat twenty. The mansion could comfortably fit fifty. Only seven superheroes had joined up.

That had hurt. Lucy hid it well but Mary knew it had hurt her friend. But then in the past year pain had been in nearly every part of Lucy's life. Physical, mental, emotional: Lucy had gone through just about every kind of pain there was. She'd been betrayed and abused by her husband, deserted by allies and scorned by friends. Lucy was pregnant by way of a rape and after the birth of her twins she'd been abandoned by the goddess Athena. Suddenly a woman who had never aged started to age. Even her daughter Prudence was angry and disappointed with her. Partly because of Lucy's actions Prudence had gained super powers, but she was not the superheroine that her mother was and Prudence felt that difference keenly.

And it had all started when Goddess of Justice had been captured and held in a dungeon. And in the dungeon she had met a small woman. And now that woman was an audible reminder of everything that had happened in the past year and a half. Her breathing filled the room, despite the fact that it was the softest sound. Rasping breath after rasping pain filled breath. On the monitor set in the wall was a close up of the small blond woman. Most of her tiny body was wrapped up in white bandages. One arm bellow the elbow was missing. She lay on a white blanket in an incubator, the only medical instrument that they could find that could help her. Her face was half bandaged and only her square jaw and perfect nose showed that she could be a beauty when healthy. Prudence sat beside her shrunk to just as small a size. Neither of them was taller than twelve inches. Prudence was wearing a skintight gray top and shorts. The look on her young face was one of worry.

It was a worry that all of them shared, which Mary found strange considering that none of them except Lucy had ever spent more than a few hours with the woman. But Merry had been the cause of events that had shaken their world. She was the stone that broke the wheel that upset the cart.

"Ms. Dream?" Lucy asked and Mary realized that she had let herself drift off as she was talking.

"Sorry." Mary said. When they were alone together Lucy would call her by her true name, but when they were in 'superhero' mode Lucy always called her Ms. Dream.

She took another moment to scan everyone's face before she went on. The table was circular, Lucy had made sure of that and it was patterned out of the round table in Le' Morte De'Author, even to having the names of the Knights of the Round Table inscribed in it. It was Lucy's idea to remind everyone of how noble they had to be and how easily they could all fail. Around it were seated Earth Force. Beside Ms. Dream was Aslana; The Granite Girl, next to her was Esmerelda the Wolf Girl. Granite Girl's dark face was un-readable, but Esmerelda's pale face was full of anxiety. Merry was the one who had freed Esmerelda from an evil mistress, but then rejected her and forced her into Lucy's family. Esmerelda desperately wanted to know why. Beside her was Savage. His handsome face was drawn into a question mark. Next to him was Yoran, also known as the Young Ancient. His youthful face was composed but Mary could see the concern there. Yoran and Savage were both travelers from the past, a past so remote that their civilization's name had been lost. The Young Ancient had brought them through time with his sorcery. Beside him was Moon Girl and the expression on her gold toned face was un-readable. A refugee from another world Moon Girl was the most powerful of them next to Goddess of Justice. Even with her they weren't he most powerful group in the world, but they were willing and they were honest. As things went that was better than raw power. At least that was what Lucy kept telling everyone. Lucy herself was in her normal body, soft brown hair framing a round face with a slightly-too-small pug nose. A far cry from the blond seven foot tall beauty she was as Goddess of Justice.

"Sorry." Ms. Dream said again. In front of her was a cup of coffee and she took a sip from it. "I got to Dollopolis by way of Ida and things didn’t go well. The portal she used was un-stable and I ended up sailing through it and into Duchess Simone and Daisy Obrien. They thought we were attacking them and Merry didn't even stop to ask questions. I didn't get a word out before she knocked me out and I woke up tied up in some stocks. She started to torture me…"

"She tortures?" Savage asked.

"And she's good at it." Ms. Dream said remembering Merry's easy going and sadistic manner. "She captured Lady Goth and broke her. That is how they found out about the island. But Ida had sent a scroll along with me. It gave me safe passage in and out of the place and they weren't about to go against her. Not that Merry was really happy about it. And it was dicey for a bit because the scroll and I got separated and Simone got knocked out. But Simone recovered before Merry really got going and they found the scroll in a stream."

"What is the place like?" Lucy asked.

"A lot like window display at Christmas." Ms. Dream said. "You've got a lot of doll houses on a raised platform. From what I learned from the Obrien's Dollopolis was shoved through a portal from a doomed world. An unstable portal. The population, all women by the way, was separated in the shift, including Merry. Only Simone managed to stay with the place." Ms. Dream looked at Lucy. "That's how Merry ended up in Count Intellect's dungeon."

"Is everyone that small?" Savage asked.

"There are only two people left from that world." Ms. Dream said. "Merry and the Duchess. Duchess Simone is twice as tall as everyone else is. She can control her size too. There weren't that many to begin with. On their world Dollopolis was a place the last women could hide from the men. Some sort of war had killed off most of the others. Simone is sure that a lot more survivors are on our world. They were searching for them when they stumbled into the auction and the Obrien's and us."

On the monitor screen Prudence face darkened for a moment at the mention of the shrunken woman auction. It had been her first real mission and she had gotten captured and raped by ICE agents. Lucy, aged to nearly eighty years old by Athena's wrath had followed only to get herself captured as well. Prudence blamed Lucy for not being able to train her and was mad at her for trying the rescue. But then at this point Marry was sure that Prudence was blaming her mother for just about everything.

"What about the twins you mentioned?" Moon Girl asked.

"Add ons." Ms. Dream said. "Lizzie and Jessie, somehow they were brought into Dollopolis from our world, I think Simone's looking to re-populate from the dregs of our society."

"Mercy or expediency to regain a kingdom?" Savage asked.

"Bit of both I think." Ms. Dream said. "Lizzie and Jessie do love her."

"I think they are a kind people." Moon Girl said. "The Obrien's are strangers to them and yet Duchess Simone is helping them."

"If she gives the child back once it is born." Savage said.

"Simone will." Ms. Dream said. Daisy Obrien was pregnant, but her twelve-inch tall body could not handle a normal size fetus. Simone was going to do some magical body swapping to save the mother and child.

"The type of spell that they are attempting to save Daisy's baby is not an easy one." Yoran said. "Transfering a child from one mother to another and back again is difficult."

"Simone said she'd done it before." Ms. Dream said.

"Why did they help you?" Savage asked.

"It took some talking." Ms. Dream said. "And talking was all I could do. Ida sent me there without my powers until Merry forgave me for trying to read her mind."

"The goddess's follow similar paths." Lucy mused.

"Yea, the same rules that Athena laid out for you. But in my case I had an edge, I wasn't talking to Merry alone, I was talking to Simone. Between the two of them she's the more reasonable, but even with her… Lucy they don't really think much of us. Merry was ready to toss me into the dungeon and Simone was angry that I showed up at all."

"Why did they decide to help you?" Savage asked.

"A couple of reasons. It took Merry to convince Simone to let her take with her to the island, Merry had to point out that she was heading there anyway and she didn't want to leave me in Dollopolis."

"She wasn't coming to rescue Prudence or I?" Lucy asked.

"No way." Ms. Dream shook her head. "That island was where the shrinking potion came from. Lady Goth told them all about it."

"They actually tortured her enough to break her?" Lucy asked.

"There's no other way they could have known." Ms. Dream said. "My best guess is that Merry captured Lady Goth after the auction."

"She broke quickly." Savage said.

"In our time in Count Intelect's dungeon I saw that Merry knew torture." Lucy said. "From both sides. I wonder what sort of culture they come from?"

"Advanced and savage is my guess." Yoran said.

"But with a code of honor." Moon Girl said. "That we must not forget."

"We will not." Lucy said calmly. "Go on Ms. Dream."

"Simone was sending Merry there to get some plant samples and then get away before they destroyed the island." Ms. Dream said taking a sip of coffee. Moon Girl was stranded on Earth partly because of Lucy and that apparently wasn't completely forgotten. "Simone didn't want a shrinking potion being in the hands of anyone, she doesn't trust anyone on this planet. I was gonna be on my own for any rescue attempt."

"But she rescued us anyway." Prudence said. She rested her hand lightly on Merry's head. "I think that was her plan from the start."

"I think it was." Ms. Dream said after a moment. Her mind flashed back to her time in Dollopolis. "Merry's got a soft spot for parents, I hit her with the idea that if you didn't get back the twins would be orphans."

"A soft spot." Savage said.

"Yea and I took advantage of it." Ms. Dream said. She looked at Lucy and shrugged at the disapproving look her friend gave her. "I'm not proud of it Lucy, but I did it. I was grabbing at straws; she wasn't even thinking of forgiving you at that point. That was when Simone laid down the law and told Merry not to risk her life for us. She could only help in the rescue if she didn't put herself at risk."

"But she did anyway." Goddess said.

"And that could be a problem." Ms. Dream said.

"She disobeyed that order." Moon Girl said. "The order of a sovereign."

"Big time." Ms. Dream agreed looking at the bandaged woman on the screen. "And being the only two left alive hasn't stopped Simone from punishing her before." Ms. Dream stopped. She really didn't want to tell the next part, but Lucy was insistent to the extreme that they have no secrets in Earth Force.

"Lucy when you and Merry were in Count Intellect's dungeon and Merry got her memory back she was able to call Simone for help. She got Simone to send a message to Force Group J and she told Simone that you would keep your word to keep her existence secret."

"And I broke that word." Lucy said calmly. But there was pain in her eyes as she spoke.

"Well under their law Merry took your punishment." Ms. Dream said. "One month in a dungeon, whipped once or twice daily, bread and water for food. And Simone had to do the whipping."

"I… I see." Lucy said. "And yet still she risked her life to save us."

"She is either noble or an idiot." Savage said with a slight sneer in his voice.

"She's noble!" Esmerelda shouted nearly leaping at him. Granite Girl pulled her down.

"She is." Lucy agreed. "Noble enough to constantly pay for my mistakes."

"Trust is risk." Moon Girl said. "Sometimes it is worth it, sometimes it is not."

"She got me to the island, forgave me and I didn't see her again until we were knee deep in demons." Ms. Dream said.

"Speaking of which the one you enslaved waits near the cliff." Yoran said.

"Yea, I know." Ms. Dream said sourly. She had enslaved the demoness so that she could send her to get some help. It hadn't been needed but now the creature saw Ms. Dream as a goddess and that left a bad taste in the heroine's mouth. Ms. Dream had no idea what to do with the creature she had named Flame.

"Somehow Merry killed Hellspite." Lucy said. "And paid dearly for it. She forgave me in the heat of battle, I do not think her feelings are the same."

"They aren't." Ms. Dream said. "Lucy this woman lives on anger a lot of the time, I got that vibe from her a lot. On the ride to the island I think she was thinking of the ways she was going to get you to grovel. There's more under the surface, hell a lot more to both her and Simone, but bottom line; as far as she and Simone are concerned we're the enemy. Or if we aren't the enemy we aren't too bright."

"That will change." Lucy said with the tone of voice she used when difficult tasks were called for. "Helping people like this is the very reason I formed this group."

"We haven't done too well so far." Savage said.

"No we haven't." Lucy said before Ms. Dream could say anything. The good part of Savage's nature was that he was honest. The bad part of his nature was that he was completely honest. "I haven't." Lucy looked at Yoran. "But that will change when she recovers."

"If I use a medical scanner she goes into convulsions and her heart stops." Yoran said with a frustrated look on his face. "If I try to use a mental or mystical probe the same thing happens. For all of my knowledge and power I am reduced to a stethoscope." He looked disgusted at the thought. "I know she's in pain but there is no way to know which drugs or potions are safe to give her. My experience tells me that she will probably survive. If she hasn't died by now she won't die from her wounds. But short of superficially treating her wounds there is nothing more I can do to help her. She is in great pain physically and mentally, but she still refuses help even though she is unconscious."

"She wouldn't be any different if she were awake." Ms. Dream said. "She was crawling toward that X-wing fighter with one arm and she still didn't want us to touch her. For this girl paranoia is a lifestyle."

Lucy nodded.

"We have no way to get into contact with Dollopolis, but I am sure they will contact us. Until then we will do what we can for her and we will wait and we will deal with our other problems."

"Technical is almost through cleaning out the last of the bugs." Moon Girl said. "Without knowing they were there the creatures were impossible to detect."

"For us anyway." Savage said. "You paid a lot of money for incompetent help Lucy."

"You correct mistakes Savage." Lucy said. "You do not waste energy being angry about them."

"Besides those bugs lay dormant for nearly six years." Granite Girl said. "There was no way to tell they were there since they only activated at random intervals."

"Sandy's legacy." Lucy said and there was a little bitterness in her voice. "Something I shall discuss with her Ms. Dream when we make good on your promise to the Goddess Ida."

They all turned to look at the screen as a new voice entered the conversation. Merry had opened her eyes but what was coming out of her mouth wasn't English. She didn't speak very long and then fell back unconscious.

"What did she say?" Ms. Dream asked.

"She spoke the first two lines of a recipe for bread." Yoran said puzzled. "But she spoke them using an alchemetic code that hasn't been used since Atlantis fell."

"I get the feeling that this girls traveled some." Ms. Dream said.

"She's delirious." Yoran said.

"From now on someone will be with her at all times." Lucy said. "Record what she says, perhaps we will find out how to contact Dollopolis."

"Mom!" Prudence shouted. "She shrunk again!"

They looked up to see that Merry was at least two inches smaller than Prudence was. The bandages were loose against her body.

"If she continues to do that we will loose her." Yoran said.

"I won't." Prudence said. Her brow furrowed in concentration and she matched Merry's size. "I won't loose her." Prudence said with determination.

When ever Merry McCormick was sent on a mission The Group was with her. They saw through her eyes and heard through her ears. At a whim they could change her size. When Merry thought of them she pictured the four of them huddled over computer consoles surrounded by arcane machinery. The truth was different but Merry probably wouldn't have been too surprised.

The four of them, Deborah, Delilah, Molly and Tremont sat in the library of Pennytorch mansion. Around them in the air floated holographic displays that could be manipulated by touch. They sat around a table and drinks and snacks were placed next to each of them. Deborah and Delilah each drank tea from china cups and beside the cups were bowls of sunflower seeds. Molly drank chocolate milk and had chocolate chip cookies. Tremont drank diet soda and munched potato chips. In the center of the table were four displays. The first was dark but it usually showed what Merry saw. The second was a read out of her location on Earth. It was stable in Maine. The third was a graph showing what size Merry was. It was steady at twelve inches. The fourth display, the one that held their attention, showed Merry's health. Most of her body was glowing red, a little of it was gray and some of it was just black. Beside the body were displays that read out heart rate, brain activity and other vital statistics.

"Even with the improvements we've made to her body I'm amazed that she is still alive." Deborah said.

"I thought she abandoned suicide stunts when she found love with Simone." Delilah said letting her annoyance show in her voice.

"It might not have been suicide if that last demon hadn't jumped her from behind." Molly said.

"And her attack was successful." Tremont said. "Hellspite is dead."

"That won't slow him down long." Delilah said.

"But he'll come back weaker than before." Deborah said.

"With vengeance on his mind." Delilah said. "Demons live for vengeance. He will look for Officer Dolly."

There was a sound from the display and they looked up to see Merry's heart rate stop. After a few seconds it started again. The displays showing her brain activity were scattered and chaotic. Suddenly the screen showing what she saw lit up and they saw a modern medical facility and on the wall a screen showing Earth Force sitting at a table. Merry said something and then the screen went dark again.

"She might not be alive for him to find." Deborah said.

"She won't die." Molly said.

"I agree." Tremont said. "As we all know Merry is driven through her life by emotion. At first her fear of us kept her going, then her love for us kept her going, now I believe her love for Simone and us will keep her going." He reached over and touched the display that showed Merry's height. "Reducing her height will allow her to heal."

"But not fully." Deborah said. "There is not enough there for the body to heal, let alone re-grow her arm."

"If we bring her back to full size they could help her." Molly said.

"And find out all about her and us." Delilah said. "Their medical scanners might recognize our technology."

"We can try this." Deborah said adjusting the control. "Controlled shrinking. As her body heals it will need less energy, we'll sacrifice body mass for energy to heal."

"Risky." Tremont said. "A bit like eating your limbs to avoid starvation."

"Choices are limited." Delilah said. "This is one time Officer Dolly's low body fat ratio has come back to haunt her."

"If she manages to survive it will take nearly a month for her wounds to heal and her arm to grow back." Deborah said. "And by the time she is fully healed she'll be less than an inch tall and we won't be able to grow her back."

"And for that month she will belong to Earth Force." Delilah said. "They will examine her, read her mind. She is already in their medical bay. This puts us at risk."

"I don't think anyone can read her mind at this point." Molly said. "The fusion of minds that Scalius attempted failed, but the mental patterns are still in Merry's brain. It would take a supreme mentalist to find her in all of that. Survival might be a secondary problem next to Merry maintaining her sanity."

"And our shielding and fail safe have already kept them from looking too closely. If she dies they will doubtless do an autopsy, but her body will self destruct before that happens." Tremont said. "Also after what she has been through I don't think Goddess of Justice will allow Merry's mind to be probed. Ms. Dream will not do it, of that I am sure."

"So we must decide what to do next." Delilah said. "If we are to keep up the fantasy that Merry and Simone have fashioned then our next step must follow that."

"But if she survives we must have her back." Deborah said. "Above all else Officer Dolly is ours."

They all nodded at her words.

Merry McCormick was trying to sleep. She was tired, she hurt and she was trying to sleep. But she was in a room full of people. They were screaming; they were pounding on her door and they wanted her to wake up and talk.

Merry ignored them all and went back to sleep.

The demoness had not moved from the spot where she had landed. She sat huddled at the edge of the cliff, her wings drawn about her for warmth. The sun had gone down and she was shivering from both the wind and the fear that had probably been with her all of her life. Born in a dimension of hell-like temperatures she was not ready for the chill of a Maine evening. She looked up as Goddess of Justice and Ms. Dream approached.

"Mistress!" The demoness croaked and flattened herself onto the cold ground.

"Get up Flame." Ms. Dream said. She could feel the fear in the demoness mind more intensely now. The demoness was not only scared of her surroundings she was scared of Ms. Dream. Fear of her. Mary had never wanted anyone to be scared of her. "We have to talk."

"Of what mistress?" Flame asked.

"Your life and what you want out of it." Goddess of Justice said.

Flame looked as if someone had just asked her to describe a color she had never seen before.

"See it's like this." Ms. Dream said crouching down beside her. "This is a different world, in this world you get to choose."

"Choose mistress?"

"Yea."

"Choose what mistress?"

"What to do."

"What to do what mistress?"

"What do you want to do?" Ms. Dream asked.

The demoness just looked at her and her dull red eyes blinked a few times. Again Ms. Dream felt her fear, but more her confusion. As the two mixed Ms. Dream reached out and steadied the demoness mind before panic set in.

"Have you ever wanted anything for yourself." Goddess of Justice asked kneeling down. "Have you ever held a secret desire?"

"Food." Flame said. "Shelter. A weapon. A mate."

"Well not exactly the four basic food groups." Ms. Dream said. "But it's a start."

"This will take time." Goddess of Justice said rising into the air. "Come."

"Come on." Ms. Dream said taking flight and gesturing to the demoness.

Flame flapped her wings and followed them. Goddess of Justice flew them over the cliff and down to the entrance to the aircraft hanger. The hanger entrance was eighty feet wide by thirty feet high and guarded by gun emplacements and a force field. Inside the hanger was large enough to hold two small jets and there was a space under the hanger itself for repairs. Flame moved into the hanger cautiously, sniffing the air.

"We will start with the basics." Goddess of Justice said. She floated a little ways into the hanger and went to the left. Choosing a point about ten feet in she blasted at the walls with twin beams of white energy from her eyes. The stone disintegrated under the force and after a few minutes a tunnel started to take shape. Ms. Dream used her own powers to push the stone dust out of the hanger. After fifteen minutes Goddess of Justice had moved into the tunnel and was lost from sight. A few minutes later she stopped and walked out.

"Come here." She said to Flame.

They entered the new room. There was a short entranceway and then the newly created tunnel took a sharp turn to the left and opened up into a fifteen foot by fifteen foot half round chamber. A rough stone slab ten feet long had been left at the far end.

"Could use a few throw rugs." Ms. Dream commented looking around. The walls were smooth and still warm. "A few clown paintings. Maybe a couch."

"Flame this is your place now." Goddess said. "You may come and go into this place as you wish, but no one may come in here without your permission, unless you are in danger or have done something wrong."

Flame stepped into the chamber, sniffing at the air again.

"I guard big cave mistress?" She asked looking back at the hanger.

"Yes." Goddess said. "For now. This place should be warm enough for you. Water and food you can get from the mansion."

The demoness moved over to the slab and sat down. She seemed a bit more sure of herself now that there was a purpose she could understand.

"This is just the start." Ms. Dream said going over and sitting down beside her. She reached out and gently brushed against Flame's mind. The demoness reacted and slumped down onto the slab, her eyes half closing. "Tomorrow we'll go over some more basics."

Flame was asleep before Ms. Dream had finished the last word of her sentence.

"I am clay; mold me." Ms. Dream said standing up. She couldn't keep the coldness and self-hatred out of her voice. "Damn it Lucy I don't pick up strays the way you do, I'm not up for it."

"It is our choice to pick up the clay." Lucy said letting her Goddess of Justice form fade. "What did you think would happen to her after she delivered your message?"

"I didn't think that far ahead." Mary said as they headed out of the tunnel. "Hell Lucy I wasn't sure I'd get off of the island at all and now I got a stray I gotta take care of."

"Too many times in the past have we fought only in the moment." Lucy said. "It comes back to haunt us."

"Yes I guess." Mary said. "If she works out we can definitely use the firepower."

"Mary…" Lucy said as they walked through the hanger.

"Second thoughts about all this?" Mary asked as her friend let the sentence fade.

"I have my power once more, but I do not feel like Goddess of Justice anymore. Prudence is still mad at me, but she tries to hide it now, the ones who are here, Earth Force… I sense they are here less for me than because they are angry with Captain Pharaoh. Esmerelda will follow me anywhere, but the others… Despite everything that I have done in the past year, despite the trials I have gone through… I don't feel as if I'm making any headway against my sins. I can't see my redemption on the horizon."

"Lucy you made headway when you zapped Captain Pharaoh and let Mystery Woman get away." Mary said. "You want to you know your problem? It's lying in the incubator in the medical wing. Until you get to sit down and talk to her, just like you tried to do with the prisoners we freed from Camp O4, you're gonna feel this way."

Lucy's face tightened and her mouth compressed into a hard straight line at the mention of the Super Human Research Facility. The verbal abuse that had been hurled at her had hurt far more than she would ever admit. It was information supplied by Goddess of Justice that had led to the capture of the superbeings in Camp 04. Information told in confidence to the EIA. Because of that superheroes-not supervillains-had been caught and experimented on. Lucy had begged for forgiveness and been met with scorn and hate. If she hadn't been so visibly pregnant they might have attacked her.

"See? I know that look. That's the look that says 'Damn it I didn't do everything right!'" They stepped into an elevator. "Well none of us did, not even Merry up there. Look I'm not telling you things are great right now, I'm not telling you things will be honky-dory even if she wakes up and forgives you, but you gotta know this is the only way you can go right now. You're Goddess of Justice. Doesn't matter if they take the powers and the body away, you’re Goddess of Justice."

"And justice is a harsh thing at times." Lucy said. "Especially to those who self administer it."

"Right. So buck up and let's go take a look at the little bitch who won’t talk to us."

"Yes." Lucy said allowing herself a wry smile. "That should be pleasant."

"Then I can get some sleep. Real sleep in a real bed. No whips, no chains, no spankings."

"I'm sure that will be even more pleasant."

"I just hope I remember how to sleep if I'm not tied up." Mary said.

Prudence eased Merry's head back onto the pillow and shook her hand back and forth. She may have been weak and in pain but Merry's teeth were good and strong. The imprint in Prudence's thumb would take a while to fade.

"She needs food." Yoran said.

She needed my mother to keep her promise; Prudence thought but didn't say it. It was a sore spot with all of them, all of the ones who stayed with her. Or it had been. Everyone seemed to agree that her mother had made a mistake and they were all understanding about it. They had forgiven her. Prudence, despite a lot of effort had not. Her mother had always been perfect. As Goddess of Justice or just Lucy Rothschild she had known what to do, when to do it and what lines not to cross. Or so Prudence had thought. That was before she learned her mother had not crossed lines herself, but had carefully ignored it when others crossed lines. For years she had managed to play that game.

Until you, Prudence thought. She concentrated and shrunk down a little more. Now no more than half of Merry's height Prudence laid her head on the woman's chest. The heartbeat she could hear was erratic and there was a gurgling sound as she breathed.

If I got really, really small I could stand in her mouth and brace her jaw open with my hands and feet.

The thought was rejected as soon as it appeared in her head. The guilt appeared as soon as the thought was rejected. If there was anyone Prudence owed everything too it was Merry.

"How's her heartbeat?" Yoran asked.

"Skipping and I keep hearing fluid when she breathes." Prudence said. She concentrated again and grew to a little over Merry's size. For some reason it was easy to stay at about twelve inches, any other size took constant concentration.

"Come on." Yoran said. He reached into the incubator and lifted Prudence out. "You can't do anything more in there."

Prudence stifled a yell as she was carried over to one of the examining tables. It was scary to be so helpless, yet thrilling at the same time. His fingers were on her butte and they brushed against her breasts. Prudence woke up with dreams of other people holding her that way.

"You need some rest yourself." Yoran said. "You were beat up pretty bad."

"I was raped." Prudence said bitterly. "Again."

"But you fought back." Esmerelda said appearing in the doorway.

"A lot of good it did me." Prudence said. "I was thirty feet tall Ezzy. I was thirty feet tall!"

"But they had stunners." Yoran said.

"Bet they could have taken me anyway." Prudence said. "I'm just not a fighter, I don't care how big I get."

"You don't have to wear the mask." Yoran said.

"My mom's Goddess of Justice, I got super powers, what the hell else am I supposed to do? It's not like I can just go back to college. Hell I can't go into town without the reporters and paparazzi going after me."

"Your mother would not stop you from trying to lead a normal life." Yoran said.

Prudence didn't reply and Esmerelda leaned over to look at Merry.

"My liberator." She said with longing. "My savior."

Esmerelda looked at Yoran.

"Still out." He said.

"I need to know Yoran. She rescued me, yet spurned me. Ms. Dream told us that there are two girls there now, girls who had no hope in their lives. Why them and not me? Why wasn't I good enough for Dollopolis?"

Why weren't you good enough for Merry you mean, Prudence thought and there was some jealousy in the thought.

"We all have many questions for her." Yoran said. "But I don't think she likes giving answers."

"When she wakes up she'll talk to us." Prudence said. "Esmerelda and I."

"I hope she will." Esmerelda said. "I love this life I have now, I have to at least thank her."

She turned to Yoran.

"The moon is going to rise soon."

"I know." Yoran said. He held up a small black bottle.

"I'll stay with you." Prudence said before Esmerelda could ask.

"Thank you." Esmerelda said. With the aid of a magical ring she could control her transformation from human to were-wolf and maintain control over her animal nature. But not on the nights of a full moon. When the moon rose Esmerelda the human was completely gone and Esmerelda the wolf was free to hunt and kill. Yoran had a stock of a special potion that allowed Esmerelda to sleep through it. In her dreams she hunted and killed and that was enough to satisfy her animal side. While she had lived on the Pyramid of Captain Pharaoh there had been no problem, it was in orbit and the lunar cycles didn’t affect her.

"And I'll be here when you wake up." Prudence said before Esmerelda could ask. Were-wolves were a rich source of spell components for witches. Sidonia, Esmerelda's former owner had used her for spare parts more than once, often without asking. Esmerelda would go to sleep and wake up missing a finger or an ear. They would grow back after Sidonia gave her a potion, but such lessons did not fade quickly. Esmerelda was scared to sleep alone even in a locked room. When she did sleep alone she woke up screaming. Prudence knew how she felt. A few days after the Nephilim battle was over Prudence had woken up at five inches tall. They still weren't sure why, but when Prudence lost consciousness for any reason she shrank. The longer she was asleep the smaller she became. That first morning had been a nightmare. For a while she had climbed and staggered away around her giant size bedroom, a bedroom that she had lived in all of her life was suddenly alien to her. Even when she had concentrated and focused enough of her energy to grow. No one knew how to fix her.

With her mother far too busy for her Esmerelda had volunteered to sleep in Prudence's room. At first she had used a cot, but somewhere along the way Prudence had woken up with Esmerelda beside her in her wolf form. Esmerelda had told her that an alarm had sounded and that she had transformed just in case, but then fell asleep after the all clear. Prudence discovered on that morning that she liked waking up surrounded by warm fur. It worked out for both of them and freaked out her mother, even if she wasn't showing it that much. At least when her mother looked up from her new twins and her new superteam to notice her daughter at all.

Prudence had discovered that she liked Esmerelda. Esmerelda didn't judge her like the other members of Earth Force did. Prudence had never trained as a fighter; she had never wanted to be a super hero. What she wanted to be was a librarian, an archivist. But now she had powers and with those powers came the responsibility to use them. That was what her mother and father had taught her all of her life. So she had put on one of Tiny Titania's old costumes and set out to use them. Unfortunately Prudence did not use them well. In practice battles with the others Prudence felt like she was the kid on the playground that no one wanted on their team. The others seemed to be born warriors, a club that Prudence couldn't enter.

With Esmerelda it was different. Even with the scars on her face, even though she was missing toes and an ear Esmerelda was not a fighter. At least not when she was human. Prudence could talk to her and not be afraid of being called a coward or being scorned as useless. And she loved waking up snuggled into Esmerelda's fur, or just lying against her warm body. Prudence knew that everyone suspected that they were lovers, but no one-especially her mother-would bring up the subject openly. In her deepest heart Prudence wasn't sure how she felt toward Esmerelda; if the feelings she suddenly had would lead them into sex or not. Esmerelda for her part, aside from the times she had given a shrunken Prudence a bath, had never made any advances toward her in that direction either. They lived with an un-spoken agreement not to talk about it.

At any rate Prudence knew that she could count on her friend, not take care of her like she had her mother for the past year.

Lucy and Mary walked quietly into the medical wing and saw Yoran standing over Merry's incubator. He was using a magnifying glass to examine her arm. Seeing them he motioned for silence and then pointed at one of the other beds. Esmerelda lay on one of the beds in her wolf form. She slept quietly in a semi-crouch. Prudence slept against her neck and had snuggled into the fur. Esmerelda wore the gray peasant dress she always wore while Prudence wore the skin-tight dull yellow jumpsuit that grew and shrank with her.

"Oh yea, it's a Kodak moment." Ms. Dream whispered to Lucy earning her a look.

Lucy didn't say anything but her lips drew into a tight line for a moment before relaxing. Esmerelda and Prudence had formed a deep bond over the past few months as the search for Mystery Woman had intensified. At times Esmerelda had been the bridge between an angry, disappointed daughter and her parent. The bond was deepening and Ms. Dream knew that worried Lucy. Prudence was an adult, her sex life was hers, but both Ms. Dream and Goddess of Justice had seen what being superheroes did to relationships.

"That part of her life is her own." Lucy said. "I know why they are friends Mary, they are both trapped in their own powers."

She was sidestepping the issue but she had a point. As long as it was not a full moon Esmerelda could control her transformations from her wolf-form into her human form, but in a full moon she transformed into a wolf with a wolf's killing instinct. For her part Prudence had to be awake to maintain her normal size. And they still didn't really know how her powers worked. Prudence had told them what had happened, how Merry had used part of her own life force channeled through Ida to save Prudence's life, but Ida had added something else to the mix. And now that that they knew that Merry was gay Ms. Dream guessed that Lucy was wondering if that hadn't been transferred as well. And if so how deeply had it affected her daughter? Both Ms. Dream and Goddess of Justice knew of at least two superhero marriages that had broken up because one of the partners found out that they were under mind control, or had in the past had their personalities altered. That sort of pain made a normal break up many times more painful.

Lucy walked over to Yoran and Ms. Dream followed her. Some questions just couldn't be asked out loud.

"How is she?" Lucy asked.

"Doing the best Darth Vader impression I've ever heard." Yoran said with a frustrated expression on his youthful face. He was wearing a sleeveless dark robe filled with pockets. He put down the magnifying glass and gestured for them to look at the tiny woman. "The breathing is starting to get on my nerves. If I knew more about her I could heal her."

"She's smaller." Lucy said.

"But she's healing." Ms. Dream said.

Merry lay without the bandages, her skin red but no longer burned. Even small her nude body was magnificent to see, even with a missing arm. She was a living Barbie doll.

"Her skin is healed." Yoran said. "But her lungs are still seared, as far as I can tell and the ribs are bruised at least and the muscles have been torn and burnt. That's why the labored breathing. But it's how she's healing that's worrying me."

"What is wrong?" Lucy asked.

"If you get hurt you heal, the body repairs itself." Yoran said. "It uses the available resources, either direct nourishment or fat, the bodies natural reserves. Even someone like Merry follows those rules. The exception is people like you Lucy, when your Goddess of Justice, her body is powered by magic and heals using that energy. Even when you're not in her body your body retains a lot of that energy. Merry doesn't seem to have that ability. Her body is advanced in ways I can't discern without tests, but her body is still like ours. For her body to heal it needs food or it needs to consume excess weight. We can't feed her and there isn't any extra fat on her body."

"So she's shrinking her body to heal?" Ms. Dream asked.

"That's my best guess." Yoran said. "Converting extra mass directly somehow. It shouldn't work at all, but it's working. Only she doesn't have enough body to do it."

"Feed her then." Ms. Dream said.

"How? I can't get a tube into her stomach, I don't have one small enough. I don't have a needle that I can get into her arm to feed her intravenously. She won't even take water, either she gags or she spits it out before I can get down her throat. Even with Prudence's help I couldn't get her take anything. She struggles and spits it out and curses while she's doing it. She doesn't even wake up but she fights back."

"Maybe she doesn't drink water." Ms. Dream said. "What about wine?"

"Everything." Yoran said. "I've tried everything from water to high protein milk shakes. She just won't take it. Merry almost bit Prudence's thumb off when she tried to hold her mouth open."

"She won't trust us enough even to take food from us?" Lucy asked. "Goddess! I can't believe this!"

"Believe it." Ms. Dream said. "It fits her."

"She's literally consuming her body?" Lucy said. "To heal? She would rather borrow from Peter to pay Paul than trust us that much?"

"It looks that way." Yoran nodded. "And she doesn't have enough body to do it. We need to get something into her."

"We have to talk to her then." Ms. Dream said. "We gotta wake her up."

Lucy leaned down and looked at the small body in the incubator.

"Merry." She said sternly. "Merry we need to talk to you. Wake up. We can't help you while you're asleep." Lucy banged the side of the incubator sharply. "Wake up!"

"So much for the direct approach." Ms. Dream said when Merry didn't respond. "Maybe I can get through to her mentally."

"Ms. Dream no, her privacy…"

"Relax Lucy, I'll just see if she's still in there. I'll talk, if she wants to talk back I'll hear her, but nothing beyond that."

"Very well." Lucy said, but she wasn't happy about it.

"Hope she's in a better mood this time." Ms. Dream said. She cleared her mind and softly extended it toward the tiny woman.

Everyone was still shouting. Merry would have put a pillow over her head if she had one. Slowly the voices were dragging her back to consciousness. She'd have to deal with them. Strangely she knew who they were, and she knew that waking up to talk to them wouldn't be waking up all of the way.

Suddenly there was a new voice. A voice Merry knew. Merry realized that someone was trying to get into her mind. Rage filled her and that rage at last united the many voices that had been shouting. They joined in her outrage and with one voice they screamed at the intruder.

Ms. Dream gasped in pain and staggered back into Lucy.

"Whoa!" She gasped as her friend kept her from falling. Ms. Dream shook her head to clear it. A stabbing pain was erupting between her eyes.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"I got yelled at big time!" Ms. Dream said before she passed out.

"Honestly why can't they simply leave her alone?" Delilah said as the alarms sounded. "What part of 'don't read my mind' don't they understand?"

"I believe they were trying to help." Tremont said.

"They were trying to wake her up." Molly said.

"I think I know why." Deborah said. "If they are trying to help then they are trying to feed her. Ms. Dream may have been trying to wake her up for that reason."

"What ever they were trying to do the damage is done." Delilah said bitterly. "Look at her brain activity."

There was stunned silence as they saw the lines of the display slowly go still. As they did so the heart monitor simply stopped.

"Self destruct in two minutes." Tremont said.

"Everyone be QUIET!" Merry screamed.

And suddenly everyone was and Merry stood alone in a field of silent giant statues. They gazed at her miserably and Merry felt the pain of centuries of despair. The despair was a physical thing, a cloud that slowly settled over her. Inside the cloud was a soft cloying sense of infinity. For a moment she welcomed it. Then a name came to her mind.

"What happened?" Lucy demanded.

"She ain't alone in there." Ms. Dream said steadying herself. She had only been out for a few minutes but she had a headache that would last for hours. She couldn't stop her hands from shaking. "Different voices, all of them in pain, all of them shouting, they were shouting at each other until I showed up. Then they shouted at me with Merry leading the chorus. The anger, the energy was incredible."

"I think the shouting has stopped." Yoran said sadly.

In the incubator Merry's body lay completely still.

"Oh god no!" Ms. Dream whispered. She felt a horrible guilt start to eat through her. Desperately she staggered over to the incubator. "Come on, don't do that to me. Please! Come on! Damn you bitch don't die because of me!"

As if in response to her entreaty Merry's body went rigid and her eyes opened.

"SIMONE!" Merry screamed sitting up. The energy only lasted as long as the word and then she fell back limply onto the pillow, her breath once more a labored rasp.

Ms. Dream's hands shook as she took the cup of coffee that Lucy handed her. She downed the cup in one gulp and handed it to Prudence who filled it again. They were in Lucy's room, sitting on her bed. Cradled in Lucy's arms was one of the twins. Her shirt was pulled up and the baby was nursing happily. Ms. Dream hadn't left the medical room until sun-up. Yoran had gone off to search his books and Esmerelda was watching Merry.

"It wasn't your fault." Lucy said.

"She wouldn't agree." Mary said. "I nearly killed her."

"You weren't trying to read her mind." Prudence said.

"She didn't see it that way." Ms. Dream said. "God Lucy I'm lost here. I could take Merry shouting at me, but it was more then her. There's at least four other people in there with her. How the hell does that happen?"

"I don't know." Lucy said. "We may know her true name now but she lives up to Mystery Woman still."

"Maybe we should try forcing coffee down her throat." Mary said looking at her cup.

"Not the way you like it or we'll kill her for sure." Prudence said.

"Funny." Mary said. After a moment she laughed at the joke. "Seriously Lucy what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Lucy said sadly. She looked over at the idol of Athena. "I am afraid to ask for her help. It is selfish I know, but I am afraid to anger her after only a few days ago being spurned by her."

"She'd just give you a riddle anyway." Mary said.

"I could ask Ida?" Prudence suggested.

"She didn't respond to you all the time you were looking for Merry." Ms. Dream said. "Let's face it she's one of those quiet goddesses."

"What if you linked my mind with Merry's?" Prudence asked. "She'd trust me, I know it."

"No way." Mary said. "Prudence I was just there, it's not a fun place."

"We gotta try something!" Prudence exclaimed. "Mom either she eats or by the time she's well we'll need a microscope to find her! Yoran did a chart on the computer!"

"Pru there are at least four people in her head right now." Mary said. "And I'm not sure she's in charge. If I try to link you mind with hers we could both get burned."

"But…" Prudence started to shout.

"She's right Prudence." Lucy said. She got off the bed and carried the baby over to the crib. Putting her down she picked up her sister and carried her over to the bed. Lucy sat down and shifted her shirt so that the baby could feed from her other breast.

"Of all the things that Merry most values her privacy seems to be the highest on the list. We… I lost her trust and so did Ms. Dream. If we even try to establish a mental contact it will end badly."

"I didn't loose her trust." Prudence said stressing the first word.

"But you're not telepath and I doubt another telepath would have any luck either." Mary said quickly wishing that Prudence would stop torturing her mother. It was hurting Lucy more than she let on.

For a few minutes they all sat silently. Mary stared deeply into her coffee cup.

"Pru…" Mary started then stopped. Then she started again. "Pru you got closer to Merry than any of us. Let me try something."

"What?"

"I can't touch her, but I think if you put yourself in her place you might be able to help us."

"What?"

"Trust me. Shrink to about 12 inches and lay down on the pillow. I'm going to try and read a bit of what Merry left in you when she and Ida saved your life. I'll take you mentally back to when you first met. There might be something there that can help us."

"Back then?" Prudence asked fearfully. "But…"

"It'll be just like hypnosis." Mary said. "You'll be safe."

"It is the only chance we have." Lucy said.

"Ok." Prudence said and then concentrated. Smoothly she shrank until she was no taller than Merry. She walked over to the pillow and lay down.

"Ok, no close your eyes an try to think about the time you were hooked up to Merry."

Prudence took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Mary concentrated and softly joined her mind to the young woman. Carefully she led Prudence back in her mind until they were back in the Asguardian orchard.

Mary saw it all clearly. Prudence was sitting up with help from Ida. Merry had crawled over to one of the apple trees. Her breasts were nearly three times larger than normal.

"Milk counters closed. No more drinking." Merry said taking a bite from an apple.

Suddenly everything fell away into blackness and there was only Mary and Ida.

"Oh hell." Mary said.

Ida looked at her curiously and was suddenly twenty feet tall.

"You know why I'm here right?" Mary asked nervously as Ida reached down and picked her up.

"Because of you Mystery Woman is in danger once more." Ida said giving her a spank.

"Yea, well that's one way of looking at it." Mary said squirming. "Ok, I got her to the island…"

"By playing on her feelings."

"Do we have to go through this again?" Mary pleaded. "Look I got her there but the rest was all her idea. She could'a flown away."

"She could have." Ida agreed. "And now she pays the price for her nobility while you, Lucy and Prudence sit in comfort."

"Hey I'd switch places with her in a second if I could."

"Really?" Ida smiled and Mary realized that she might have offered too much.

"If that's what it takes." Mary said realizing that it was too late to back away from the offer.

"I will not do that." Ida said. "For there is no reason. The solution you seek lies right in front of you and has lain in front of your eyes for nearly an hour now."

"An hour?"

"An hour." Ida nodded. "Ms. Dream do not come here again, but tell Prudence that while I have not answered her prayers I have never left her. When the time is right I shall speak with her again."

"Can I give her a hint when that'll be?"

Reality snapped around Mary and she found herself sitting on the bed. Prudence said up.

"Well?" She asked.

"Ida says 'hi'." Mary said. "She'll drop you a line someday."

"When?"

"She didn't say."

"Did she say anything that can help us?" Lucy asked.

Mary was about to answer her when she realized what Ida meant. Suddenly she laughed.

"Lucy you almost done?" Mary asked.

"I think so." Lucy said looking down at the baby. The shock of the idea hit her then and Mary couldn't keep from laughing.

"What?" Prudence demanded as Mary fell off of the bed laughing hysterically.

"Really?" Yoran asked as he held up the plastic baby bottle.

"Yes." Lucy said. "This is something you haven't tried yet."

"It was Ida's idea." Ms. Dream said.

"And this is fresh?" Yoran said. "Breast milk?"

"Yes it is fresh and yes it is mine." Lucy said blushing.

"Ten minutes ago." Ms. Dream said stifling a giggle. "Had to do it herself, wouldn't let us touch her."

"Some things I can do myself Mary." Lucy said.

"I think it's kinda gross." Prudence said. She was still small and Lucy held her daughter in her hand.

"It makes sense." Yoran said looking at the milk.

"I agree." Lucy said. "Because of my relationship with Athena my blood is pure. My milk has special qualities. She may accept it."

"Well let's give it a try." Yoran said.

Lucy put Prudence into the incubator and Yoran put an eye dropper into the bottle and filled it.

Prudence shrank a bit more to match Merry's size and then lifted the prone woman up to a sitting position. Merry didn't stir.

"Ok Merry, let's try this again." Prudence said pulling the bottom of Merry's jaw down. "No biting this time." She cradled Merry against her body and kept Merry's mouth open as Yoran eased the eye dropper a little into it and squeezed the bulb.

Merry's eyes opened as the liquid hit her mouth.

"Ida." She whispered softly. Then she pushed the eye dropper away. "Fake."

"Take it, it's good for you." Prudence said trying to force Merry's mouth open.

Merry struggled and squirmed but Prudence managed to hold her still while Yoran pushed the eye dropper into her mouth again. Merry took one swallow before she was fighting again. She growled and tore at Prudence with her good arm. Prudence managed to wrestle her down and grab Merry in a bear hug. For a few moments she held the other shrunken woman but then Merry broke the hold and bit down on Prudence's arm. Prudence screamed and kneed Merry in the stomach. Merry was stunned but still lashed out at anything in range. She grabbed the eye dropper and jumped up and bit Yoran's finger. He jerked his hand back reflexively and squeezed the bulb on the eye dropper. Milk spurted out over both shrunken women.

"She's a finicky eater." Ms. Dream said.

Merry lay panting painfully for a moment. Then she lurched up and started clawing at Prudence's chest. She only had the strength to keep it up for a moment before falling back. Her eyes closed and Merry mumbled a few words before laying still.

"What did she say?" Yoran asked shaking his hand.

"Ida." Prudence said. "She said it a couple of times."

"I don't get it, she seemed ok at first." Ms. Dream said.

"I understand." Lucy said. "Yoran would you excuse us?"

He nodded and left the room, giving Lucy a look of understanding before he closed the door.

"You're not really…" Ms. Dream said.

"Yes I am." Lucy said in a tone of voice that had more resignation than surprise in it. She pulled off her shirt and folded neatly on a chair. Lucy's breasts were heavy from feeding her children. She was normally a B cup size and her nipples were brown with a soft tip. Now the tip was larger and slightly damp. She took off her bra. "Prudence was the same way, no bottle for her."

"Well she can't say you never did anything for her." Ms. Dream said as Lucy picked Merry up.

"She's not to know of this." Lucy said as she carefully moved Merry's face close to her breast. "I will not buy my… owe…"

"What?" Prudence asked.

"Teeth!" Lucy said stiffly.

"Oh yea, she's got good teeth." Ms. Dream said. She watched and after a moment Merry's body relaxed and she started to suck."

"This is ten times way gross." Prudence said.

"Hey, you did it." Ms. Dream said.

"When I was a baby!" Prudence insisted.

"Ah!" Lucy said gritting her teeth. "She's a biter."

"You know somehow that doesn't surprise me." Ms. Dream said.

"Well they are resourceful." Delilah said as they watched from Merry's viewpoint.

"Her mind is still a mess." Molly said "Perhaps, but Merry's body is getting what it needs." Tremont said.

"I think we can proceed with step one of the plan." Deborah said. She reached over and adjusted Merry's height. "They obviously don't have any ill intent toward her. With any luck we can have her back by the weekend."

"Yipe!" Prudence yelled as Merry suddenly grew.

"Ah!" Lucy cried out. Painfully she pulled Merry away from her breast.

"We're on the right track." Ms. Dream said.

"Yes, we are." Lucy said. She sat down on one of the examining tables. Merry writhed in her hands, semi-conscious but larger now. "But at this size her jaw is stronger too. Ms. Dream pick up Prudence, hold her next to my chest."

Ms. Dream reached over and picked up Prudence. Then she held her close Lucy's chest.

"Prudence see if you can keep Merry's jaw from clamping, just grab the sides and press."

Lucy brought Merry to her breast again and Merry leaned in and took Lucy's nipple into her mouth. Lucy grimaced and Prudence reached around Merry from the back and pressed hard against the sides of her jaw. Lucy relaxed as Merry was forced to stop biting.

"We really ought'a take a picture of this for the Earth Force newsletter." Ms. Dream said earning a dark look from mother and daughter.

Merry had heard tales of the Elysian Fields, the paradise of ancient Greek legend. She felt as if she were in that place. She lay on the grass and felt the warmth of the sun. The sun had been cold at first but now it was getting warmer and her body wasn't hurting as much. To her right and to her left were four other people, two on either side. They weren't really people, their bodies were made of smoke and light. Each of them was telling her the story of their lives, but they were telling them at the same time. The voices tired her and Merry fell into darkness again.

The ship was a replica of the Millennium Falcon. It hovered just five feet above the ocean and two miles off shore. Normally it would have been impossible to spot with the naked eye.

"It's them all right." Ms. Dream said as Earth Force watched the ship on the monitor. Two days had passed since they had started feeding Merry breast milk. The small woman was recovering but the true Merry hadn't woken up yet. She would wake up, but it wasn't Merry. At least three other people had woken up long enough to talk. Their talk was of historical poems or housework or fear of someone called 'Scalius'. Meaningless to everyone in Earth Force.

"It's a toy." Savage said.

"What better way to move about un-noticed." Goddess of Justice said. She pressed a button on the intercom. "Security, how long has this ship been watching us?"

"No way to tell ma'am." Walter Sponica's gravely voice responded. "We got a visual on it when the setting sun hit it."

"You were told to look for such craft." Savage said sternly.

"We have been sir." Walter's voice was strained. "But this thing has the heat signature of a seagull and even with the visual we're not getting anything on the radar. It may look like a toy but it isn't one. It might have been there for the past few days, it's been cloudy."

"It is alright Walter." Goddess of Justice said. "From what we know of Dollopolis they are masters of stealth. Have we detected any active energy from the ship? Are they scanning us?"

"No ma'am." Walter said. "Or if they are they aren't using what we can detect."

"Keep and eye on them and stand by then." Goddess of Justice looked up.

"Opinions? Suggestions anyone?"

"It is likely that they know she is here and are waiting for her to recover and send them a signal." Yoran said.

"Or they may think we are holding her prisoner and are planning an attack." Savage said.

"They wouldn't attack." Ms. Dream said. "They don't have the resources for it and they know that we know they don't.

"Could Duchess Simone be on that ship?" Moon Girl asked.

"Maybe." Ms. Dream replied.

"This is a perfect opportunity to mend fences." Goddess of Justice said. "Invite them in, show them we aren't the enemy. We can even let them take Merry if they wish."

"Before she wakes up?" Prudence demanded.

"If they want to." Goddess said.

"But…"

"Prudence we can't hold her if they want to take her." Goddess said.

Prudence didn't reply but everyone knew she wasn't happy.

"If they come we can talk to them." Esmerelda said. "We can ask them for Merry to return when she is well."

"How do we ask them?" Aslana asked. "I don't think any of us would get near the ship before they ran."

"They couldn't out run us." Savage said.

"We don't know that." Goddess of Justice said. "But chasing them down would not be a good way to start a friendship."

"They wouldn't run from me." Prudence said. "I can be the same size and Yoran could just pop me out there. Teleport me on top of the ship, next to the hatch and I'll knock."

"Oh hell!" Ms. Dream cursed looking at the monitor.

They looked at the monitor and saw what had gotten her angry. The Falcon was in an aerial dogfight with Flame.

"Honestly are we dealing with intelligent beings or not?" Delilah snapped as Jessie and Lizzie flew desperately to avoid the attacking demoness. They were shouting instructions to each other and barely controlling their panic.

"They do seem to have their problems." Deborah agreed.

"Their problems are our problems for now." Molly said.

"At least we know that Lizzie and Jessie have gotten better at flying." Tremont said as the Millennium Falcon pulled out of a dive with the demoness close behind them. Flames and particle beams shot back and forth between the combatants.

"We've had them hovering off shore for a day now." Delilah said. "Long enough for them to be spotted and for Earth Force to make any overtures."

"Have we miss-judged them?" Deborah wondered.

"Impossible." Tremont said.

"Look, more of them." Molly said.

On the monitor they saw as Goddess of Justice, Ms. Dream and Moon Girl flew away from the mansion.

"It's best not to take any chances." Deborah said. She reached over and touched a control. "Lizzie, climb, go sub-orbital and then drop a few concussion bombs if anyone is still following you. Then cut your power and glide down to sea level and meet Simone on Cape Cod."

"Yes Mistress." Lizzie's strained voice responded.

"Next plan?" Delilah suggested and the strained patience in her voice was obvious.

"I am beginning to believe in bad luck." Lucy said softly.

She was frustrated and angry. Everyone in the room knew it; the angrier she became the less Lucy showed it. She sat in her chair at the round table and didn't transform into Goddess of Justice.

"Flame didn't know she was doing anything wrong." Esmerelda said.

"I'm not mad at her Esmerelda." Lucy said. "I'm just frustrated."

Mary sighed inwardly. The demoness had been proud of herself for chasing away an enemy. To Flame the concept of not attacking something smaller at first sight was a completely alien one. It had been hard to explain to her that she had done something wrong, but that she would not be punished for it. It had been nearly a week since the Millennium Falcon had flown away and no sign of anything since. Merry continued to recover physically and talk in different languages as she did so. Her arm was beginning to grow back. Lucy was trying to be optimistic in the weekly meetings but the strain was showing. In the past few days Esmerelda and Ms. Dream had broken up shouting matches between Lucy and her daughter. Prudence wasn't trying to be a thorn in her mother's side, but her unspoken accusations were a constant source of irritation to Lucy. It didn't help that it took all three of the to feed Merry. Mary suspected that Prudence was freaked out by the fact that someone was drinking from her mother's breasts and she wasn't handling it well.

"They will be back." Mary said.

"When and how is the question that worries me." Lucy said. "If they think we are holding her they may attack. A fight between us would be worse than senseless."

"I still don't think they have the resources to take us on." Mary said. "Not with just three people."

"If they are desperate enough they will find a way." Savage said. "If Merry is any measure of their resourcefulness."

"The good new is that Merry's arm has started to grow back." Yoran said.

"But she still talks like an idiot." Savage said. "I believe that they are still watching. What if we were simply to leave her on the cliff face? They would come get her."

"They'd suspect a trap." Moon Girl said. "I would."

"I agree." Lucy said.

"This woman is putting us through a hell of a lot of trouble." Savage said.

Before anyone could say anything else there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Lucy called. Mary could tell that she was grateful for the interruption.

"Sorry to interrupt ma'am." Walter said walking into the room. Walter was a former football player and mob enforcers that Lucy had rescued from a life of crime. He was big in almost every way; tall, fat and with a gravel voice that boomed across the room. He was carrying a small white and blue FedEx box. "We just got a package from FedEx addressed to Merry the Doll in care of Ms. Dream."

"What's in it?" Ms. Dream asked.

"From the X-ray shape I'd say it's a cell phone." Walter said putting the box onto the table in front of Ms. Dream. "Nothing else showed up on the scanners."

"Oh goody, a present." Ms. Dream said. She opened the box and took out a small cell phone and a note. "Turn this phone on at Eight O'clock tonight." Ms. Dream read. "Do not trace this call. Simone of Dollopolis."

The note had been printed with a floral font and the lettering was plain black, but at the top was the coat of arms for Dollopolis. Ms. Dream passed the note to Lucy and looked at the cell phone. It was old one, a gray flip picture phone with a scratched up screen. Parts of the plastic were gone and there were many scratches over the body of the phone.

"Verizon." Ms. Dream said reading the logo on the phone.

"And they use Federal Express?" Savage asked. "Are we sure they are strangers to this world?"

"Where was the package sent from?" Lucy asked.

"Yesterday morning from a Kinko's in the center of town." Walter said. "I checked with FexEx tracking. The clerk at Kinko's can't remember who and the security camera was out yesterday."

"For visitors to this world they seemed to be very familiar with how to use it's infrastructure." Yoran said.

"They are resourceful." Lucy said looking at the note. "This was printed at Kinko's as well."

"Well we know that Merry can reach our size and taller." Ms. Dream said. "I guess Simone can too."

"So tonight we may finally have answers." Savage said.

"I hope so." Lucy said staring at the note. "I hope so."

By the time 8 PM rolled around the tension in the conference room was thick. Very thick. The cellphone sat on a speaker phone attachment. Lucy was drinking Ms. Dream's coffee, something she never did. Yoran was in the medical room with Merry, Prudence and Esmerelda were seated at the table. So were Moon Girl and Aslana.

At seven fifty nine Ms. Dream reached over and turned on the phone. A few seconds later it rang using an old fashioned bell as a ring tone.

"Hello." Ms. Dream said pushing the answer button.

"This is Duchess Simone of Dollopolis." A cultured English voice announced. "Good evening Ms. Dream."

"Hi."

"Am I addressing all of Earth Force?"

"We're all here." Ms. Dream said.

"I am glad that you survived what I had to do to the island." Simone said.

Was that a subtle reminder of the power they were dealing with? Lucy's nod to Ms. Dream showed that thought it might be.

"We all did." Ms. Dream said.

"Then I will come to the point. I know that you hold my First Knight captive. What are your terms for her ransom? Power? The secrets of my technology?"

Of all the things that Simone could have said Ms. Dream didn't think that any would stun her as much as that.

"Ransom? Simone we're not holding her for ransom."

"She is in your headquarters, before your demon chased my ship away I found that out at least. If she were not held captive Merry would not be there. Do not toy with me Ms. Dream."

"Duchess Simone this is Lucy Rothschild." Lucy spoke up. "We are not holding Merry prisoner, she was injured on the island and she is still unconscious."

"Ah, the great betrayer speaks." Simone said. "And from your voice I can tell that you are healthy and young once more. Did Merry forgive you to be rewarded with treachery again?"

"Duchess Simone please…"

"Simone only Mrs. Rothschild." Simone interrupted her crossly. "Only those I rule may call me duchess. I sent Merry to that island with specific instructions. I know that she battled demons and that her ship was destroyed, as was the ship I had sent with her in case such a thing happened. Merry has battled demons without number before, even without a ship most of them are no danger to her."

"There were a lot of them you know." Ms. Dream said. "And one of them was Hellspite."

"I know well of Hellspite." Simone said. "But Merry is no fool, she would have run unless she had the weaponry to fight him. So why is she supposedly hurt? I ordered her to forgive Mrs. Rothschild or not but not to risk her life."

"Well we don't know exactly what happened." Ms. Dream said.

"And yet you were there?"

Ms. Dream was getting a sinking feeling in her stomach as the conversation continued. Simone's voice showed that she was angry, that she was worried and that she was suspicious. This wasn't the calm person she had met in Dollopolis. This was a worried lover.

"Simone during the battle my daughter was hit by a spear." Lucy said. "While Ms. Dream helped her I surrounded us all with a dome of light. While we were protected there was an explosion. When I let the dome dissipate Hellspite was dead and the demons he had summoned were gone, as was the portal he had opened. Somehow Merry killed him, she was crawling toward her ship when the ground shook and a rock crushed it."

There were a few minutes of silence before Simone spoke again.

"Hellspite was a demon, Merry delights in killing his kind. In our world she killed many. But the weaponry that could kill him is here in Dollopolis. I can see that she could kill him without it and in doing so that she could be injured. But why were the three of you in a protective dome and Merry was not?"

"She was flying around shooting demons." Ms. Dream said. "There was no chance to get her into it."

"If" Simone said and her voice stressed the word "I believe you, then even though Lucy was at full power Merry did not leave you there as I instructed. Instead she stayed and fought, risking her life and after the battle you brought her to your home to treat her injuries."

"That's pretty much what happened." Ms. Dream said.

"I do not believe you." Simone snapped. "There is no reason for me to believe that Merry would risk her life for you. Not when I know how she feels about you and not when she knows how desperate the situation is for Dollopolis right now."

"We don’t know why she did it but she did it." Ms. Dream said.

"I have no reason to believe you." Simone said.

"It's the truth!" Lucy exclaimed.

"By your past deeds you have proven that you are not worthy of trust." Simone said harshly. "But why do you play this game with me? By now Ms. Dream has been able to probe Merry's mind, you must know all that she knows, why do this? What plots do you weave?"

"I haven't read her mind!" Ms. Dream shouted. "Look Simone this is true!"

"If you haven't read her mind that might mean that she is too injured for you to read her mind. And if it is true what am I to do? Just walk into Rothschild Mansion and bring Merry home with me?"

"Yes!" Lucy said.

"Do you think me an idiot!" Simone shouted. "Since you can not read Merry's mind you seek to read mine? I have no doubt that I can walk into your home Mrs. Rothschild, but I have many doubts that I could walk out."

"Simone it's the truth!" Prudence shouted back. "Even if you don't believe my mother you can believe me!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Prudence Rothschild."

"A proper daughter would protect her mother and protect her above all." Simone said but there was a little less heat in her voice. "And perhaps aid her in a trap?"

"Then maybe you can believe me instead." Esmerelda said.

"Esmerelda." Simone guessed.

"Yes. And I would not lie to you."

"When Merry speaks of you Wolf Girl… It is with great affection." Simone said after a pause. "I am almost jealous."

"Then believe me." Esmerelda said. She looked around the table. "Believe us. We are not the villains you think us to be."

"You would have my word as well." Moon Girl said. "My blood is as royal as yours Simone. There is no treachery here."

"Then why are you tracing this call when I instructed you not to." Simone accused.

"What?" Lucy shouted.

"Even if I believe that you are not the ones tracing this call; how can I think that you are competent enough to be trusted?"

"Security what the hell is going on?" Lucy said hitting the intercom button. "Walter are we tracing this call?"

"Yes ma'am." Walter said. "Just like you ordered."

"I…" Lucy said. "I gave no such order."

"But you were just in here and told me to trace the call." Walter said.

"Security alert!" Lucy snapped. "Seal the mansion. Stop the trace."

"A good act Mrs. Rothschild." Simone said. "But a futile one. Perhaps you thought that this time I wouldn't detect the trace but I planned this call with the utmost care. You will not find me before I hang up."

"I know how this looks." Lucy said. "But I swear to you I did not give the order to trace the call!"

"Lucy!" Ms. Dream shouted pointing at the monitor screen. On it they saw a second Lucy in the medical section. Behind her on the floor was Yoran. In her hand was an unconscious Merry.

"Merry!" Prudence shouted.

"Oh enough of this petty theatre!" Simone snapped and the phone went dark.

Merry had finally gotten the hang of it. It had taken her a while to figure out what was going on. Scalius had pushed other minds into hers. Dead minds, or copies of dead minds. The four people he would have needed to start his tiny kingdom once more. His scribe Mica, a thin timid man who loved to read and write but also loved to gamble. He had gambled his life away along with his size. Scalius favorite shrunken warrior woman Trinka, who he had bought full sized from a slave trader and then shrunk her. She lived only for the joy of combat or sex or both at the same time. Miran who knew sexual techniques beyond the imagination of any of his other wives, but who had tried to poison him. He had shrunk her and mated her with all sorts of beasts and insects in his experiments. And Pulla, a man who could conjure a feast from table scraps.

They all had one thing in common; Scalius had owned them body and soul. They hated him and feared him but obeyed him no matter what. But they were all dead and Merry was alive, and she would not allow them to take control of her body. So they all sat in her mind. They stood in a metaphysical circle with Merry at the center and they talked. Each of them wanted her body to live a life and each of them seemed to think that they were entitled to that life. Merry disagreed. She gamed with Mica, fought with Trinka, made love to Miran and ate with Pulla. Sometimes she had to do it all at once and the four way split weakened her. It allowed them to take control of her body one at a time. No one was really winning but Merry knew that she was loosing.

She was struggling with them all when Miss Shadow came into Merry's mind and walked into the clearing. Merry recognized her instantly. Miss Shadow silenced the others with a wave of her hand and looked at Merry.

"I want answers from you Mystery Woman." She said.

The four former slaves looked at her and attacked.

Merry's eyes snapped opened and she woke up for the first time in nearly a week. Pain was the first thing that hit her. Her body ached and her missing arm throbbed. It was hard to breathe. Miss Shadow was holding her with one hand. Merry could see past the illusion of Lucy that the woman was creating around herself. With her one good arm Merry grabbed Miss Shadow's thumb and pulled it close. Then she leaned in and clamped down onto the thumb with all the strength in her tiny jaw.

"What the bloody hell is going on!" Simone demanded as the read outs on Merry's condition suddenly went wild.

"Miss Shadow." Tremont said seeing the dusky-skinned woman's image appear on the screen.

"That explains the trace." Molly said.

"Merry can you hear us?" Deborah asked.

"She can't." Delilah said. "Miss Shadow's mental probe is triggering some sort of chain reaction in her brain.

"We have to stabilize her." Tremont said.

"Too late." Molly said.

All Merry knew was rage. She felt it from the four personalities in her mind and it mixed with her own. That rage found its target in Miss Shadow. The woman gasped in pain and pulled Merry away from her thumb. Merry had bit down enough to draw blood and it covered the bottom of her face.

Miss Shadow looked at her but she was still locked into a mental battle with the four slaves in Merry's mind. She tried to pull out and lashed out with her power hurting everyone. It was mistake and it only made Merry madder. That anger triggered something inside of her and Merry suddenly grew. She grew to normal size and then beyond normal size and then she filled the room. Her oversized body smashed against the walls and furniture and slammed Miss Shadow against the wall. Merry felt her head hit the ceiling and stunned she found herself shrinking once more. She shrank to her normal twelve inches and staggered back against pieces of the broken incubator. Miss Shadow slumped to the floor her eyes glazed with pain.

Seeing her renewed Merry's anger. With a roar she grabbed a piece of broken plastic from the incubator and ran toward Miss Shadow.

Ms. Dream rounded the corner into the medical wing first with Lucy right behind her. The place was nearly totaled. Miss Shadow lay on the floor and Merry sat on top of her chest and tore at the heroine's throat with a piece of jagged plastic. Merry was screaming and snarling as she savagely slashed at the woman. They were both covered in blood and Miss Shadow was desperately trying to stop her tiny attacker but her hands couldn't hold onto Merry.

"Merry!" Ms. Dream shouted.

Merry looked up, pausing for a moment in her attack and Miss Shadow grabbed her and threw her against the far wall. Merry hit with a crunch of breaking bones and then fell limply to the floor.

"Goddess no!" Simone screamed as Merry's read outs started going black.

"Her necks broken!" Molly shouted.

"Boost her!" Delilah snapped and Deborah slammed her hand against a control. Merry's read outs suddenly went to full power and her size level indicator simply vanished. For a few moments there was complete silence in the room. Then Merry's size appeared again and stopped at twelve inches tall and her read outs returned to life. Barely. Her heartbeat started a slow and un-steady rhythm.

"I am beginning to seriously dislike Force Group J." Delilah said harshly.

"What did you do?" Simone demanded breathless from the fear.

"A boost, a failsafe that we've never used before." Tremont said. "And never really intended to use. A design afterthought."

"We shrank Merry down to sub microscopic size, barely a micron tall." Molly said.

"As she shrank her body used the excess mass to repair and rebuild itself almost instantly." Deborah said. "Converting it to energy at a fantastic rate of speed."

"But with all such things there is a price to be paid." Delilah said. "The shock of it, physical and mental is indescribable."

"But she survived it." Simone insisted looking at the read outs.

"Only just." Delilah said.

"Very barely." Deborah said. "There's so little brain activity we can scarcely see it. Her biosphere was severely drained."

"So what do we do now?" Simone asked.

"It is obvious that Merry is the catalyst for a feud between Earth Force and Force Group J." Tremont said. "Something we did not anticipate."

"In a full out battle Earth Force would loose." Molly said.

"We must make sure there won't be one." Deborah said. "The intent of tonight's theatre was to finally get Lucy and her friends to leave Merry and us alone. To convince them that they are neither trusted nor welcome in Dollopolis."

"That succeeded." Delilah said. "And it failed. Lucy Rothschild is never more determined than when she is protecting an innocent or righting a wrong. She now believes that Simone thinks of her as an enemy. She won't rest until that wrong is righted."

"But because of the way this has played out Simone can't have a sudden change of heart." Molly said. "And since she can't just go into Rothschild mansion and walk out with Merry without ruining the fantasy we've created we are stuck. Until she recovers Merry will have to stay with them."

"And we will have to hope that their security gets better." Tremont said.

"It won't be." Deborah said. "Poor Lucy is simply outmatched in the power department. Next time it will probably be Timidious who sneacks in."

"We must solve this." Delilah said.

"Lucy needs more members for her club." Deborah suggested.

"The solution is in front of us." Delilah said. "And Merry is the catalyst."

"As she usually is." Tremont added.

"What are we going to do?" Simone asked.

"We are going to get Merry back and bolster Lucy's new group." Delilah said. "And along the way I think that Miss Dream deserves our attention. Our special attention."

The tone of her voice chilled Simone enough to stop her from crying. When Delilah spoke in that tone of voice everyone was scared.

"What do you mean?" Simone asked.

"I mean that it is time that Miss Shadow and Force Group J learned that Dollopolis is not helpless against them."

"I agree." Deborah said. "It is time Simone to introduce Miss Shadow to your dungeons."

Simone thought of Merry lying barely alive in Earth Force's medical wing, barely alive when they had been so close to getting her back. Anger replaced fear and sorrow.

"Where do we start?" She asked coldly.

…To be continued.

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