The Dangers Of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 31. "Escape"

by Skytower

The shouting was done, the fighting was done and Merry felt like she was done. Her memory was fuzzy but the pain-no pain was too light a word for it-was still fresh in her mind. What she had been through had been every kind of pain there was and more. She and the shades of Scalius slaves sat in a circle. In the center of that circle was the slowly smoldering remains of a fire. That fire was Merry and it was fading.

"That woman was a bitch." Trinka said.

"Aren't we all?" Miran asked smiling. "She wanted to tear secrets from Merry's mind, we wanted to take her body."

"Scalius ripped our spirits from our bodies when we were yet young enough to have lives." Mica said miserably. "We deserved more."

"We deserved what we received." Pulla said. "Thus it has ever been so."

"Did I deserve this?" Merry asked quietly.

"You can ask that after the lies you've told?" Miran asked. "We know you Merry as you know us, there can be no deception between us."

"Can there be pity?" Merry asked. She looked up at them. "You got a raw deal, so did I at first. But the Group isn't Scalius."

"So you believe." Trinka said.

"It doesn't matter really." Mica said. "Right, wrong, do they matter when a man stands at the end of all things?"

"That's when it matters the most." Merry said. She tried to stand and failed.

"It matters to the living." Mica corrected her.

"I'm still alive!" Merry said gritting her teeth as she climbed to her knees. "I can't die, I won't die…"

Trinka caught her as Merry fell backward.

"I won't die." Merry whispered as the flame grew dimmer.

The headline was large. Equally large was the picture bellow it that showed Miss Shadow lying in a hospital bed. And Mary knew that the repercussions were larger than both were and they were going to last for a while. The shouting match going on between Lucy and the Secretary General of the U.N. was clear evidence of that. Event though they were on the other side of the mansion Mary could hear them.

"Miss Shadow arrested!" Mary read from the newspaper. She sat at the table in the conference room. "Force Group J member Miss Shadow was arrested and charged in her hospital room today. She is being accused of breaking and entering and assault in the headquarters of Earth Force. This seems to be an escalation of the on-going feud between Force Group J and the new group of super beings made up of former Teen Force and Force Group J members. A spokesman for Force Group J is on record as saying that Miss Shadow was acting against a threat to planetary security…"

"Like hell she was." Moon Girl said. "If a woman no more than twelve inches tall is a threat to this planet…"

"We are talking about the same woman who killed Hellspite and nearly cut Miss Shadow's head off." Mary reminded her. "With one arm. She cut the artery. We know from Lucy that she killed Sidonia. I've been with her for a while at the same size and I'm telling you small or large she's dangerous."

"She was an ally we betrayed and now a person under our protection who was attacked." Moon Girl said harshly. "On my planet I would exile the people who allowed such a thing."

"Yea, well we ain't going anyplace." Mary said quietly. There were times that Moon Girl's aristocratic background got to her.

"She is quite a woman." Savage said. "I was wrong before, she is worthy of respect and protection. I would mate with her had I the chance."

"Yoran would be jealous." Granite Girl said.

"He could join us." Savage said with a shrug. "She is woman enough for us both and he has always wanted a young one."

"The point is that she was helpless." Moon Girl said. "Desperately in need of the help that she could only get from her own people and Miss Shadow ruined that."

That hits close to home for you, Mary thought. Moon Girl had been stranded on Earth for years now and she suspected that the crash of her ship had not been an accident. There wasn't any real proof yet and Mary didn’t want to be around if Moon Girl ever found it. Moon Girl was nearly as powerful as Goddess of Justice and if she found out that anyone had kept her on Earth deliberately there would be hell to pay.

"Yea well I think that Lucy is sending a message about that." Mary said.

"What do you mean?" Granite Girl asked.

"She called the cops, she called the papers." Mary said holding up the newspaper. "The first I could have guessed at, the second… Not what she usually does. When Simone sees this headline she'll put two and two together. She'll know it wasn't us that attacked Merry."

"Even if that is true she might blame us for being careless." Moon Girl said.

Mary shrugged and looked at the monitor screen. "Well she's got protection now."

A pale Merry slept on and sitting up beside her with a stern expression on her face was Prudence. The monitor didn't show it but Esmerelda was in the room as well. Merry was about as pale as human could get, her skin was nearly transparent. Mary had seen victims of vampire attacks that had looked healthier. She was still breathing but you had to look hard to see it. Mary went on reading.

"Rumors of a mysterious un-named 'Mystery Woman' still persist and Earth Force has yet to issue a statement on the existence of this un-named superhuman, but it is almost a certainty that…"

Mary stopped reading as Lucy walked into the room.

"Well?" Moon Girl demanded.

"Miss Shadow is free." Lucy said. "Until the Unite States withdraws from the treaty that created Force Group J she still enjoys some immunity protections. She'll be moved from the prison ward into a private room."

"Damn!" Ms. Dream swore. "How much do you think she knows about Merry?"

"There is no way to tell how far she got into Merry's mind." Lucy said. "And my shouting matches with her and Captain Pharaoh didn't reveal anything." She looked at the cell phone that was still on the table. They had plugged a charger into it but the phone just sat there.

"She won't call back." Savage said. "She won't chance it."

"If I were a sovereign and my lover was all that I had left of my world I would find a way to get her back." Moon Girl said. "Either they will come for her or they will contact us again."

"They will once they see the headline." Mary said. "That's why you called in the newspapers isn't it Lucy?"

"That is one reason Ms. Dream." Lucy said sitting down. She wearily rubbed her eyes. "Another is the simple fact that Miss Shadow is guilty of a crime. She broke into this house, assaulted Yoran and masqueraded as me. The time is gone Ms. Dream when beings like us can get away with that. I knew that she would most likely go free, but not before that crime was known to the world."

"So we wait again?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Yes." Lucy said.

"Good thing the twins aren't weaned yet, Merry's gonna need some more milk."

Lucy blushed slightly as she gave her friend a frown. Ms. Dream didn't meet her gaze but hid her smile behind the paper. The only thing that they had that Merry was able to drink was Lucy's breast milk.

"How come she gets a pass?" Prudence demanded from the monitor.

"Because that is the law." Lucy said.

"The law." Prudence spat the words.

"It is what holds society together Prudence." Lucy said. "Even if some of us aren't happy with it."

Prudence didn’t answer but the look that she gave her mother spoke volumes. Outwardly Lucy didn't react but Ms. Dream knew that inside Lucy was hurting. When Lucy had insisted that Miss Shadow was the one most seriously hurt and that she received Yoran's medical care first Prudence had gone berserk and it had taken Goddess of Justice to hold her back. It had been the right thing to do, Merry had cut clean through the artery in Miss Shadow's neck and she was only a minute or so away from bleeding to death. They could all see that after Merry had vanished and re-appeared whole there was nothing that Yoran could do for her.

Prudence hadn't seen it that way and she'd un-loaded a years worth of pain at her mother until Moon Girl and Esmerelda had physically pulled her out of the room. Even after that Ms. Dream had had to knock her out to keep her quiet.

"We shall wait." Lucy said standing up. "We shall increase our security and we shall hope. For the time being that is all that we can do."

Ms. Dream nodded, as did the others at the table. Prudence just looked away.

The Maine night was cold and cloudy. Simone thought it was perfect. There would be few people out on a cold night and the clouds would hide them. She and Lizzie and Jessie sat in the control cabin of ThunderBird 2 and watched as the dim sunlight vanished all together. ThunderBird 2 sat in the shadow of a huge heat vent on top of the roof of the Ten Dragon's Chinese restaurant. Simone suspected that even with the air filtered the smell of Chinese food filled the ship. From where they were they had a clear line of sight into the room where Miss Shadow lay in bed. She was talking on the phone and the ships sound sensors could easily hear her words.

"Thank's for the help Michael." Miss Shadow said. There was a little bit of anger in her voice. "I don’t like prison wards."

"Lucy's determined to bring us all down." Michael said.

"We need her power." Miss Shadow said.

"We need more than that." Michael said. He was Captain Pharaoh, one of the oldest and greatest of the superheroes. Simone didn't like him, he was too full of himself for her to take. "We need those fools to realize that you can't save the world by standing in the light of day all of the time."

"I thought she knew that."

"I thought she did too." Michael said sadly. "I just hope she realizes that we're right before something terrible happens."

"Something terrible did happen." Miss Shadow said angrily. "That little bitch tore out my throat!"

"You started it!" Jessie snapped.

"Hush dear they can't hear you." Simone said.

"But…"

"Hush." Simone said.

Jessie subsided and Simone wondered what had happened between Merry and the twins while they had been on the island. What ever it had been had erased any hard feelings or jealousy between them. The twins had been as angry as she had been when they found out about Miss Shadow's attack.

"Did you get anything from her mind?" Micheal asked.

"Rage. Incredible rage." Miss Shadow said. "But it wasn't only hers. I didn't get a thing on Dollopolis, but I got a name. Scalius. I got a lot of confusion, she has four mental avatars, but they were all there to prepare the way for Scalius to return, from where I don't know."

"I'll check out the name." Michael said. "You get some rest. I'm sending a shuttle for you, it should be there tomorrow."

"What about the Pyramid?"

"If I don't stay between Russia and Germany they'll start shooting again." Michael said sounding tired. "I have another few days at least."

"Milady are the Giants causing the war?" Lizzie asked.

{No.}

{Not really.}

{We are just making sure it doesn't end too quickly.}

{After all we can scarcely expect you to fight Force Group J.}

The voices appeared in all of their minds. Simone had gotten used to that by now. She was still slightly in awe of the power that the Group wielded. She wondered how they were prolonging the tension that was threatening to tear Europe apart. Simone wondered but she didn't ask.

Two hours later Thunderbird 2 landed softly on top of the roof of the hospital. The dark green snub nosed barrel-shaped craft settled in next to an air conditioner and melted into the shadows. The hum of the air conditioner masked the sound of the lifting pads as they pushed the ship away from the cargo pod. Once that was done the cargo pod door opened and Simone drove out. She was using a small four-wheeled tug to pull a larger cylindrical tank with a hose attached. Behind her came Lizzie and Jessie. Simone wondered if the girls felt as strange as she did. They were wearing life suits. A sprayed on batch of chemicals that formed three layers: Interface, Nutrition and Protection. The three layers were so thin that wearing the suits felt like wearing nothing at all. The chemicals were sprayed onto the body in a painful process. Merry had gone through it, Simone had seen her go through it, but nothing could have prepared her for it. It was like taking a hot bath in the middle of a snowstorm. But the suits worked perfectly for a stealth mission. Wearing a suit Simone could survive for days under water or in a vacuum. The helmet she wore allowed her to see in the dark and hear things outside of her normal hearing range. Outwardly the suit was a dull gray that light seemed to flow around. But for all that it felt like she wasn't wearing anything at all. Simone pulled the tank over to the air conditioner and stopped.

"This is it." Simone said looking at the side of the AC unit. They could hear the air flowing into the vent as it was pulled into the building by giant fans.

Lizzie and Jessie come out of ThunderBird 2 each carrying a sack. They dropped the sacks by Simone and then dragged the hose over to the vent and eased it through the hexagonal-shaped wire mesh. Simone was proud of them. They had screamed as she had while the suit had been applied, but not afterwards when the mission had been described to them. Past missions with just the three of them had not gone well and Simone knew that they were scared.

While they pushed the tube in and tied it off Simone took a bow and a quiver of arrows from one of the packs and slung them over her shoulder. Then she picked up a few coils of rope. Then they walked over to another vent. Warm air flowed from this vent.

Amazingly Simone didn't feel scared or angry. She felt exited, but even that feeling wasn't as great as she had expected. All she could really feel was concern for Merry. Even if this worked it wouldn't do Merry any good, only getting her back could do that and this might or might do that. But Simone didn't like the way that Miss Dream had tap-danced around the law. The part of her that was beginning to feel like a Duchess-a ruler-felt outrage that one of her people had been attacked.

Careful old girl or you'll believe your own stories, Simone told herself.

The vent was old and rusty. Jessie brought over three files and working quickly the three of them cut a hole into the side of it. Simone and Lizzie tied their ropes around the base and then threw them into the shaft. Lizzie put an ammunition-style belt over her shoulders while Jessie and Simone double-checked the ropes.

"Good luck." Jessie said hugging them. "I'll be waiting."

Simone wanted to say something encouraging but she remembered that Merry often warned against such things. Why tempt fait after all? So silently she and Jessie climbed through the hole and into the shaft.

Ms. Dream opened the door and quietly slipped into the room. The gym under the solarium was smaller than the one on the far side of the house. It wasn't a gym meant for people who could throw cars around, the work out equipment was the same as any you'd find anyplace on Earth. Before it had been a gym the room had been a conservatory and murals of orchestra's filled the walls. Prudence and Esmerelda worked out together, but it wasn't a normal workout. Esmerelda had littered the gym floor with blocks and small boxes and other toys. They formed a loose maze. Prudence would start at one side of the maze and Esmerelda would use a radio controlled jeep with a modified paint ball gun attached to try and catch her.

Ms. Dream was a little surprised when she saw that Prudence was naked. Her slim body was covered in sweat and dust.

"Ah-ha!" Esmerelda cried as Prudence slipped on a tight turn and the jeep mounted paint gun fired and hit her between the breasts. The little pellet exploded and covered her breasts with blue paint.

"Darn it!" Prudence shouted and they both giggled.

"Good shot." Ms. Dream said.

"Thank you." Esmerelda said looking up.

"Is Merry still out?" Prudence asked. She walked over toward them, still completely unconcerned about her nudity. That was something that Ms. Dream was sure that Prudence had gotten from Merry. Before the merge that gave Prudence her powers she had never worn anything less than a one-piece swimsuit, and she'd blush when she wore that.

"Still out." Ms. Dream said. "Where's your suit?"

Prudence shrugged.

"I never keep it on anyway once I get caught, I figured might as well start practicing this way."

"Uh-huh." Ms. Dream sighed. "Esmerelda give us some time?"

"I'll go check on Merry." Esmerelda said catching the edge in her voice.

"What's wrong?" Prudence asked after Esmerelda left.

"Stop." Ms. Dream said reaching out with her powers. She slipped into Prudence's mind and stopped her from growing."

"HEY!" Prudence shouted.

"It's going to be easier to talk some sense into you if you can't storm out." Ms. Dream said. "Why work out naked?"

"Let me go!" Prudence demanded.

"Why work out naked?" Ms. Dream demanded.

"It's a bet I have with Esmerelda." Prudence snapped. "The game starts with me in the costume but every time I get hit I have to take part of it off. It doesn't matter anyway; who the hell hasn't seen me naked? What do you want Aunt Mary?"

Ms. Dream sighed again.

"Pru I've known you since you were born. Why the brat act?"

"What?"

"You've gone out of your way to needle your mother for the past year. I can get some of why you're mad at her, but come on."

"Hey I've been right there everytime she needed me!" Prudence shouted. "I helped her rebuild this place, I stepped in when she couldn't find Merry… I…"

"You've been a bitch to her the whole time." Ms. Dream said. "You helped, but always with a little dig at her or anyone who stood up for her."

"Go to hell!" Prudence shouted.

Before Prudence could react Ms. Dream snatched her up with one hand, pinning the shrunken girls arms to her side.

"I'm gonna bet that some of your new attitude is from Merry."

"Let me go you bitch!" Prudence screeched.

"And I know you got some issues to deal with." Ms. Dream said.

"Ouch!" Prudence cried as Ms. Dream spanked her.

"Your mother's a good woman Prudence." Ms. Dream said spanking her again. She kept up the spanking as she talked and Prudence was helpless to do anything but wave her legs in protest. "A damn sight better than my mom ever was I can tell you that."

"Let me go!" Prudence screamed. She was crying but still fighting back.

"I know you're mad, but you gotta stop taking your issues out on your mother."

"SHE'S NOT MY MOTHER!" Prudence screamed with enough pain in her voice to make Ms. Dream stop. "I'm not her daughter! I'm not my father's daughter! I'm not even human!"

Ms. Dream stopped spanking and put her down. Prudence fell against one of the blocks sobbing.

"Is that what you believe?" Ms. Dream asked.

"It's the truth." Prudence said bitterly. "Prudence Rothschild died when she was five. She was up on the Pyramid when a stray shot from an alien warrior hit her. She was put into the healing machine, the Zenalina; I came out. The machine took pieces of her and pieces of her mother and pieces of Mr. Iron slapped me together. Me. Not Prudence. Some of her got put into me, the rest was thrown away." Prudence looked up and Mary could only marvel at how much anger was in her tiny form. "But mom never told me that, she never told dad that. She let me think that I was Prudence. If Aunt Sandy hadn't told dad I'd still think that. It was the best way to keep her nice little world safe."

"Is that what you really think Prudence." Lucy asked.

Mary and Prudence both looked up.

I ought'a put a bell on that door, Mary thought.

"It's the truth." Prudence said coldly. "You never told me, you never told dad."

"I never told you that when you were a year old you fractured your arm falling out of a chair." Lucy said walking over to her. "It didn't matter and neither does this."

"It matters!" Prudence shouted. "It mattered enough for dad to go nuts! It mattered enough for him to… him to…"

"I know what he did." Lucy said bending down. "But that isn't my fault and it isn't your fault. It was his fault."

"It was your fault!" Prudence screamed and Mary was glad that she had stopped her from growing or else Prudence might have attacked her mother. If the sizes were reversed Lucy would have been in a lot of trouble. "Can't you admit that mom? Goddess I used to think you couldn't tell a lie, now I don't think you can tell the truth!"

"What's the truth!" Lucy snapped. "That I didn't tell your father or you about how I saved your life? You're right; I didn't. I didn't care how it was done, I only cared that my daughter was still alive!"

"I'm not…"

"YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER!" Lucy shouted slamming her palm down on the floor with enough force to knock Prudence over. She reached over and picked up her miniature daughter, pinning Prudence's arms to her side. "The little girl who walked out of that machine and called me 'mother' is the same little girl that went in! The same!"

Lucy tenderly used a fingertip to wipe Prudence's hair out of her face.

"I know my daughter." Lucy said. "I know her soul. No alien doppelganger could ever fool me. I never thought it would matter how the machine cured you. Or maybe you're right and I just fooled myself. Athena knows that I've been very good at that over the years. But what ever lies I've lived with I've never doubted for a moment that you weren't human or that you weren't my daughter."

Mary had edged away from them as she talked and now she stood up and backed up toward the door.

"You never told me the truth." Prudence said stubbornly. She squirmed in her mother's grip.

"I didn't think you needed to know." Lucy said putting her down.

"I wasn't human before Aunt Sandy blew a hole in me, I died then and Ida used some of herself and Merry to put me together again. I've changed! I look at things now and they aren't the same! I'm not… I mean… What the hell am I now?"

"You are my daughter!" Lucy insisted.

"Am not!" Prudence cried back. "I'm a puzzle, I'm the Patchwork Girl, hell I'm River in Serenity!"

Mary slid out the door and closed it quietly behind her. Esmerelda stood a bit away from her.

"Your idea?" Mary asked.

Esmerelda shrugged.

"Think we should lock them in for a few days?"

"I wish I had been able to do what you did." Esmerelda said. "But I could not, Prudence will not listen to me where her mother was concerned. I feared and hated my mother, but she was an evil woman."

"Not everyone's as lucky as Prudence." Mary said.

"She needs to realize that." Esmerelda said. "I lover her dearly but she can be stubborn sometimes. Shouldn't you allow her to grow again?"

"No." Mary shook her head. "Lucy might want to spank her too."

She smiled and Esmerelda joined her in the smile.

"This is only the beginning for them."

"Yea, I know it'll take some more shouting. Come on." Mary said putting her arm around Esmerelda's shoulder. "Let them do it out of ear-shot, I need coffee."

Lizzie looked at the circuit board. As far as she could tell it was a big brown plate with black rectangles and squares connected to each other by orange lines and multicolored cylinders. She might as well have been looked at ancient writing.

I could understand this if they wanted me to, Lizzie thought. I bet Merry understands this.

Thinking of Merry brought a surge of anger into her. Ever since they had met Lizzie and her sister had only seen Merry angry or at best tolerant. But on the island she had been friendly. She had worked with them, always patient, never angry despite the fact that she could do ten times the work that Lizzie and Jessie could do. And she'd promised to train them. The first time Lizzie and her sister had met Merry they had beaten, raped and nearly killed her. It hadn't been in Lizzie and her sister to feel guilt about it then. But later, after being taken and shrunk, after being used as lab rats and after they had met Simone; then Lizzie had begun to realize what guilt was. And she'd felt it acutely when Merry had risked her life to save her and her sister, and yet had not forgiven them. Not at first. But she had forgiven them and on the island Lizzie had seen what could be. She'd felt it, a feeling of being accepted, of loved, and then it had been grabbed away from her just like almost every other good thing in her life. Dollopolis was good. It was better than anything Lizzie had ever dreamt of. But there couldn't be a Dollopolis without Simone and Lizzie knew that there couldn't be Simone without Merry. Lizzie didn't quite realize all of this consciously. But Lizzie knew from the pain in Simone's eyes that someone had nearly torn her and her sister's new life apart when it had just barely started. Someone was going to pay for that. Vengeance at least was something Lizzie had always understood.

Lizzie looked around. She was at a junction spot in the duct. Air from the rooms came through this spot before being sent toward the roof. Lining the vent were grids of plastic and metal that glowed like neon lights.

"Is this it?" Lizzie asked. For the duration of the mission she didn't have to call them 'mistress' or 'master', another taste of what could be if they got Merry back.

{That is it.}

{You are standing next to the bio-contaminant sensors.}

{In front of you is the control circuit.}

{Take the blue box out of your pack and place it against the 45^th and 46 contacts on the ic labeled 'fRE984'.}

Lizzie took the blue box out of her belt.

"Where do I start counting from?"

{Upper left side.}

{Count out loud and use your finger.}

Lizzie started to count. It took her three tries and she kept loosing her place-even at her size the metal contacts were small-but finally she had her finger on the right contact. Holding it there she placed the blue box against the two contacts and pressed down. It flattened against them like wax. Once it was secure Lizzie stood back.

"What now?"

{It's done.}

"It's not going to blow up or smoke or anything?" Lizzie asked.

{No.}

{Sorry to disappoint you.}

Lizzie was sure that they were laughing.

"What did I do?" Lizzie asked.

{What we told you to. Now go and join Simone.}

"But…" Lizzie started.

Was it possible to hear a mental sigh? Lizzie was sure it was. She was sure that she heard one.

{All digital circuits work on a time based logic system. By shorting out those two leads you've stopped the clock. It is always the last second for that unit, the last reading it took will be the one it reports to the central system.}

{The computer that runs the bio sensor is stuck in time.}

{Now any air borne danger at all can dance right by it.}

{Satisfied?}

There was no mistaking the sarcasm in that last question.

"Yes mistress, sorry mistress." Lizzie said and started to hurry down the duct.

{They are becoming more and more curious.}

{I blame Simone for this.}

{Should we continue to tolerate it?}

{For now as long as they do what we say.}

Lizzie swallowed hard and started to run. She had come close to making them mad and that was something she never wanted to do again.

But it was nice to know what she had done.

The room was hardly first class. It held a bed, a dresser with a television on top of it, a metal chair for visitors and a small table with a vase of flowers on it. The walls were olive drab, the floor green and white and black and the furniture looked like it had come of the 1950's IBM office furniture catalogue. The television didn’t even have a remote control.

Serves you right, Simone thought as she looked into the room from the air-conditioning vent. Miss Shadow lay on the bed reading a newspaper. She was a tall dark skinned woman with long flat red hair. Simone couldn't tell what her ancestry was. Her face held a bit of the exotic features that would have looked well on an Asian, but her skin was too dark for that. Miss Shadow was the leader of the Legion of Mystics and Simone wondered if there were any mystical beings in her family tree.

Maybe we can ask her, Simone thought as she notched an arrow. Shooting through the vent wasn't going to be a problem. Simone was an expert archer. But she had to hit on the first try. Miss Shadow was a sorceress. One word or glance from her could summon who knew what sort of powers. She had already mostly healed the wounds caused by Merry. Only the extreme loss of blood kept her relatively week.

{Five minutes have gone by.}

{The contagion should have done its work.}

{If it hasn't do the best you can to get out of there.}

{We will not let her read your mind.}

Simone nodded. She understood now more than ever. If Force Group J realized what Dollopolis really was then Lucy's group would be finished and so would Lucy. And so would Merry.

So I just won't fail, Simone thought as she let the first arrow go. She was notching another one almost before the first one had struck.

Miss Shadow gasped and grabbed at her cheek. She pulled out the arrow and looked at the vent. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She was shocked at the lack of voice and was a sitting duck for the next arrow. When the second one struck she tried to make a gesture but her arms fell to her side and she fell silently onto her back. Simone fired another arrow and this one hit her in the neck. Still Miss Shadow refused to give up without a fight. Simone saw it in the woman's dark eyes. They fluttered and closed as the drug took effect but she forced them open again. There was determination and spirit in those eyes. Simone had to respect that. But she had seen that sort of determination in Merry's eyes. She fired two more arrows into the woman's neck and Miss Shadow at last fell asleep.

Simone put down the bow and breathed deeply. Her entire body trembled. She had never fired at arrow at anything but a target. Now she had fired… how many arrows?

Had to be done. Simone stood up and started to work on the vent. Miss Shadow was powerful, but Merry had shown them how to defeat sorceresses. Keep them from talking, from gesturing, don't make eye contact and they could be beaten. The virus that been pumped through the entire hospital was short lived, five or ten minutes at the most. But while it was in the air the sickness attacked the vocal cords, making it impossible to talk clearly or even at all. It was a risk using it in the hospital but an acceptable risk for The Group. Hopefully no one would even notice.

Simone pushed the vent covering and it fell away and swung on one screw. She looked up as Lizzie came running up to her and then panicked as the vent cover started to squeak. Simone made a wild lurch to grab the cover and almost fell out of the vent when its weight pulled her forward. Lizzie grabbed her legs and pulled her back in.

"Good work Lizzie." Simone said.

"Thank's milady." Lizzie said. She was breathing hard. "Are you sure you want to do the next part? Merry said it hurts like hell."

"I'm sure." Simone said. She tied a rope through one of the empty screw holes and tested it for strength. "You stand by to throw me the bow in case anything goes wrong."

"Yes milady."

Simone climbed over the side and slowly lowered herself down the rope. Once on the floor she pulled off the helmet.

"I'm ready." Simone said.

{Brace yourself.}

Simone was ready for it so she didn't scream. But it took an effort. She grew and the suit did not grow with her. It was as if she were having a hot bikini-wax over her entire body. Every inch of her skin suddenly screamed and her nervous system took all of those screams and pumped them into her brain at full volume.

It was over and an instant and a nude Simone was laying on the floor at full size. For a minute she just lay there and breathed deeply. Then she slowly got to her feet. The room didn't look any better at her normal size. She gave Lizzie a quick smile that hid the pain and then walked over to Miss Shadow. The heroine was still unconscious. She was struggling against the drugs though. Simone could see that in the tense look on Miss Shadow's face and the way her closed eyes still moved.

Simone walked over to the window and opened it. She stood aside as a floating frame moved silently into the room. The frame was black, with two central spines made of round metal. The spines were connected by a framework of metal that also supported an engine and a gas tank with a face mask attached to it. Branching out from the spines were six 'C' shaped claws. Simone walked back over to the bed and pulled the sheets away from Miss Shadow. The heroine's figure was larger than Simone had guessed, with large breasts and hips. She was wearing a hospital gown and Simone pulled it off of her. Dark tattoos were inscribed on the woman's body. Monsters and letters and numbers in what looked like a dozen languages. There were also patterns of scars the formed letters and images.

"Lydia the Tattooed Lady." Simone whispered.

{You don't get to head the LOM easily.}

{Everyone of those tattoos and scars was part of her initiation and training.}

{Judging from where some of them are located the LOM has some serious sexual issues.}

{Don't most secret societies?}

Simone stepped back as the frame moved over the heroine. It lowered and then the claws closed silently around Miss Shadow's nude body. Simone reached over and fitted the gas mask to her face. Miss Shadow moaned once more and then went completely limp.

"Time to go." Simone said walking back under the vent.

{The reactions to this should prove interesting.}

Prudence looked at the circuit board and then around the duct. The hospital kept it clean but there was still enough dust for her to see tiny footprints.

"They were here Mo-Goddess." Prudence shouted. She had almost said 'Mom' by mistake. "Looks like they shorted out something on the circuit board."

"Thank you TT." Goddess of Justice called back.

"Oh they were here alright." Ms. Dream said batting at the string that hung down from the vent. They were in Miss Shadow's hospital room. When the entire hospital came down with laryngitis for ten minutes security had quickly checked Miss Shadow's room and then called the mansion.

Goddess of Justice held up Miss Shadow's hospital gown.

"What do you think Ms. Dream?"

"I think Simone's decided to show us that she can play in our league." Ms. Dream said. She took hold of the rope and closed her eyes. "I'm getting worry, I'm getting a lot of anger, a little regret…"

"Do you think she will contact us now? Perhaps try for an exchange?"

"If we're lucky." Ms. Dream said. "But I said I got a lot of anger from the rope, I get the feeling they know what Miss Shadow did."

"That does explain why they would risk this." Goddess of Justice said. "We can only hope they call quickly."

"Simone's on the edge." Ms. Dream said. "She has to know we'll come after her for this."

"As you say she is on the edge." Goddess said. Her grip tightened on Miss Shadow's gown. "And Athena save me I might have pointed her toward this target."

Miss Shadow woke up quickly. Once the drugs had faded from her system her powers took over and she recovered her full strength. But even before she opened her eyes the heroine knew she was in trouble. Her hands were encased in solid blocks of plastic. A frame around her head kept her from opening her mouth. She was nude, sitting on a green felt surface in a circle of light.

"You recover quickly Miss Shadow." Simone said from the darkness. "An asset in your profession and a testament to your power."

Miss Shadow looked around but didn't see the speaker. Simone wondered if the woman was scared or not. She should have been. Simone would have been. Would Merry?

"But you may not use your powers here." Simone said as the thought of Merry turned her voice cold. "I am Simone, Duchess of Dollopolis. You have attacked my First Knight while she lay helpless. For that cowardly act I have the right of vengeance. You are here for vengeance."

The lights came up at the word and Miss Shadow looked around her eyes widening. Simone didn’t blame her. She was in a white room. There were no windows, no doors and the lights were recessed and undetectable. The room could have been small or it could have been large, there was no way to tell. Miss Shadow sat in the middle of a rectangular table. A pool table. She looked up at Simone and for all her experience and control Simone saw fear in the heroine's eyes. Simone was wearing a black robe and a black faceless mask.

"I am told you wish to know more about my world. This I will tell you. In my culture vengeance is highly prized." Simone lifted her black gloved hand to show the black pool stick there. "But since we are on your world I realize that some accommodations must be made. This game my First Knight observed and it appealed to her. She has a fondness for the entertainment's you call 'cartoons' and the characters of Tom and Jerry. She created this place but has not used it yet. And thanks to you she may never use it. But I will."

Simone placed the white cue ball on the table and bent over. She wasn't an expert at pool but for this she didn't have to be. She aimed at the red 8 ball two balls away from Miss Shadow and sent the cue ball toward it. Miss Shadow didn't move as the cue ball rolled past her, so she caught the full searing heat of the explosion as the white ball knocked the red 8 into a brown 4. She fell and screamed with her mouth closed.

Simone took the cue ball and walked around the table. She moved slowly.

"This is your world but the rules are still from my world." Simone said. Miss Shadow staggered to her feet. She was healing quickly. "My world has very exact rules about vengeance."

Simone put the cue ball down and lined up her next shot. Miss Shadow stood ready and when Simone hit the cue ball the heroine ran in the opposite direction. Simone walked around to where the cue ball had come to a stop. Miss Shadow was at the far end of the table, no where near any of the balls. Simone fired hard into crowd of three balls and the scattered. As soon as any of them got near her Miss Shadow ran.

The game played on silently. Simone played smoothly, never hurrying but never letting Miss Shadow have more than a few seconds rest. She circled the table constantly, forcing the tiny heroine to move to keep her in sight. It didn't take long for Miss Shadow to start to tire. Her mistake came when miss-judged the angle that Simone was playing and was too close as a blue and a brown ball clicked together. But instead of an explosion of searing heat a wave of super cold air hit her. Miss Shadow went down and before she could get up again Simone sent two more balls colliding next to her. Miss Shadow screamed as one of them touched her and an electric shock went through her body.

"You are a heroine." Simone said, pausing to allow her to recover. "When we discovered your world Merry talked of your kind with respect. She does not give her respect lightly. She was of the opinion that you were paragons, that you could be trusted."

Simone sent the cue ball across the table again and this time it knocked a still reeling Miss Shadow into a green ball. The ball exploded into dust that stung her eyes and burned her skin.

"Yet when she was at her most helpless, after killing Hellspite and saving three of your kind you attacked her." Simone said.

Miss Shadow leapt away as two of the balls exploded close to her.

"I love Merry and you might have taken her away from me forever." Simone said. Inside Simone was both amazed and appalled at how good at this she was. The anger, the imperious attitude came so easily. Now she knew why Merry was so scared about becoming the character she had to play. It was so easy to let your dark side take over. Easier still because she was angry. She had never been angry at a shrunken woman before. Never at Lizzie or Jessie and never at Merry. But she was mad at Miss Shadow and the knowledge that the heroine was completely at her mercy thrilled Simone. It tempted her.

Miss Shadow staggered and fell against the black 8. She quickly found that where her skin touched the ball it stuck. She tried to pull free but only succeeded in becoming more stuck. With her arm and her side stuck to the ball she looked up at Simone. Simone took a blue ball down to the other end of the table and then lined up the cue ball.

Miss Shadow stayed where she was. She was hurt and she was scared, but she still managed to hold onto herself. There would be no begging.

"When this ball strikes the black ball they both combine to create acid." Simone said. "You will die very slowly. Very painfully."

Miss Shadow tensed but her attitude didn't change. How many times had villains threatened her like this? Simone wondered if she really was making an impression. There was only one way to find out. She leaned over and hit the ball. It rolled smoothly across the table. Miss Shadow moved slightly at the last minute and got out of the way. Simone knew then that she had made the impression that she wanted. Miss Shadow had been scared. Simone felt an incredible surge of satisfaction at the woman's fear. She walked around the table and picked up the ball.

"I don't have to use the cue ball you know." Simone said holding the ball above Miss Shadow. "I could drop it. I could take you and pull your body apart."

Miss Shadow looked up at her, scared but defiant.

Simone gripped the ball tightly and then put it down on the table and gave it a soft push away from the heroine. "But what is the use?"

Simone took a spray bottle out from under her robe and sprayed Miss Shadow. The heroine had no chance to fight the drug and fell to the surface of the table unconscious.

"Very well done." Deborah said as the door to the room opened.

"Nicely played." Delilah said.

"I hope this works." Simone said pulling the mask off of her face. Her face was covered with sweat.

"It will." Deborah said.

"Stage one has gone smoothly." Delilah said. "Now get going, Molly and Tremont need to make you up for stage two."

"We'll take care of Miss Shadow." Deborah said.

The moment she woke up-even before she was fully awake-Daisy's hand went to her stomach. There was a slight bulge there and as she woke up more fully Daisy felt a slight movement in her womb.

It had worked. The baby was in her again, where he or she belonged.

Daisy opened her eyes. She was lying on a bed looking up at a dingy yellow ceiling and an aging ceiling fan with a light in the center. She looked around. The hotel room was old and gray stains were on the blue walls. The furniture looked just as bad.

Daisy sat up slowly. Beside her, still asleep, was Brent. They were both nude but full sized. Through a window that was so dirty it didn't need curtains Daisy could see the sun starting to set.

"How do you feel?" Simone asked.

Daisy turned around and her mouth dropped open. Simone was sitting on the clock on bed table. She was aged. Her hair was white and her skin looked withered. She wore a simple white robe with a black belt. Across her lap was a wooden staff.

"I'm… not sure." Daisy said. "My back aches, my ankles are sore…"

"You're fine." Simone said with a smile. "For your condition."

"I'm fine, what about you?" Daisy asked.

"I'm not so fine." Simone said. "In fact I'm rather miserable at the moment."

"Merry?" Daisy asked.

Simone nodded.

"As you know I sent her to the island to get the samples of the plants. She never returned. I am sorry that I let things go so much for you, but I was busy trying to find her. I learned that she was in Rothschild Mansion. My first thought was that she had been captured. So I took care and set up a cell phone link to call them. But when I called… well things were very confused. They told me that Merry had been severely injured fighting a demon."

"How badly?"

"I don't know." Simone shrugged. "And I'm not sure I believe it. Merry delights in killing demons, but I told her not to risk any harm on the island. Earth Force told me that she risked her life to save them. I am sure that they are trying to trick me. I can easily see that Merry was injured, but fighting a demon or was she fighting Earth Force? Based on their past actions I can't really trust them. It also seems strange to me that Merry would fight for them."

"But…"

"No I can't trust them." Simone said and there was stone in her words. Daisy had heard that tone before. Daisy had no idea what had happened but she didn't think Merry would have risked her life for anyone but Simone, Lizzie or Jessie.

"Things became even more confused at the end of the phone call." Simone said. "I told them not to trace it, but they started a trace. Then there was some shouting, hints of an intruder. I later found out that it was Miss Shadow and that she had attacked Merry. I am beginning to think that Merry has become involved in some sort of superhero tug of war. Or perhaps that is what they want me to think."

"What are you going to do?" Daisy asked.

"I've already done it." Simone said. "I captured Miss Shadow. I even started to torture her, but my heart wasn't in it."

"Simone that's only going to make things worse!" Daisy protested.

Simone spread her hands.

"My dear look at me. The spell I used to help you has drained me, my world is gone, the woman I love is near death. How can you possibly think things can get worse?"

"You said you started to torture her?"

"Yes. I started, but I didn't follow through I'm ashamed to say. Had our roles been reversed and Merry were the one who had captured Miss Shadow, I have no doubt that she would have gone through with the torture."

"Simone they're going to look for her, they're going to come after her." Daisy said.

"Let them." Simone said slapping her hand against her staff. "As one of your poets said 'I will not go quietly into the night.' I will use what power I have left and they will pay dearly for what they have done!"

She seemed angry for a moment but then the anger seemed to drain out of her. Simone took a deep breath and then went on. More than drain her the anger seemed to have exhausted her.

"Daisy they have made up their minds about Dollopolis." She pointed to the table on the other side of the bed. Daisy looked over and saw a small cassette tape there.

"Before we abducted Miss Shadow she was talking to Captain Pharaoh. She told him that Merry was working for someone named Scalius. Not only that but that there were four people in Merry's mind who were there to pave the way for this Scalius to return. What nonsense!"

"Who's Scalius?"

"I don't know. Jessie and Lizzie told me that Merry stumbled into some ruins on the island, there may be a connection. But I doubt he ever existed. It is a lie. Miss Shadow told that lie to Captain Pharaoh, and he no doubt told it to who ever rules him. That lie will bring them down upon Merry and I. I also believe that the lie will allow them to attack Earth Force. Unless of course this is all some plot that involves Earth Force."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing directly." Simone said. "I lived in a world full of such plots all of my life Daisy. But there I had much more power. Here I have only two pieces on the board, my guile and Miss Shadow. I will not torture her again, unless Merry dies in which case I will torture her to death and I'll do it in a way that would make Merry proud, but I still have her. I'd like you to tell Earth Force that I will contact them again once I set up a new network connection and that I would like to make a trade. You may take the cassette and let them listen to it. There may be that there is another explanation for all of this. I don't like to involve you with this but I have no other choice."

"I don't mind helping you." Daisy said. "But Simone these people are heroes, I can't see them doing what you've said."

"I can't see them acting any other way." Simone said. "Daisy I have tried. When Merry begged me to send word to Force Group J I did so, when they used her in their battle against the Nephilim I understood, but then they broke their word. Twice. They troubled her with nightmares, played on her weakness and now they may have gotten her killed! How have they been heroes to me and mine?"

"How do I get in touch with them?" Daisy asked.

"Once I leave wait five minutes and then call them." Simone said. She pointed to the table with the cassette on it. "I left the number to the cellphone I was using. I am sure that they are still monitoring it. You are in a motel about ten miles from their base."

"I'll do it." Daisy said.

"Thank you." Simone said. She stood up slowly. "I also suspect you and Brent will need their help to get your lives back together. Carry me to the door please."

Daisy picked her up carefully and carried her over to the door. It seemed strange to carry her. She'd carried a shrunken Simone before, but that had been a nude vibrant woman. This woman barely seemed to have any life in her at all.

"Wait a minute, where's Abby?" Daisy asked looking around.

"Over there." Simone said pointing toward the corner. Abigail lay asleep in a small cage.

"She's small." Daisy said.

"Yes."

"But you said we'd both be normal after it was done."

"Yes, and she was. But while I haven't been able to observe you directly for the past few weeks I have tried too keep an eye on you. Abigail abused the trust placed in her. While she was large and you were small she treated you and Brent like toys. Worse than toys really, like pets. Some of that I can excuse because of the hormonal confusion caused by her pregnancy, but not all. So as punishment I reduced her to your former size. She will stay that way, in your care, for a year. I will send you the growth potion then. Until then that cage will be her home. You may allow her out of it for brief periods, but she must live in it."

Daisy frowned. Abigail had been a bitch, a vicious one at times. She had started out all right but then had degenerated into a demented marine drill sargent. Payback was a nice thought but…

"Simone…"

"Show her how a small woman should be treated." Simone said. "Discipline above all. But discipline with wisdom and love."

That was how it had worked with Merry, Daisy was sure of that. But Abigail wasn't Merry. Daidy didn't want to spend a year looking after her. But this wasn't the time to ask Simone for anything. She shrugged and put Simone down. Then she reached up and opened the door a crack, remembering her nudity at the last moment. Looking out she saw ThunderBird 2 outside the door. Through the tiny windows she could see Lizzie and Jessie. They waved to her and she waved back.

"Fare well dear." Simone said. She walked stiffly out of the door.

"Thank you." Daisy said. There was a lot more she wanted to say, a lot more than 'thank you' but her throat choked up. She hadn't known Simone that long but it felt like they had known each other all of their lives. She'd never be able to pay her back for what the tiny woman had done.

Daisy closed the door and leaned against it. She dimly heard the ship take off. Then she got up and went over to the bed to wake up her husband.

Simone sat in ThunderBird 2 and cried.

That is a good woman, a better woman than I am and I… Goddess what a liar I am!

"Milady?" Lizzie asked from the pilot's seat.

"I'm alright dear." Simone said. "Proceed to the base. I'll go get this makeup off of me.

Then maybe I'll feel better, Simone thought. If I can convince myself that it was another woman in there just now.

There was silence for a few moments after Daisy and Brent finished telling their story. It was past midnight and they sat in the conference room of Rothschild Mansion. Brent wore a T-shirt and jeans and Daisy wore a bright blue dress. Goddess of Justice had flown to the motel seconds after the call and Ms. Dream had followed a few minutes later with clothing for the couple.

"This explains so much." Lucy said. "By Athena the damage I've done!"

"Lucy they were cracked before they got here." Ms. Dream said. "Especially Merry. Their world was crashing long before they met us."

"How is she?" Daisy asked. "How is Merry?"

Lucy touched a control on the desk and the monitor lit up to show Merry. She was laying in the center of a bed with a thin sheet over her.

I've still seen vampire victims that've looked better, Ms. Dream thought. They'd been feeding her but Merry only swallowed because her body did. Physically she was barely alive and Ms. Dream didn't dare try a mental scan.

"No change since Miss Shadow's attack." Lucy said. "Mystery Woman is alive, beyond that we don't know."

"And that's another problem." Ms. Dream said smiling to herself. Lucy had called Merry by the 'Mystery Woman' name that Count Intellect had given her. That was because the Obrien's weren't superheroes. It was a silly thing to do since Merry didn't wear a mask, but it showed that Lucy was really getting back into form. "Once Simone gets her strength back she's gonna get mad again."

"I'm afraid she's right." Daisy said. "I'll never be able to pay Simone back for what she did, but from where she comes from revenge is a big part of life. She isn't as bad as Merry is but she'll do it."

"We must resolve this and we must do it quickly." Lucy said. "Our best chance shall be when Simone calls."

"When she calls get her to get me the growing potion!" Abigail shouted from her cage. "That bitch owes me full size!"

"Be quiet Abby!" Brent shouted slamming his hand onto the table. "You're lucky we didn't throw you into the trash when we woke up!"

A beeping sound interrupted the argument. Lucy stiffened and changed into Goddess of Justice.

"This is not a great time." Ms. Dream said as Lucy keyed a switch and Captain Pharaoh's face filled the monitor.

"Do you know what happened to Miss Shadow." Captain Pharaoh demanded. He didn’t ask it as a question.

"We know." Goddess said. "Don't worry Captain, we will get her back."

"How?"

"Brent and Daisy have returned from Dollopolis with a message from Simone." Goddess of Justice said. "When Simone contacts us later I shall arrange an exchange."

"What about Dollopolis?"

"The Obrien's have told us what they know, I'll send you the report."

"That is not sufficient." Captain Pharaoh said. "I've found the name 'Scalius' in the archives of the Pyramid. He was an alchemist with a fondness for tyranny. You're obviously being fooled Goddess."

"No she ain't." Ms. Dream spoke up. "I've been to Dollopolis Cap, there is no way anyone named Scalius is involved."

"Then how do you explain Miss Shadow's findings?"

"I don't." Goddess of Justice said. "Simone thinks that she is lying. That she is giving you an excuse to hunt her and her city."

"Ridiculous." Captain Pharaoh said. His expression grew darker. "I think it more likely that she is the one who is tricking you."

"I don't think so." Goddess of Justice said. "I've spent time with Mystery Woman, so has Ms. Dream and she's spent time with Simone. What we have seen matches with what the Obrien's have told us. I have seen nothing that shows any evidence of ill intent from either Simone or Merry. They are desperate refugees not supervillains."

"You're being tricked." Captain Pharaoh said.

And that's it, Ms. Dream realized. She knew that tone of voice. Captain Pharaoh had decided something. It would take a biblical revelation to get him to change his mind now.

"You have no evidence of that." Goddess of Justice said. Ms. Dream was sure that her friend knew that tone of voice as well.

"I will once Mystery Woman's mind is scanned."

"Forget it." Ms. Dream snapped. "She goes into convulsions if we even try a brain wave reading, if I try to read her mind at all she might die."

"That is a chance we have to take." Captain Pharaoh said. "If you aren't willing to do it Timidous will."

"No he won't." Goddess of Justice said. "Captain I know that you are worried about Miss Shadow, but if Mystery Woman dies you'll never see her again. No one reads her mind. When Simone calls me I will arrange a transfer."

"Do you really think that will be the end of it?" Captain Pharaoh sighed. "Goddess you are as naïve as ever."

"Maybe." Goddess said. "Or maybe I'm just learning to trust the right people."

Oh, that got him, Ms. Dream thought. On the screen Captain Pharaoh's eyes narrowed.

"I'm moving the Pyramid to you Goddess." He said. "When it arrives Force Group J will take custody of Mystery Woman and we will question the Obrien's."

"No, you will not." Goddess said. "Do not do this Captain. The Obrien's have been through enough without a mental scan and Mystery Woman is in no shape to endure one. Leave this to Earth Force and stay away."

"Force Group J will be there in thirty hours." Captain Pharaoh said. "Don't get in our way."

"Captain do not do this!" Goddess of Justice slowly rose as she spoke and Ms. Dream realized that Lucy was about as mad as she could get without actually hitting someone. "We've done enough to that woman and her city, we made her a promise and broke it and still she risked her life for us! At the very least we must respect her privacy now!"

"Lives are in danger Goddess." Captain Pharaoh said. "What ever debt we owe to Mystery Woman is overridden by that fact."

"She is under our protection!" Goddess of Justice shouted.

"Thirty hours." Captain Pharaoh said and the screen went dark.

Slowly Goddess of Justice sat down.

"Can he really do that?" Brent asked. "Just come and take over?"

"Yes and no." Goddess of Justice said. "The US government is in the process of withdrawing from the treaty that created Force Group J, but until that happens-which could take another two months-Force Group J has the legal power to pursue threats to global security."

"Us?" Daisy asked.

"You. If he decides you are." Ms. Dream said. "We have no way of knowing what's really happened to you, and while me and Lucy'll believe you Captain Pharaoh won't."

"Simone said they'd tear the information out of our heads." Brent said. "I didn't believe it. We're United States citizens damnit!"

"That may aid us." Goddess of Justice said. "I shall call the White House chief of staff and wake him up, he will wake up the president and the president will wake up the secretary general of the United Nations, an official protest will keep Force Group J from acting on American soil."

"Will that work?"

"In the past it has kept Force Group J from acting…"

"No." Ms. Dream interrupted her. "That treaty has more loopholes, hell they're actually black holes, than you can count. Captain Pharaoh will find a way around the restriction."

"We can run." Brent said.

"No, he'd find you." Goddess of Justice said. "And if you run he'll assume you are guilty. No, we must try the legal channels. If they don't work we will make a fight out of it. The mansion is well defended."

"Do you have a chance?" Daisy asked. "Really?"

"There is always a chance." Goddess of Justice said. "I have built my life around that."

Good dodge Lucy, Ms. Dream thought. The truth was that Earth Force was the old Teen Force plus Goddess of Justice and Ms. Dream. Force Group J was more powerful on a person to person basis and there were more of them.

"It's gonna be another super slugfest." Mary said to herself. "Oh what to wear, what to wear…"

"I don't understand." Simone said as she watched the television. On it an Asian woman with green hair was offering commentary as Captain Pharaoh and Goddess of Justice argued.

"A side effect of our creating the MNN was to bring the superhuman community closer together." Deborah said.

"Now I really don't understand." Simone said. They were sitting at a table on the Penytorch's private jet. The jet sat on a Vermont airstrip and Simone wondered what the reactions of the superheroes would be if they learned that the answer to everything was no more than a few states from where they were.

"Simone superheroes are a fact of live that any group wishing world domination must face. Even a group like ours who goals are more or less benevolent and whose methods are not openly aggressive." Delilah said. "We realized when Merry first encountered Goddess of Justice that we'd have to deal with them. We created the Metahuman News Network to gather information."

"What surprised us when the Arbitron's started coming in was that among the highest watchers for the MNN was in fact superheroes." Tremont said. "We deliberately set up MNN as a tabloid/gossip operation, not a hard news one."

"Then we realized that superheroes are curious about each other." Molly said. "Almost everyone seeks out a tribe to belong to after all, and superheroes are no exception. You can get anti-social types like the Grimm, but for the most part they are very sociable, and they want to talk and relate to one another."

"But they all wear masks." Simone said.

"To keep their identities from the riffraff, not each other." Delilah said. "The MNN gave them a chance to find out a little about each other, clues that they could follow up on. The wedding of California Gal and Red Ice came about because they met each other while investigating MNN."

"So what will putting this conversation out on the network do?" Simone asked. She was still puzzled.

"Rehabilitate Goddess of Justice's image for a start." Deborah said.

"You see in order for us to rule this world it has to remain safe." Deborah said. "Earth Force does not have the power it needs, and Force Group J might not last too much longer."

"The Black Files revealed far too much about Captain Pharaoh's activities." Tremont said. "But Lucy is damaged as well."

"There are by our count 5 supervillains who are powerful enough to destroy Earth Force and possibly take over the world by direct force."

"By putting her in the position of defending Merry we hope to swell her ranks a bit." Molly said."

"The only thing that will stop the most powerful supervillains is an organized powerful group." Deborah said.

"Not an un-organized one." Delilah said.

"When did you plan this?" Simone asked.

"Once we realized that Miss Shadow had tapped into the wrong part of Merry's mind." Delilah said.

"You see the lie is that you and Merry are from a doomed world. That is a lie that we are comfortable with and that would have let you alone. However Miss Shadow tapped into the four personalities imprinted in Merry's mind. They were all slaves of Scalius and were there as part of his plot to revive and conquer the world."

"So Miss Shadow believes that Merry is working for Scalius?" Simone said.

"Yes, it fits her own opinion of Merry perfectly. And since she believes there is a threat there is no way to stop her from dealing with it."

"So what is your plan?" Simone asked.

"Miss-direction." Delilah said. "But it is going to involve some play acting from you and Lizzie and Jessie."

"And some gullibility from the superheroes." Tremont said.

"The last we can usually count on." Delilah said.

It had hurt Lucy when only a few people had joined Earth Force. She had completely redone her mansion, and lost staff in the process because some were too scared to work with superheroes, and seen most of it go empty. The damage done to her and Force Group J's reputations by the release of the E.I.A. Black Files had been severe. But in true Lucy fashion she had shouldered on as if the mansion was full of superheroes.

Weren't those the good old days, Ms. Dream thought as she saw the two people land on the back lawn. Her heart lifted a bit as she recognized them; Alpha and Beta, the Power Sisters. They had both been out of action for a while, rumor had it in an asylum, since Lucy had rescued them from Count Intellect. The vampire's tortures had been horrific even by the standards of superheroines. They were proven fighters, unlike most of the swarm that had come to the aid of Goddess of Justice since the MNN news story had broke. Ms. Dream watched in relief as Flame flew close to the women but did not attack. The demoness had been the cause of more than one fight over the past few hours.

'I have only my guile and Miss Shadow.' Ms. Dream thought remembering Daisy's quote. 'And Abby must stay in her cage most of the time.' The cage that held a small camera that melted once they discovered it; after the MNN ran the story. What Simone was up to was still a mystery, but if she had wanted to cause havoc in Rothschild Mansion she had succeeded. Just about anyone and everyone with a costume and a power was coming to Maine.

"Morning girls." Ms. Dream said as they walked over to her.

Alpha and Beta were twins, or close enough to be thought of as twins. They were tall and broad with big breasts and large hips. They both had jet black hair that ran down to their waists. For costumes they wore blue half-masks that covered the top half of their faces and blue leotards split open to the belly button. They had been around since the late 1980's and still wore leg warmers on their costumes.

"Hey Dreamy." Alpha said.

"We saw the news." Beta said. "She's really here?"

"She is." Ms. Dream said.

"Where is Goddess of Justice?" Alpha demanded.

"Here." Goddess said floating down to them.

Ms. Dream readied herself. So far the people-and Ms. Dream used that term loosely-who had come to help out had fallen into three categories. Those who wanted to fight Force Group J, those who wanted to help and those who had a grudge of some sort against Goddess of Justice but wanted to help anyway. Most of them proved the cliché that superheroes battled every time they met.

"You told us she didn't exist." Beta said.

"You told us that you were the one who released us from our rings." Alpha said.

"I know." Goddess said. "It was her request that I never tell anyone about her, but I had to tell you something."

"You lied to us and you broke your word to her." Alpha said.

"If it weren't for the MNN news we'd never have heard of her." Beta said. "You could have told us first."

"I know. I'm sorry." Goddess of Justice said.

It was impossible to read either of them and Ms. Dream wondered if she should call for help. Only the certain knowledge that a donnybrook would break out stopped her.

The three of them stepped forward and hugged each other. Then they stepped back and Ms. Dream breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we see her?" Alpha asked.

"Are you kidding she's the main attraction." Ms. Dream said. "I should sell tickets. Everyone wants to see her. California Gal wants to sleep with her."

"She's here?" Beta asked astonished.

"And Mr. Surfer, Gadget Girl and Cannon Man, and…" Goddess faltered for a moment and then went on "and Massive Guy."

"Oh my god!" Alpha and Beta exclaimed at the same time.

"How are you keeping the mansion in one piece?" Alpha asked.

"Goddess why are you letting them stay?" Beta asked.

"Because when I started Earth Force I said it would be open to those who were qualified and wished to join." Goddess said. "And I certainly can not turn down help now."

"You should have spelled out 'qualified' in capital letters." Ms. Dream said. "And underlined it."

"California Gal isn't a heroine!" Alpha exclaimed. "She's what supervillains use to practice on! She wears a bikini as a costume because it's easier to take off! She's been mind controlled so often she practically has an off/on switch on her neck!"

"I thought Gadget Gal was in jail?" Beta said.

"Her parole officer called me directly and arranged this." Goddess of Justice said.

"But…"

"I'm going to give her a chance Alpha." Goddess of Justice said.

"Just don't tell her the combination to the mansion safe." Beta said.

Ms. Dream agreed with them, but she wouldn't say so. Gadget Gal was Laetitia Atkins. Her father was the supervillain Violet Claw and her mother had been the mind controlled heroine Morning Star. Tricia had been drifting between a career as a superheroine and a supervillain almost since she had been old enough to walk. She had been banned from Force Group J and Teen Force because she had betrayed them to the Black Cannon. Ms. Dream hadn't been the only one who'd tensed up when the young woman had walked into the room. She wasn't a big person, she only four and a half feet tall, but she was dangerous. Ms. Dream had seen her take a spoon, a coil of wire and some salt and turn it into a laser.

"I know, I know." Goddess of Justice said. "They all have problems, but they are here and they are willing. And Gadget Gal has had a tragic life and deserves another chance. Earth Force is partly about second chances. I hope to have the situation with Mystery Woman resolved before the Pyramid reaches us."

"Oh no." Ms. Dream whispered. They followed her gaze and saw a sleek arrow shaped ship skimming over the waves.

"Tell me that isn't them." Alpha said.

"It's them." Beta said matching her stricken tone. "The M.A.S."

"Goddess you can't…" Ms. Dream started.

"I said everyone would have a chance Ms. Dream." Goddess said sternly. "Would you show Alpha and Beta to Merry and then get them settled while I greet the Mermaid Attack Squad."

"How much worse can this get?" Ms. Dream wondered. The Mermaid Attack Squad were three former Playmates who could swim and had pooled their money to buy some fancy hardware and have their bodies altered so that they could breath water. Their one claim to fame was that no one ever drowned near their California home(though many teenaged boys often seemed to try just to be saved). And that they had stopped an oil leak from a doomed tanker.

"Can they fight well out of the water?" Alpha asked.

"They fight?" Beta asked. "My god they're neighbors with California Gal!"

"This can not get any worse." Ms. Dream swore. "I hope to hell this can't get any worse!"

"An aircraft carrier?" Simone asked. "But that's… that's…"

"Yes it is." Deborah agreed.

"But why?"

"Because Captain Pharaoh's pyramid is an alien powerhouse and the members of Force Group J he's got with him can and will over power Earth Force and get to Merry." Delilah said. "But to do so they will have to invade United State's soil and the government, having gotten a black eye over the EIA's Black Files, is anxious to show that doesn't just roll over for force Group J again."

"The presidents dropped a few points in the polls." Deborah said.

"So they send in the carrier group led by the USS Terrahawk for some pretty pictures." Tremont said. "Luckily it won't be in range before this is all over."

"And this isn't counting the domestic super heroes who have heard about Lucy's plight and have come running." Molly said.

"Unfortunately they are about the worst superheroes on the planet." Delilah said.

"Poor Lucy must be pulling her hair out." Deborah said. "We seem to have stuck her with the superhuman equivalent of the 'Gang who Couldn't Shoot Straight'. But at least this helps us in one respect."

"It is time you became a superheroine Simone." Tremont said.

"You should be able to slip in, get Merry and slip out before the Pyramid shows up."

"What kind of…" Simone started to ask but was interrupted by a shrill alarm.

"Merry!" Deborah shouted and Simone's heart stopped when she heard the sound of alarm in Deborah's voice.

Deborah waved her arm and in it's wake a holographic screen appeared in the air showing Merry's vital signs. They were all dead.

"I would have loved to have faced you in the arena woman." Trinka said. "But give it up bitch, it's over. Your live force dies before us."

"They need me." Merry said. She struggled again and again to get to her feet. "Dollopolis needs me!"

Again she failed and fell back.

"Dollopolis is a lie." Pulla said. "The Group will find another slave."

"It isn't a lie to Lizzie and Jessie." Merry said. She staggered to her knees. "It won't be to Snowbelle or Monica. Or…"

Again she fell back and again Trinka caught her.

"Simone." Merry finished mournfully.

"The Group plays for power and you are their pawn." Mica said. "Just as we were Scalius pawns."

"Scalius wanted a kingdom." Merry said. "He wanted a kingdom, they want to fix things."

"That is what you believe." Trinka said. "Not what may be."

Miran's smoky body flowed around Merry's. It caressed her legs and between them and lingered on her breasts before partially solidifying beside her and Trinka.

"Merry in the end we are all pawns of the great powers. Mica was the pawn of luck, Trinka the pawn of her father who sold her, I the pawn of my own noble father, Pulla the cast-off pawn of his mother. They cared for us no more than the Group cares for you."

"They care about me." Merry insisted. "They've let me help… They let me save…"

"But they've punished your for it." Mica said. "Do you really want to struggle back to life to help them establish a kingdom on Earth?"

"It won't be a kingdom!" Merry snapped. "They aren't like that! They're brilliant, they…"

"They are all like that." Pulla said. "Scalius was brilliant too. Merry you are like us, we toiled for powers that did not care, we were pets to Scalius as you are a pet to the Group. Come Merry be at peace."

"I'm not a pet to them! I'm their agent, I'm their operative! I make things work for them! They can't replace me! I'm the one who never fails! I'm the First Knight of Dollopolis! I'm the woman Simone loves!"

"Make your peace with your god as we finally have." Mica said. "The afterlife, what ever awaits us all, beckons."

"Goddess." Merry said suddenly sitting up. "Goddess! That's it!"

Merry climbed unsteadily to her feet and stretched her arms above her head. She staggered and started to fall but instead caught herself and stood upright.

"IDA PLEASE HELP ME!" She screamed with everything she had left.

The Group knew few surprises. Simone was sure of that. But they were all shocked when the read outs on Merry's condition went from dead to full power in an instant. The looks on their faces were of complete amazement. Simone was in shock herself and had to sit down.

"Now how did that happen?" Deborah asked with her eyes widely staring at the display.

"Lucy's breast milk?" Delilah suggested. Her eyes were equally wide.

"If so we've got to get some." Molly said. "It would be great with cookies!"

"Well what ever the reason she's back." Tremont said.

They watched as the power readings fell again and then rose again and finally settled evenly. Merry's heartbeat was slow but steady. Her brain waves were quiet.

"There has got to be a reason for this." Delilah said.

"A reason beyond Merry's own abilities." Deborah said.

"The milk?" Molly suggested.

"No." Tremont said. "A spell by Yoran perhaps?"

"Well we shall find out later." Deborah said. "For now we must make plans to get her back, and soon. The Pyramid is moving."

"There is no time to make detailed plans." Delilah said. "She is waking up."

Merry woke up with her mind still in shock. Nothing made sense. Dimly she was aware of fighting the demon. She felt alone, very alone without the four ghosts with her in her mind. What had happened to them? What had happened to her? She was aware dimly of a presence, a great presence… Ida? But what had happened?

{Merry if you can hear us do not move. Pretend to continue to be asleep.}

Merry's confusion vanished as she heard The Group's voice in her head. They were still with her at least.

{You are in the infirmary of Earth Force. We need to get you out of there.}

{Unfortunately there are at least twenty superbeings in the mansion right now. Also the Pyramid of Captain Pharaoh is only three hours away, and a US aircraft carrier is seven hours away.}

An aircraft carrier? Merry had trouble not reacting to that news. What the hell was an aircraft carrier doing heading toward Earth Force?

{Open your eyes slightly and let us scan the room.}

{Carefully.}

Merry opened her eyes a little and looked around the room. She was in a bed, still shrunk. Seated on a chair next to her was the Young Ancient. No one else was in the room.

{Take him out, but gently.}

{We will grow you to full size.}

The moment Merry felt her body begin to grow she moved. Her legs swept up and spread out. Her feet hit the Young Ancient in the stomach and the chin. He barely had time for a look of surprise before the combined blows knocked him out.

"What now?" Merry asked.

{Now we must improvise.}

{There is really no time to tell you all that has happened.}

{To summarize: you are in Rothschild Mansion, the home of Earth Force. You have been there for a few weeks and in that time you have been assaulted by Miss Shadow. You must now act the part that Simone has constructed for you, a part close to what you have played already. You must be suspicious, hostile and desperate to get away. But you must also give Lucy a chance to talk and make peace with you.}

{Otherwise we will be going through all of this again sooner or later.}

"What are my escape route options?" Merry asked wondering if she shouldn't have stayed asleep.

{Few.}

{The front or back doors. If you use the front door we have the Dark Siren's waiting.}

"The rock group?"

{Yes, they do odd jobs for us.}

{The is out back sea.}

{The hanger deck. We are sure that fighter planes are there.}

"Ok, four ways out." Merry said. For a moment she was silent. "Right, I need to get to the hanger deck, I'll explain on the way. I need to be small again so I can hide quick, but not 12 inches, I need speed. Make it 24."

{Done.}

Once more small but not as small Merry took off.

Ms. Dream was trying to explain the emergency procedures to everyone when the alarm sounded. She was in the conference room and everyone started for the door at the same time.

"Security what is it?" Ms. Dream asked over the intercom, ignoring the chaos. Everyone was trying to get through the door at once.

"Mystery Woman is up and on the loose." Walter's voice came back to her. "The Young Ancient is just waking up, we've got two more down in the hallways, not dead just knocked out."

"Hell!" Ms. Dream swore. If Merry was awake she was probably going on the assumption that she was a prisoner, there weren't going to be many limits on her actions. She'd start by knocking people out, she might not be that restrained if she got cornered.

"CLEAR THE DOOR!" Goddess of Justice shouted from the other side of the doorway. She followed up her command with a blast of energy that scattered everyone.

"Merry's loose!" Ms. Dream said running over to her.

"So I heard." Goddess of Justice said. "Listen to me everyone!" She shouted again. "Mystery Woman is loose, she is not to be approached, if you see her report her position! Search the mansion, start with your own rooms! Look carefully, she can be as small as 3 inches! GO!"

The crowd scattered quickly.

"That should keep them out of the way for a few minutes." Goddess said. "We must…"

"Intruder in the hanger bay!" Walter's voice sounded over the speakers.

Goddess of Justice rushed over to the conference desk and pushed the public address button.

"Attention everyone! This is Goddess of Justice. Do not, I repeat do not rush to the hanger bay. Anyone who can fly or swim assemble on the back lawn and wait for orders. Anyone who can't fly take up defensive positions on the roof or on the front lawn. Terrific Titania, Wolf Girl, Moon Girl, Daisy and Brent Obrien, meet myself and Ms. Dream at the entrance to the hanger."

"By Athena I hope they all listened to me!" Goddess said releasing the intercom and running out of the room. Ms. Dream ran after her.

By the time they got to the hanger bay entrance they had passed two more Earth Force members out cold, California Gal and Mr. Surfer. They also passed a groaning Gadget Gal who staggered past them and mumbled that she was ok, but was heading toward the infirmary. Ms. Dream hoped that Yoran was in good enough shape to handle medical problems. Prudence, Esmerelda, Moon Girl, Daisy and Brent were waiting at the entrance.

"Judging from the bodies we passed she's in there." Ms. Dream said.

"Ms. Dream and I will go in first." Goddess said. "I'll call for the rest of you as I need. We do not want to scare her."

"Oh yeah, that's the last thing we want to do." Ms. Dream said. "She's such a fragile creature."

They heard the sound of an engine starting up.

"Come on." Goddess of Justice said.

Ms. Dream held her tongue and followed. Inside the hanger the Earth Force fighter, a brand new modified T-99 attack craft was vibrating as her engines came online. It had been a gift from Ultrom Industries. More of a tax write-off really. More advanced (and expensive) than anything the Pentagon had.

"Merry stop!" Goddess of Justice shouted. She flew over and landed ten feet in front of the plane.

"Oh… joy." Ms. Dream said as she floated next to her friend. The T-99 was sleek, black and deadly. The craft was twenty-five feet long, a small neutron reactor powered it and its armaments consisted of particle beams, lasers and good old fashioned machine guns and missiles. Lucy could handle anything the machine put out. Ms. Dream couldn't.

"How the hell did she figure out how to work that thing?" Ms. Dream wondered aloud. "It's a three month course to figure out how to start up the engine!"

"Get out of the way Lucy." Merry's voice called using the planes PA speaker.

"Merry we must talk." Goddess of Justice said.

"I'm not a prisoner anymore." Merry said. "I won't be held! Get out of the way."

"Merry you never were a prisoner!" Ms. Dream shouted. "Don't you remember how you got here?"

"I remember killing Hellspite, I remember crawling toward my ship… the ground shook and a rock fell and crushed it. Goddess of Justice can make the ground shake by stamping her foot. I was only a few feet away from it when you picked me up. Cheap way to catch me Lucy."

"The ground shook because of a volcano erupting." Goddess of Justice said calmly. "We brought you here because there was no place else to bring you. We couldn't leave you on the island."

"So you brought me here to save me? Ok, I'm better now, I'll just borrow this jet for a while ok?"

"No it is not. Things have gotten… complex since you were brought here."

"Like how? And how long have I been here anyway?"

"Nearly three weeks." Ms. Dream said.

There was only silence from the jet.

"Merry we must talk." Goddess of Justice said. "You can not simply leave, not this time."

"Three weeks?" Merry asked.

"Just about." Ms. Dream said.

"Three weeks. I… I remember a few things." Merry said her voice changing to a growl. "I remember someone in my mind!"

Ms. Dream gasped as the weapons systems on the jet came alive and wing compartments opened up. Suddenly the two of them were facing missiles and machine guns. The plane had been designed to look deadly and the designers had done a great job.

"It's all settled Lucy, you got your powers back, you got your daughter back." Merry said. "Now let me go or the next sound you hear will be a loud one."

"It is not settled." Goddess of Justice replied. "You forgave me in the heat of battle, not because you truly felt it. I will not accept that."

"Lady you got an ego problem." Merry said. "Ms. Dream told me what you went through, sure I wanted to add a little to that, I wanted you about half my size so that I could have some fun with you, but we don't get everything we want. It was you or the demons and I'll choose you pretty much any day."

"Then come out and face me." Goddess said. "Talk to me, person to person, let me explain what has happened since we last met."

"I said I forgave you, I didn't say anything about trust." Merry said.

"I will not move Merry." Goddess of Justice said calmly. "Those missiles will not harm me."

Oh I love it when she gets like this, Ms. Dream thought. Lucy wasn't going to move of course, no matter what the danger. This was one of those times when Lucy simply stood on principle and that was that. The planet was going to shift on its axis before she moved. It was a part of her friend that Mary hadn't seen in over a year. That it might get them both killed was something that Ms. Dream accepted.

"Who said I was aiming at you?" Merry said. "There's a fuel tank beyond the far wall, looks full if I read the scanner right."

"That'll take off the top of the cliff!" Ms. Dream shouted. "And you too!"

"You would kill everyone in my house?" Goddess of Justice said at last showing a little anger in her voice. "My family? My guests?"

"Lucy if you knew anything about me you wouldn't ask that question." Merry said. "If you knew what I was, where I came from it'd make you sick! I've been worse than you can imagine! So yea, I'll pull the trigger. It's been a while since I killed nobility, I've missed it, tell you what, I'll give'em a five minute chance to run before I pull the trigger."

"I won't run!" Prudence said rushing into the bay.

"Neither will I!" Esmerelda shouted running in behind her.

"And we do know about you." Goddess of Justice said. "We know about 'Bloody Merry'."

Three of the machine guns suddenly tracked on Ms. Dream.

"Bitch you did read my mind!" Merry shouted.

"NO!" Goddess of Justice shouted stepping in front of her friend. "Simone told Daisy Obrien and she told us."

"I've been here three weeks." Merry snarled. "Simone's took Dollopolis back into the void by now. I've got nothing to loose here Lucy, get out of the way!"

"What do you mean the void?" Ms. Dream demanded.

"If I've been here three weeks she knows it by now." Merry said. Her voice was hard with anger. "We talked about it and Simone told me that if Ms. Dream double crossed me Simone would take Dollopolis into the void between worlds and try to find a new place to live. My cities gone!"

"I didn't double cross you!" Ms. Dream shouted. "Goddammit will you loose the paranoia for a minute!"

"And Dollopolis has not gone." Goddess of Justice said.

"Prove it!" Merry demanded.

"It's true." Daisy called out. Holding hands she and Brent walked into the bay.

"So the spell worked." Merry said after a minute. "You're baby's safe?"

"We're both fine." Daisy said. "And they know about your past because Simone told me and I told them."

"And you talked to her yesterday?"

"Yes." Daisy said. "Merry Simone looked old the last time I saw her, really old. The spell that she used to help me drained her. She needs you."

"I need her more than she'll ever need me." Merry said. "If she's still out there I'll go to her, now get out of the damn way!"

"Merry it's more complex than that." Ms. Dream said. "And can we move the machine guns here? I don't want you hitting a button by accident." The machine guns retracted and Ms. Dream took a breath. "Right, now take a deep breath or two. Or five. Even if Lucy steps aside the Pyramid is about three hours away and two hours after that is an aircraft carrier, you can't get away in that thing."

"An aircraft carrier? The Pyramid? For me?"

"While you were out Miss Shadow snuck into our place and tried to read your mind." Ms. Dream said.

"I remember that I think." Merry said.

"I bet." Ms. Dream said. "You fought back nd cut her throat. Anyway Simone grabbed her from the hospital and Captain Pharaoh's mad as hell about that. He already thinks you're dangerous and he's paranoid as hell about Dollopolis. Miss Shadow said there were four people in your head, all them working for someone named Scalius."

"She's lying."

"No she's not, I saw them too."

The machine guns re-appeared.

"Easy girl!" Ms. Dream said. "Look you were laying in the infirmary with one arm and you were dying, I was just trying to make contact."

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Merry we had no way to help you otherwise." Esmerelda said. "You could not eat, Ms. Dream only sought to help you."

"I was dying." Merry said. The machine guns retracted again. "I remember now. The four people you saw were a group of spirits pasted into my body on the island. Scalius was the person who came up with the shrinking potion a couple of thousand years ago. I stumbled onto his tomb and almost revived him. After I destroyed him the four ghosts stayed with me. They're gone now. I'm not sure how or where they went, but they're gone."

"Ok, sounds about as crazy as all of this." Ms. Dream said. Merry was calmer now and Ms. Dream hoped that would last. She'd never been stable and Ms. Dream had no idea how Merry had gone from being close to death to fully alive. How ever she'd done it hadn't done her mental constancy any good. Ms. Dream suspected that the only thing hold Merry together at this point was the hope of getting back to Simone. "But I don't think Captain Pharaoh's gonna buy it."

"I don't care." Merry said. "What about the aircraft carrier?"

"Domestic politics." Goddess of Justice said. "The United States is opposing Force Group J. Earth Force is also opposing them. They want you, we will not let them have you."

"Well that's nice of you." Merry said. "Considering you’re the one who got me into this. So there will be a battle between all the superheroes, the Pyramid and an aircraft carrier? This is going to be fun."

"We are trying to avoid the battle." Goddess of Justice said.

"I'm not." Merry said. "Not anymore."

"What?" Ms. Dream demanded. "Now what's wrong?"

"There's nothing left for me." Merry said. Not after what you've told me. I'll go out and I'll take out as many as I can. Maybe I'll even make a dent on the Pyramid."

"What the hell…" Ms. Dream said and looked at Goddess of Justice. "She's cracked."

"What about Simone?" Daisy demanded. "Are you going to leave her all alone?"

"No way I can get to her now." Merry said. Her voice had both anger and sadness in it. "Not with Miss Shadow dead and half a world's superheroes chasing her. Even if she was in this world yesterday she won't be here today. I'm alone, but I won't die alone."

"Miss Shadow isn't dead." Daisy said.

"Of course she is." Merry snapped. "She attacked me while I was helpless. I'm the First Knight, you attack me when I'm helpless, even if you don't kill me, you get captured, tortured and killed. That's the law. If Simone got her hands on Miss Shadow she's dead, and I hope she didn't die quick."

"She's alive." Daisy said. "Simone told me so. She told me that she started to torture Miss Shadow but couldn't go through with it. I think the spell to switch my baby drained her too much."

"She didn't die?" Merry demanded. "Miss Shadow is alive? Simone didn't kill her?"

"Simone said she was." Daisy said.

"Try not to sound so surprised." Ms. Dream said. "Simone isn't a killer."

"I would have killed her." Merry mused. "Maybe I'll get the chance yet."

"The cell phone that Simone used to contact us is upstairs." Goddess of Justice said. "You can use that to call her, we can find a way around Force Group J."

"No need." Merry said. "We're in Maine, I know where she is. I'll go there."

"We'll help you." Goddess of Justice said.

"No you won't." Merry said. "Come on board and you'll see. And if Gadget Gal is still out give her my apologies when she wakes up."

"Gadget…" Ms. Dream started and then ran over to the opening door of the plane. A sinking feeling was running through her. "Oh… Hell!"

Gadget Gal lay unconscious on the floor of the plane, stripped nude and hog-tied with electrical cable. Her bra had been stuffed into her mouth and her panties shoved over her head as a blindfold. The control panel had been torn apart and re-wired.

"It was all a farce." Goddess of Justice said angrily as the rest of them crowded into the plane. Ms. Dream started to untie the unconscious Gadget Gal. "You put us through all of this just to get away?"

"Yes." Merry said calmly. "I woke up, my mind was fuzzy, but I knew where I was. I wanted out and I wasn't going to take any chances."

"After all we've been through you still don't trust me?" Goddess of Justice asked.

"I forgave you Lucy, trust might come later, if we ever meet again. Think of it this way, when Force Group J comes knocking you can honestly say you didn't let me go."

"We would have fought for you." Goddess of Justice said.

"You know I really do believe that." Merry said.

"Merry we need Miss Shadow back." Goddess of Justice said. "We need her back un-harmed."

"As First Knight I have the right to torture and kill her." Merry said coldly. "But Simone's the one who'll say yes or no on that. "We'll call you."

"But…" Goddess of Justice started to talk but Merry interrupted her.

"We'll be in touch soon. Bye Lucy."

There was a crunching sound and then only static.

Six hours later the Pyramid of Captain Pharaoh, an immense and powerful alien construct hovered one mile off the Maine shore. Two miles from the Pyramid the USS Terahawk and her support ships floated in the Atlantic Ocean. The members of Force Group J hovered outside the Pyramid. Jet's from the air craft carrier circled their mother ship. On the lawn facing the Atlantic a collection of super heroes and would-be superheroes sat and waited. All together there was enough fire power on hand to take out the East Coast of the United States.

In the conference room Ms. Dream watched and listened as Captain Pharaoh and Goddess of Justice faced each other. It was just the three of them in the room, the chances of a fight breaking out of any more of the superheroes were involved were too great.

"So she just walked right out of here?" Captain Pharaoh said. "After taking control of your most advanced fighter?"

"She used Gadget Gals… ah… gadgets to take control of the fighter." Ms. Dream said. "And then, yea, she just walked out. Security tapes having going out the front door, she told the guard that Goddess of Justice had sent her out to get something."

"Hardly the security we enjoy on my pyramid." Captain Pharaoh sneered.

A knock on the door stopped Goddess of Justice from answering. Ms. Dream was grateful for it. If Goddess of Justice and Captain Pharaoh started to fight everyone would start to fight. Things were tense enough as it was.

"Come in." Ms. Dream called.

"Got another one." Walter said. He walked in and put the Fedex box on the table."

"Thank you Walter." Goddess of Justice said. He nodded and walked out.

Ms. Dream opened the box. Inside was an old and scruffed up green cellphone. It rang as soon as Ms. Dream picked it up.

"Quick." Ms. Dream said. She put the cellphone on the charger/speakerphone stand and pressed the answer button."

"Greetings." Simone's voice came into the room.

"Hello Simone." Goddess of Justice said. "Merry reached you?"

"Yes." Simone said. "To whom am I speaking?"

"Myself, Ms. Dream and Captain Pharaoh." Goddess of Justice said.

"We aren't tracing this call." Ms. Dream said.

"I believe I can trust you." Simone said. "Merry's report was kind to you all."

"Really?" Ms. Dream asked not keeping the surprise out of her voice.

"Where is Miss Shadow?" Captain Pharaoh demanded.

"That woman and Lady Goth are at a small rest area off of highway 93 in the Lake Area of New Hampshire." Simone said. "Go one hundred yards east from the area and you will find them tied to a tree. You should bring clothing. They will wake up on their own in about five hours."

"You left them like that?" Captain Pharaoh demanded angrily.

"Yes I did." Simone said calmly. "Merry wanted to do far more to Miss Shadow but as part of her punishment I over road her."

"Her punishment?" Ms. Dream asked. "You mean Merry?"

"Yes I do." Simone said. "I have had time now, time to consult with my sources and determine all that has happened. On the island Merry did disobey me and deliberately put her life in jeopardy to save yours. The result of her battle with Hellspite was her helplessness, leading to her stay with you. At any point her mind could have been probed-as in fact it was-and the location of my city been known. It is only because of the wildest chances that it did not happen. I have no doubt an attack would have soon followed had it had."

"Not by us." Goddess of Justice said.

"No, not by you." Simone said. "But by her actions Merry has thrust herself into your worlds battles. ICE will now seek out Dollopolis, with or without co-operation from the EIA and Force Group J. Merry has put my city in incredible danger."

"Force Group J does not work with ICE." Captain Pharaoh growled out the words.

"Of course you do." Simone said. "Or at least you do by proxy since the EIA works-or worked-with ICE. It doesn't matter Captain, I have no intention of staying and allowing my city to be dragged into your endless battles. With in a week Dollopolis will be gone."

"Where to?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Anywhere but this world." Simone said. "I will send probes from time to time to search for any of my people who are still here, but it is too dangerous for us to remain."

"What about Merry?" Goddess of Justice asked. "Simone I feel responsible for much of what has happened."

"You are responsible for much of what has happened." Simone said. "But fear not. I am not angry with you Goddess, nor is Merry anymore. Things happened as they happened with mistakes made on both sides. It is over."

"Not really." Ms. Dream said.

"What do you mean?" Simone asked.

"I have questions." Captain Pharaoh said.

"That's not what I meant." Ms. Dream said giving him a warning look. "What I mean is Esmerelda needs to talk to Merry, she needs to know why Merry didn’t take her back to Dollopolis when they first met. It's driving her nuts. We gotta know what happened to the island and I'm curious as hell about how Merry killed Hellspite. There are too many loose ends here Simone. We don't like loose ends."

"I am also not comfortable with Merry being punished for acts that saved us all." Goddess of Justice said. "Please can we talk to her?"

"The island was transferred to another world." Simone said. A clean trade, equal in mass so that your world would not be harmed. I will not tell you how. I suspect that Merry did not allow Esmerelda to come with her because at that time Merry did not know much more than Dollopolis still existed. As far as she and I could tell the war that was consuming our world was not over and the forces from there were still pursuing us. She would not have taken Esmerelda into a war."

"What about Hellspite?" Ms. Dream asked after Simone fell silent.

"Simone?" Goddess of Justice asked after another long silence.

"Another trace Goddess?" Simone asked.

"Not by us!" Goddess said looking at Captain Pharaoh.

"I know." Simone said. "Good bye."

"NO!" Goddess of Justice shouted but the phone went dark.

Nearly glowing with anger Goddess of Justice turned to Captain Pharaoh.

"Michael" she said using his real name as an insult "get out. Take the Pyramid and go."

"I am right on this." Captain Pharaoh said. "You will see that someday."

"Leave." Goddess of Justice said and her eyes started to glow.

Captain Pharaoh strode to the window, opened it and flew out. For a few minutes Goddess of Justice stood and watched him. Then the energy around her faded and she sat down.

"Arrogant beyond measure." Goddess said. "Why did I never see that?"

"Not arrogant, stubborn." Ms. Dream said sitting down next to her. She picked up the dark cell phone and looked at it. "Man, they must be going through a lot of garbage cans for these things."

"Not as many as you would think." Simone's voice came from the phone.

"Ah!" Ms. Dream said and nearly dropped it. She recovered and put it back on the stand.

"You hung up!" Ms. Dream protested.

"No I didn't." Simone said. "I merely switched the circuits in the phone from one state to another. This is not a cell phone call, this is a simple citizens band radio transmission; encrypted of course."

"Of course." Ms. Dream said.

"Are you satisfied now that we are not a threat to you?" Goddess of Justice asked.

"Yes." Simone said.

"What about Merry?" Ms. Dream asked.

"She's satisfied too, she was the one who urged me to make this call. She knew that Captain Pharaoh would never leave you alone until he received some sort of closure for this affair."

"Where is she now?"

"In my dungeon." Simone said.

"You're punishing her?" Goddess of Justice asked. There was resignation, not protest in her voice.

"Yes." Simone said.

"I hope it is not a harsh punishment." Goddess of Justice said.

"She will be punished by the law." Simone said and the tone of her voice told them that was all they were going to get.

"What now?" Ms. Dream asked. "Are you really leaving?"

"After moving the island between worlds? After helping the Obrien's? After capturing Miss Shadow? Heavens Ms. Dream right now I can barely lift a feather."

"Then we'll see Merry again." Goddess of Justice said.

"I won't say no." Simone said. "But we will not initiate the encounter and I warn you now not to do so. We are gone, Captain Pharaoh thinks we are gone, let us stay gone."

"Fair enough." Ms. Dream said.

"I will bid you good night then ladies, I know you are as tired as I am."

"One thing before you?" Ms. Dream asked.

"Yes?"

"How the hell did Merry kill Hellspite?" Ms. Dream asked. "Cause he's gonna be back you know."

"If he comes back she will kill him again, in the past Merry has survived by killing and even eating demons."

"Oh, that's something I wanna hear before dinner." Ms. Dream said.

"How did she do it this time?" Goddess of Justice said. "I have fought Hellspite and barely won."

"She had a grenade, a small one she took from the body of a dead ICE agent." Simone said. "She hid it in her fist and when they wrestled she shoved her arm down his throat and detonated it."

Ms. Dream's mouth dropped open.

"Great Athena!" Goddess of Justice swore.

"That is all ladies. Good night."

"Good night." Ms. Dream said.

"Good night Simone." Goddess of Justice said.

Simone pushed the button on her phone and the line went dead. She was lying in bed in her bedroom. The place was lit by candles and Simone was nude. Sitting at the foot of the bed were a nude Lizzie and Jessie.

"Did you really do that?" Jessie asked as Merry walked over to the bed.

"Sort of." Merry said. She was nude too and carried a small tray. On the tray were four glasses, three ultra-small and one normal size. All were filled with red wine. Merry climbed carefully onto the bed and put the tray down. "You ever see Godzilla: Tokyo SOS?"

"No." Jessie said.

"No." Lizzie said.

"Never." Simone said.

"Have any of you ever seen a Godzilla movie at all?"

"No. Jessie said.

"No." Lizzie said.

"No." Simone said.

"Huh?" Merry grunted in astonishment. "Well in the movie Godzilla is fighting his alien space clone and the clone makes the mistake of trying to swallow him. While Godzilla's head is stuck down the alien's through the Big G opens up with his atomic breath. The thing had a tough outside skin, but inside it's all soft."

"But you lost an arm." Jessie said.

"That wasn't part of my plan." Merry said. She took a deep breath and concentrated. There was a slight shift in her head and she shrunk to match their twelve-inch size.

"I should hope not." Simone said.

Merry trembled a bit but recovered. As a reward for what she had gone through the Group had given her control over her size. All she had to do now was think about it and she grew or shrunk. They had also hinted at further upgrades but weren't specific.

"Well he was one of those big laugh kinda supervillains." Merry said. She picked up her glass and the girls and Simone picked up theirs. "You know, the type that really lets loose when they're winning. I thought I'd be able to toss it down his throat and run. I almost did it too, but one of the demons next to us wasn't as dead as he looked. He grabbed my leg and Hellspite grabbed my arm. Then he started to laugh and I knew I wasn't getting away, so I shoved my arm down his throat and let go of the grenade. I didn't expect him to bite down."

Merry looked at her arm. It was hers, it looked the same, it felt the same, but it wasn't her original. It made her wonder how much of her body was still original.

"Hell of a last meal for him I guess." Merry said.

"What did they mean he'll be back?" Lizzie asked.

"Supervillains tend to come to back to life." Merry said. "It may take ICE a while, but they'll conjure him up again. He just won't be as strong."

"Well it won't be for a long time I hope." Simone said. "We've all had quite enough excitement for a while."

"I agree." Merry said.

"A toast." Simone said lifting her glass. "To The Duchess of Dollopolis and her Knights."

Merry downed the wine slowly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the statue of Ida flicker in the candlelight. Did it move or was it her imagination? What had saved her from death? What had happened to those four slaves in her mind?

Later, Merry told herself. Later.

"Are you really going to train us?" Jessie asked.

Merry smiled. The two of them had wrapped her up in a suffocating hug when the Dead Siren's had dropped her off by Thunderbird 2. And she'd returned it. And it hadn't felt strange or awkward at all. It had felt good.

"Tomorrow." She said putting her empty glass down on the tray.

"She's right dears." Simone said putting her glass on the tray. The girls followed her example and put their glasses down on the tray and she carefully placed it onto the floor. Then Simone lay back onto the bed.

"For tonight" Merry said putting her arms around Jessie and Lizzie's shoulders "we are going to show the Duchess of Dollopolis how much we love her."

"Dibs on the boobs!" Jessie shouted running over to Simone's leg. She climbed onto it and started to run toward Simone's chest.

"Hey!" Lizzie shouted climbing after her sister.

Merry let them go as she slowly walked up between Simone's legs. Merry licked her fingers and then ran them over Simone's skin. She could feel Simone tremble in response.

"No biting dears!" Simone giggled.

"No promises!" Merry shouted and started to run.

The end.

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