The Dangers Of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 38. "Un-expected Opportunities"

by Skytower

Prologue

The chess set was the size of a small island. Not that size would matter much to the three beings gathered around it. Two women and one man. The looks of the women were in almost direct contrast to one another. Ida of Asguard was broad and strong with long red hair. Her face was handsome with a square jaw and blue eyes. She wore a shirt of dull gray chainmail and a pleated armored skirt. Beside her Athena of Olympus stood taller by a head. She wore a cuirass made of bronze and a skirt made of blood red scales. Her golden blonde hair was coiled tightly against her head. While Ida had the look of someone who could work a farm Athena had the look of someone who owned a farm. Loki of Asguard wore no armor. Or if he did it was well hidden beneath his long brown cloak and tanned long sleeve shirt. His narrow face had a sinister look to it and was not helped at all by his fathomless dark eyes.

The shape of the board shifted constantly from square to round to triangular and back again. It changed in hue as sunlight played across it and receded into night and came back again. Time was fluid on the board, moving back and forth. The shifts didn't disturb the gods. Ida picked up a piece from the board and studied it. The piece quickly shifted from wood to a live woman. In her hand the tall blond woman seemed tense. Athena picked up a piece of her own. An even taller blonde woman, but her piece looked calm.

"These two." Athena said. "So alike and yet so un-alike."

"They are the danger to our plans." Ida said. "Should Lucy ever find out the truth about Merry it will shatter her, and her faith in you sister."

"That would sadden me." Athena said. "I have guided her since childhood and seldom has she failed me. And while I do not truly deceive her it is still a truth left unsaid."

"It's a truth that very few know." Loki said. "None of the other gods know the truth. And even if Lucy finds out she will still do what we need her to do. Just as Merry will. Their natures permit them no other course of action."

"I agree." Ida said placing her piece back onto the board.

"As do I." Athena said replacing her own piece. "I have groomed the Rothschild family for generations and while the last male was a disappointment his wife is my treasure. Yet even her faith will I surrender if there is a chance we can succeed."

"In my case Merry was a complete surprise to me." Ida said looking down at the board. "That fateful day in my garden when I looked into her soul and saw the old blood not dimmed must have been decreed by the fates." She looked up at Loki. "But what now Loki? Why call us here? The pieces move on their own but according to our designs, the stage is being set. We can not turn back now."

"Ida's piece is not complete." Loki said picking the chess piece up. "She has all that can be desired for the coming task, strength, cunning, devotion. I am sure that she will try to free the other gods if she is given the chance. But I do not think that she yet has the resources to play her role. Even your champion Athena with all of her powers and friends may not be enough. Merry has need of a Weapon."

"Dollopolis is fragile." Ida said.

"Dollopolis is my delight." Loki said smiling. "Never in my life have I seen such a place. Merry loves Simone and is terrified of those four upstarts, she plays her part as First Knight to those in Dollopolis who don't know the truth, Simone valiantly struggles to make the place a home for the lost and at the same time realizes that she has no real power but what they give to her… She strives to be a mother and friend to her two charges and yet still maintain her role as duchess to the other women… It is a place of deceptions upon deceptions and I could watch them all for the next hundred years and not be bored."

"They are fragile." Ida said again with a hard look on her face. "Tremont, Molly, Deborah and Delilah let Simone have her power and it serves them. There is a delicate balance Mischief Lord that I would not like to see upset."

Loki smiled.

"Especially not since they built a temple to you." He said. "The first temple raised to honor an Asguardian in ages and it stands no taller than a childs toy."

"I am not the only goddess to be shown respect in Dollopolis." Ida said. "Bast has yet one follower but she is an earnest one."

"Bast is with us." Athena said. "And her introduction to the place was even more accidental than yours Ida."

"Those four 'upstarts' as you call them Loki remind me of ourselves when we were young." Ida said.

"I know." He said and for once a bit of sincere sadness showed on his face. But it was quickly covered. "But back to the matter at hand. Merry has need of more power or a weapon if she is to survive our plans. I propose we give her a weapon."

"If Merry shows up in any battle wielding an Asguardian or Olympian weapon it will be noticed by the enemy." Athena said. "That sort of notice would doom our cause. They will wonder where she got it and why, and they will notice our interest in her. Ida is correct, Dollopolis is fragile."

"It won't be a weapon from either of our cultures." Loki said. He gestured and a scythe appeared in the air. "It will be a weapon from hers. From the make believe world that Simone and Merry have built."

"For it to have any true strength it will need enchanting." Ida said. "Even you can't mask an enchantment that well."

"It won't be any magic that can be traced." Loki said. "Not to us or to any living god or goddess. For all intents it will be from the world Dollopolis came from."

"I sense one of your plots." Ida said but there was a welcoming smile on her face.

"Let yourself be seen." Loki said.

Another woman faded into view beside him. She was taller than all of them and had black hair. Black and red armor covered every inch of her body but her face. Cold black eyes looked from a face that was still beautiful despite advanced age. Her yellow skin and slanted eyes betrayed an Asian heritage.

"Scithah!" Athena said with respect.

"Last of the Forgoten Gods." Ida said and her voice was equally full of respect. Both goddesss bowed.

"Greetings." The woman said.

"You would forge a weapon for Merry?" Ida asked.

"No." Scithah said. "I shall be the weapon that Merry wields."

"You will live within her?" Athena asked. "But your aura could not be masked."

"You do not understand child." Scithah said. "I was old before your world. Even in my prime I was old. But however ageless the concept of war is, the person of war is not. The culture that worshiped me as goddess of war died out before yours arose. I have had other worshipers, I have had children, I have seen pantheons arise and fall. And for ages now I have wandered in the worlds. I have sought and had adventures and seen the marvels of more than one universe. But I am weary now of endlessly wandering the empty plains. Even if I found new worshipers I would turn them away. I have done all there is to do and I am fatigued." She reached over and picked up Merry's chess piece. "I need a fire within me again, a love, a need… a passion." She studied it for a time and then put it down.

"I spoke truly." Loki said.

"You did." Scithah said. "She is a pure warrior, I can feel her heart. She will always doubt herself in everything but battle. I feel in her the fire of the old fighters. I feel in her the desperate need to fight but also the frantic worry that she serves evil. She is like an arrow badly made who yet is anxious to be used. And her choice of weapon is a practical one, a warrior adoption of a peaceful farm tool. I think I will enjoy being wielded by her hands."

"You will become her weapon?" Athena asked and beside her Ida gasped.

"I will." Scithah said. "The three of you will slay this body and forge what remains. Loki's plots have already started. Merry will find me and wield me. It will be hard for her at first and she will not understand. But in the end she will."

"You will loose…" Ida said.

"I will loose nothing but an empty life." Scithah said firmly. "And I will gain a fire that I have not felt in ages."

"Powerful enough for our needs." Loki said. "Untraceable, too obscure for the enemy to trace unless he looks in earnest, and the shadow of lies that cloaks Dollopolis will prevent him from looking."

"Take me." Scithah ordered. "Slay this body. My blood shall be the fire that you will use to forge my bones into a weapon. I know what you plan, I know the enemy. I want them defeated as much as you. In the depths of their prison lay gods that I have known and loved."

"But your body…" Ida protested. "You're very existence will be lost if Merry fails."

"Loki has shown me Merry." Scithah said. "I have stood beside her in battle and laid beside her as she made love to Simone. I trust her."

"Master of plots…" Ida said drawing her sword. "Every age I think I know you and every age you prove I do not."

"We thank you Scithah." Athena said as she drew her own sword.

"No. I thank you." Scithah said as the weapons of the three gods stabbed into her body. With her voice already weakening she smiled. "May at the end of your days you find what I have found."

Merry was having a nightmare as she usually did before a mission. Once Simone realized that she had made it a point that they would spend the night before a mission together if they could. Sometimes in Merry’s small house but most of the time in Stronghollow mansion. Simone loved her room in her own house while she thought that to Merry a room was simply a place to sleep. Of course part of that was that Simone didn't like sleeping with a life size poster of Lynda Carter in her Wonder Woman costume looking down at them. It was silly but Simone thought that she was being watched and judged. She never told Merry that of course. Just as she never told Merry that having toy monsters on a shelf above the bed was not an adult thing to do, even if they were arranged alphebetically from Angiras to Zigga. Merry was a fangirl and loved her toys. Simone was not and tollerated them.

Now my room is a room to make love in, Simone thought. Rich deep wood panneling, soft candles, a large bed and a deep rug and soft sweet music from hidden speakers.

The theme from Star Wars started to play again and Simone frowned. Compromises had to made for love but the Star Wars them didn't fit the mood.

They slept with Merry small and Simone at her normal size. Simone knew that the twelve inch tall woman loved sleeping on Simone’s chest with her head resting between Simone’s breasts. Simone sat up carefully and stroked Merry's long blond hair. They had made love with Merry tiny and despite the size difference Simone had reached climax before Merry had. It didn’t matter what size Merry was she approached sex with everything she had. When she was at her normal size Simone had to tie her down to keep Merry from accidentally injuring her. When Merry was twelve inches tall(or taller, Simone was experimenting-when she could get Merry to go along with the idea-of Merry being twenty four inches tall) it was almost the same. Simone smiled. At this rate she would have the imprint of Merry’s teeth on her clitoris for the rest of her life. She’d have to figure out some way to slow the tiny terror down.

At Simone’s touch the tiny nude woman stretched out between her breasts settled down somewhat but her body still twitched. Sounds came out of her that might have been muffled screams. Her small hand clutched at Simone's breast as if she were reaching for something. Simone breathed deeply knowing that the sound of her breathing and the beating of her heart would help. Merry’s hand found her nipple, grabbed it in a tight grip and that seemed to satisfy her. She sighed in her sleep and relaxed a bit more. Simone winced at the grip but didn’t move beyond that.

At least once a month Merry had nightmares. But those weren’t as bad as the nightmares she had before a mission. Sometimes Simone thought it would be better if the Group simply sprung the missions on her at the last moment. Merry had told her that it was how they used to do things. But the missions had become more intricate, more involved since those days. Preparation took longer, briefings took longer. So Merry had time to brood and consider her actions. With the kind of jobs she did for the Group that wasn’t a good thing. The Group was bent on world domination. They were building a shadow world government and Merry was their principle tool. They had developed sophisticated mind control devices and it was Merry’s job to plant those devices. And that was only part of what she did for them. There were missions that Merry wouldn't even talk about. Missions that Simone knew ate at Merry’s conscience.

It bothers her, Simone thought. She began to run her fingers up and down the tiny woman’s nude body in a soft but firm massage. It doesn’t bother me. I know what Debbie and Del are doing and I don’t really care how they get it done. This world needs upgrading. Yet Merry thinks I’m so much better than she is. Those two teenagers who clean my house are under my hypnotic control, but Merry doesn’t even seem to think of them. Or maybe she does and she simply puts me on a pedestal.

Simone sighed. She loved Merry with all of her heart. But even when she was completely happy there seemed to be a fear in Merry. Fear that she could loose it all. And of course she could. But so could Simone. So could anyone. Simone accepted the risks in the life they had chosen and so did Merry. But Merry was always more afraid than Simone was.

Of course I don’t go crawling into places filled with danger, Simone told herself. She does it all the time. But that isn’t really a problem for her. Goddess she’d fight a man, woman or demon if she had too. Her fear isn’t there.

Two things Merry was scared of above all else. Failing the Group and being found out for the fraud she was convinced that she was. That was what truly drove her worst nightmares. Dollopolis was a made up place given form by Simone and the Group. But to the rest of the world Dollopolis was a real place, a refugee city from a doomed world with Simone as its ruler and Merry as its First Knight. The role that Merry played as First Knight was that of a harsh, angry woman who loved to kill and torture. It was a role that Merry feared would consume her one day. But even that wasn't as terrifying to Merry as the possibility of the superheroes finding out the truth about her. Simone came from a family of supervillains and didn't care at all what the superheroes thought of her. But Merry had been a cop and to her mind the superheroes were great and noble beings. She'd have loved nothing better than to be one of them. And in a way she was, but not really. The truth of that ate at her. It didn’t matter that she had saved many of their lives at least twice, to Merry they would always be better.

Merry's sounds grew louder again and Simone hummed a soft lullaby. At least this mission would not involve Earth Force. They hadn't been bothered by that group of superheroes for almost a year.

Merry's tiny nude body seemed to grow warmer and Simone carefully picked Merry up off of her chest and put her down next to her. Then she backed away. When Merry woke out of a nightmare it was best to stay out of her reach for at least a moment or two.

Merry's eyes opened and she grew to her full size. Simone took a moment to appreciate the body of her lover. Merry's breasts were huge, her waist small and her hips wide. Her legs were long and powerful. Merry was slightly tanned and her skin was stretched tightly over muscle. Simone wondered if Merry could look at her with the same admiration. Simone was shorter and slimmer than Merry was. She wasn't fat but there was no muscular definition on her body. Her breasts were small. The only real edge Simone thought that she had on Merry was her long red hair. And that Simone admitted to herself was simply silly.

Merry's eyes focused and she relaxed.

"Another nightmare." Simone said.

"I guess." Merry said sitting up. "I don't remember."

She was such a terrible liar.

"Tell me." Simone ordered taking a hold of Merry’s arm as she started to get up.

"I'd better get ready for the mission." Merry said looking away. But she didn’t move and after a moment looked back. "I was in some sort of arena, fighting... something. I needed something to fight with but I couldn’t find it. I kept looking and looking and… I got more and more scared…"

She paused and trembled. Simone didn’t say anything.

"I didn’t know what I was fighting." Merry continued. "But it was old. So, so old. Older than the sun. And it… I don’t know what it was but I had to find something to fight it with and… here is the strange part…" Merry trailed off and after a moment gave a nervous laugh. "Well ok, the stranger part. I was looking for something to fight with, but I got the feeling that something was looking for me to fight with. I couldn’t tell if I was the person looking for the sword or if I was the sword looking for the person."

Merry stood up and seemed to really relax. She reached for a robe and put it on.

"Too much anime before bed I guess." She said.

"I guess." Simone repeated the lie. But Merry was relaxed now, and that was what Simone had wanted. She wondered if Merry knew that. Simone reached for her own robe as she stood up.

"What's up in Dollopolis today?" Merry asked.

"Crafts." Simone said. "Monica has a new song and I'm determined that she has an organ to play it on. Lizzie and Jessie just need to finish it for her."

"Another cat song?" Merry asked smiling.

"No, this ones about you." Simone said watching her lover carefully. "Ever since we started writing the history of Dollopolis Monica has been determined to put it all into a song. That child Merry has a genius for music. She’s almost reached the operatic point and her first one is about the first time the Duchess met Bloody Merry."

Merry smiled and shook her head.

"I never thought anyone would write a song about me again." She said. "The last time was in junior high school when the boys wrote ‘Merry the Chesty Amazon’."

"That doesn’t sound flattering." Simone said.

"It was from their point of view." Merry said. "I got suspended when one of them sang it to my face. I broke his nose and chipped his front tooth."

They both laughed but after a moment Merry turned serious.

"I guess there really isn’t that much space between Merry McCormick and Bloody Merry."

"Oh there is." Simone said. "Now you better get going."

"Right." Merry said. She leaned over and kissed Simone. "See you in a few days."

"Be careful." Simone said.

"I will." Merry replied.

She left and Simone struggled to sort it all out in her mind. This nightmare was different from the others. Simone kept track of Merry’s nightmares and had found they fell into categories that could be easily explained away. But this one was different. Could Ms. Dream be trying to contact Merry again? In the past the telepathic heroine had tried to find Merry’s mind while she slept. Merry had hid from her searches with nightmares.

"Perhaps I should call and ask." Simone said to herself as she walked over to her dresser. "Ms. Dream is not the only telepath out there and Merry has gotten more than her share of curiosity." A mirror sat above the dresser and Simone put her hand on it.

"Dollopolis status." She said.

The mirror switched to a view of the town and highlighted the people in small screen inserts. Simone watched as Lizzie, Jessie and Monica swam in the lake. At least the friendship between the twins and Monica was firm. Simone hadn't been sure that would happen at first. They weren't lovers, Monica seemed set in her heterosexual ways. That suited Simone. Not everyone in her town had to be gay after all and lovers spats would be dangerous. It was something that Simone worried about. At the moment keeping order in Dollopolis was simple. But as the population was going to grow…

"Prospect status." Simone said and two more inserts appeared. One showed a young girl, no more than five standing on a street corner. She was thin and her skin was a light brown. Atya Mellana was ten years old and her family consisted of a biker who had bought her and older sister from her father for a drug shipment. They had been mules for drug shipments until her older sister had been killed in a shootout. The girl now lived with the gang and had only a few more years before she started to develop. When that happened her life would be over. Merry had stumbled onto her situation on one of her missions and the Group had agreed that they’d watch Atya for a time. That had been three months before and Simone wondered what the Group was waiting for. They were planning something of course, they always were.

A few cats walked up to the lake, took a drink and then sat down to wash themselves. The cats looked giant next to the shrunken women.

"Trouble is girl your idea of careful and mine are miles apart." Simone said as she started to brush her hair. "And you have a terrible habit of finding distractions like Atya there."

She looked at the other insert. This one showed a young woman huddled in her wheelchair. She was dressed in old clothes and had no legs. In her hand was a cup and some of the people walking by put coins into it. It was very hard to tell what sex she was. Ginger Lake had been dropped on the wrong side of fate before she had been born. Her mother had been an addict who hadn't bothered to kick her habit and had died in childbirth. Her father however was Senator Greg Hilton. She was the result of a night of drunken drug fueled debauchery that the senator had indulged himself with. He knew about her, but he had been married at the time and acknowledging an illegitimate girl born without legs would have been too much for his career. He'd bribed an orderly to loose the records and abandoned Ginger to her fate. Ginger eked out a living begging and had a closet sized room in the local YWCA. The system had no idea that she existed.

Simone had never realized just how many people like this there were in the world until Merry had pointed them out to her. Merry seemed to see them all. These two… Both were homeless, both were young enough to hope even if they didn't know what that hope was. Simone would have brought them into Dollopolis on the same day that Merry found them. But the Group said no. Compassion alone would not rule. They would study the two girls and then decide. That bothered Simone but she knew enough to press the issue. Not yet anyway. Someday there might come a time when she could challenge them, but not now.

Simone saw that the girls had stopped swimming and gone to the cats. Each cat had pinned a girl to the beach with one paw and was washing them with their tongues. It was a custom that had started with Lizzie and Jessie and grown from there.

"I can't let them relax all day." Simone said reaching for a gown.

Vicki Huang watched herself as she stretched in front of the mirror. She was five feet and eight inches tall, solidly built with a figure that reflected her Asian heritage. Her breasts were normally a full B-cup but the costume she wore shot them up to a low D size. It also added a few inches to her hips. Vicki didn't mind. She'd need the padding for some of what was coming up. She thought the costume looked ridiculous. It consisted of a pair of black leather boots that went up to her knees, black gloves, a halter-top and running shorts. The boots had silver fringes on them. The halter and the running pants were made to look like they were some sort of scaled armor, but they were really just dressed up spandex. Both were gold with silver edges. A loose belt filled with pouches was around her waist. On the halter-top was a symbol of a red dagger. Her dark brown-almost black-hair fell around her face framing it perfectly. Vicki wore a red mask that covered the top part of her face. The costume highlighted her olive skinned complexion and firm body. There was a picture taped to the mirror and Vickie gave it a quick study. She was close. Very close. The woman in the picture was slightly taller and had skin drawn tight over solid muscle. Vicki would have put good money on the woman having no more than an ounce of fat on her entire body. The woman in the picture was known as the Red Dagger. An Asian crime fighting heroine based in Hawaii. She was about twice as strong as a man and had martial arts skills to spare.

Vicki straightened up and walked out of the locker room. She was close enough in looks to be the woman's sister, at least with the mask on. The only real difference was their eyes. The Red Dagger had red eyes and Vicki's eyes were dark brown. But no one was going to be looking at her eyes. At least no one in this crowd. They never did.

Vicki walked into the arena to cheers and catcalls. The arena was a metal cage twenty feet by twenty feet. The floor was covered with a thick black mat and the top of the cage rose to a wired meshed dome. There were about thirty men in the crowd. Street punks, gang bangers and a few nerds. All of them worked for the man and woman who sat in thrones on the far side of the cage. The Diamonds. Frederick and Morticia. They had been known as the Flawless Diamonds until a battle with Red Dagger had scarred both their faces. Now they wore matching white business suits and black hoods. They had been part of International Crime Enterprises before that organization had been shattered by Earth Force. Now they were making a bid to join the new Crime Enterprises. CE was a young organization just starting to fill the void left by ICE's break up. It had money and power and even some of the heavy muscle that had worked for ICE. Rumor had that ICE was in fact in charge of the new organization. Joining meant an almost guaranteed criminal empire. But to join you had to prove yourself. You had to take out a hero or heroine. Not kill them, but completely break them and make them into slaves. Or you had to pull of a robbery of legendary proportions. The choice for the Diamond's was an obvious one. The trouble for them was that their children Theodore and Vanessa were also supervillains and also wanted into the new criminal organization. The race was on and Morticia and Frederick wanted their men to have an edge.

And that's where I come in, Vicki thought as one of the henchmen entered the arena. He was a short wiry Latino with gang tatoos over his body. He wore only a pair of pants and fighting gloves. This was going to be the fourth guy she fought and her fourth loss. The Diamonds wanted their men to go into battle feeling no awe of a heroine. The way they had chosen to break the fear factor of facing a superhero was to have their men defeat doubles of the heroes. The theory was that once a man had beaten and raped someone who looked like the heroine the heroine herself wouldn't be as scary to him. The Diamonds had scoured brothels all along the West Coast for a close enough double who was willing to take it. They'd found Vicki by accident.

Or so they thought. In reality Vicki had been planted in that brothel and given a false life story. When her superiors had learned through sources that the Diamond's were looking for a double for the Red Dagger Vicki's picture had come up. Two years out of training and stuck on a desk Vicki was ambitious enough-and crazy enough to say yes.

The C.I.A. like most of the other intelligence organizations in the world didn't want another ICE rising. The original International Crime Enterprises had been formed in the 1920's and grew to power long before any organization was in existence to fight it. No one wanted that to happen again. So Vicki had been sent in on an ultra-deep cover assignment. She was to use any means at her disposal, cross almost any line in order to find out who was behind the new CE. Rumor on the ship was that there were three top level supervillains behind it all. Possibly even the Sea King though he was supposed to be dead.

The man came at her warily and Vicki circled him. Suddenly his arm flashed out and a small blue ball landed at her feet. The ball exploded into a cloud of gray smoke. The smoke was harmless but Vicki played her part, coughing and choking and stumbling out of it. Easy prey for the man as he moved in. Each man was different. The larger ones tended to go for a bear hug, fondling her body as they squeezed the air from her lungs. This one fancied himself a fighter. He kicked her in the side and before she could recover he grabbed her arm and slammed her into the metal cage. Pressing her up against it the man slammed his fist into her sides three or four times.

Vicki gasped in pain and pushed him away. She turned and landed a solid fist into his stomach. He smiled as he backed up and came at her again. Vicki danced away from him but was a little bit too slow. He tripped her and as soon as she was on her stomach on the floor he was on her back. Grabbing her running pants he pulled them down to her ankles and then slapped her ass a few times. Then he stood up and backed off.

The crowd loved it. Vicki rolled over and started to pull her pants up. As soon as she did he kicked her in the chest. He did it three more times before she managed to grab his leg and throw him back. Vicki pulled up her pants and rolled over to stand up. Some of them just like to beat and rape her; this guy wanted to show off. She could take him, but that wouldn't be something that Vicki Huang prostitute should be able to do. The Diamond’s had given her a quick three week martial arts course but that was it. In reality Vicki had a CIA red belt.

He came at her again and this time grabbed her wrist and flipped her over onto her stomach. He twisted her left arm up behind her back and Vicki screamed as he pulled it up between her shoulder blades. Then he reached in front of her and grabbed her halter just bellow her breasts. With a quick and savage pull the man pulled the halter up and over her left shoulder and twisted it around her wrist, pinning it there.

Then he stepped back and Vicki stumbled to her knees. Her breasts were full exposed and everyone in the crowd cheered. Before she could do anything else he grabbed her free arm and twisted her wrist. Vicki screamed in pain as he forced her to her feet. Once there he kicked her stomach again and again until his hold on her wrist was all that was holding Vicki up. He let her go and she fell to the mat gasping. The man rolled her onto her stomach and sat on her, pinning her arms beneath her body. Then he started to slap her face. Again and again, back and forth until her head was reeling from the shock and the pain.

Getting off of her he pulled Vicki's pants down again. By this time the rape was almost an afterthought.

It's only sex, Vicki thought to herself again and again. He can't hurt me, he can't hurt the real me, it's not the real me he's raping, he'll never know the real me.

The mantra had been taught to her by the best under cover operatives the CIA had. It didn’t really work but Vicki told herself that it did.

The man came and pulled out of her, spraying her body with his cum. Then he slapped her a few more times and stood up with his arms raised in victory.

The crowd cheered him as Vicki passed out.

The house was more modest then Merry expected for a rich mans house on a private island. Still this sort of thing puzzled Merry. What was the use of having a big mansion if no one ever saw it? The whole point of having a mansion as far as Merry could tell was to over awe people with your money.

The island was just off of the coast of British Columbia, not too remote but remote enough for when someone rich wanted privacy. The house had been custom built, outside it looked like a modest two story-with attic Victorian with a garage and swimming pool in a green house. On the opposite side from the swimming pool was a helipad. A path led from the front door to a dock. But inside Merry knew that there was luxury. Jewels, gold, paintings, antiques and more. The place was not a home so much as it was a hoard. The Hilton's weren't real old money despite their family name. Jonathan Hilton had made it big only after World War 2. His son Terrance Hilton had built on his father's fortune and now his son Greg Hilton had cemented it with ties in Washington. Senator Gregg Hilton had his hands in some very deep pockets. He wasn't well known outside of his own district, but to the deal makers and the lobbyists in the beltway his name was known, respected and feared.

I wonder if they'll go to his funeral, Merry thought as she guided the ship toward a large pine tree near the greenhouse. The Group had come to have enough faith in Merry to allow her to pick her own ships for some missions. For this one Merry had chosen the Jupiter 2 from the old Lost in Space show. Merry wasn't sure anymore just how wise it was to keep using toy replicas to get around. Thanks to the activities of 'Mystery Woman' the fact that Dollopolis used such ships to get around was now widely known. In fact it had spurred a resurgence in the scale model industry.

But however much the world thought they knew about the ships they really didn't know that much. Even Merry didn't know much more than how to fly them. What powered them and what they were made of was a mystery to her. They were fast, powerful and stealthy; that was all she really needed to know. And the latest feature that the Group had added to the ships was a color changing ability. So instead of a dull gray craft Merry was piloting a black one. Invisible at night since the Jupiter didn’t use a heat based power source.

And of course there was the simple fact that Merry thrilled to be riding in the ships. She loved to pretend-if only for a moment-that she really was flying the real Jupiter 2 or X-wing fighter or any of the others. It was a thrill that would never fade and Merry was determined not to loose that part of her life.

Merry landed the disk shaped craft by the tree. It was just after midnight and a small private party was in full swing inside the house. Merry watched as the guards moved around the grounds. Ten of them, all outside of the house covering the grounds, the dock and the heliport. Merry watched them for an hour. They were good. The guards moved at random intervals with random radio checks. A full sized person didn't have much of a chance to sneak by them.

Merry opened the hatch and stepped out of the ship. She waited until the guard passed. The scents of the night reached her, pine mixed with wood smoke from the chimney and the smell of the sea. The sound of the sea reached her as well as the muted sounds of the party. It was a calm night and Merry could hear things moving through the woods and the trees. She hoped they would keep moving. Being twelve inches tall put Merry on the menu of many animals. Not that she was weaponless. In her hand Merry carried a scythe that she had designed herself. After her early days with the Group Merry had learned what she was going to fight the most. People weren’t her number one enemy; insects and small predators were. The scythe was as tall as she was with a curved blade and at the other end was a spring-loaded spike that came out and was about a quarter of the size from the spike itself. Merry had found the spike most effective against insects and the blade against small animals. The handle was spaced at the right spot for swinging it, but instead of just a rod Merry had designed a brass-knuckles style finger grip with a wide guard. She was also wearing a new mission suit. Merry called it a spider suit and it had been designed specifically for sneaking her into a house. Black from head to toe, skin tight and even lightly armored the suit featured an equipment belt. Special pads built into her fingers, toes and knees would even allow her to climb walls.

Merry looked carefully around her. She could see cameras set at regular intervals along with motion and sound sensors. But there was nothing she really had to worry about as long she stayed in the shadows and on all fours. The night vision on the cameras would only see her as a small rat or some other rodent. She crossed the distance quickly and flattened herself against the side of the house. The foundation was built out of large gray stones and there were plenty of small shrubs. Merry crawled along until she was under one of the windows. One of the things she had discovered early on about houses was that there was always an almost guaranteed soft spot in the security. Every house had a laundry room and every laundry room had a hot air dryer. People put alarms almost every place else but never there. She made her way to the drier exhaust vent and climbed into it. Some of them had screens but this one didn't. After a short trip through an aluminum tube Meerry climbed onto the flexible pipe. Merry moved along the flexible plastic tubing and was grateful for the mask that covered her face. Great clumps of lint and dust filled the tube. No one ever cleaned out their dryer exhaust. The place smelled of burnt fabric and stale air. She made it to the drier and climbed carefully out of the tube. A modern gas clothes dryer was a giant drum fed hot air by a blower. It was a very simple machine and there was a lot of room underneath it for a shrunken woman.

But this was one of the danger points. There were places in houses where small creatures lived. Merry had faced down hoards of cockroaches, families of rats and gigantic spiders under dryers. No one rich or poor ever seemed to clean under his or her dryer or refrigerator.

But this place only held dust and a few cobwebs. Merry stepped over the loose change(another thing that was always under dryers) and looked out from beneath the dryer. The room was semi-dark and empty. Somewhere in the house early 80’s rock songs were blaring. After a check for cameras Merry crawled out from under the dryer and darted across the floor to the doorway. She was at the back of the house. Across from her was the kitchen and to her left was a hallway. Merry ran down the hallway and stopped near the edge of the stairs. To her right was a living room and to her left was a pool room. Merry stopped and listened intensely. Sometimes if there were hidden motion detectors she could hear the whine of the sonic waves. She doubted there were any here, but it was an exercise she always tried. The music was super loud and Merry found it good to force herself to try to hear something else. Merry listened and concentrated, forcing the music out of her mind. She heard moaning. Looking in the pool room Merry saw that a woman was bent over the pool table. She was nude and in her hand was a pool cue. She drew it back and Merry saw that a vibrator had been duct taped to the end of the stick. On the table someone moaned.

"No wonder all the security is on the outside." Merry whispered. "They want privacy."

{Agreed.}

Merry started to climb the stairs. Half way up she looked over and saw that a man was laying face down on the pool table. He was moaning as the woman used the modified pool cue between his legs. They weren’t her targets so Merry just made sure that they didn’t notice her and kept moving. At the top of the stairs a woman was passed out on the floor. Someone had drawn a red mustache on her. The top of her chest was covered with white powder. Someone had drawn eyes on her nipples and a nose between her breasts and an open mouth under that. A caption from the mouth read "I am a slut!".

Merry moved past her and down the corridor. The master bedroom was the last door and it was open a crack. Merry pushed the door open and went inside. As soon as she was in a piece of cloth fell on top of her.

Merry didn’t panic but dropped to her knees and thrust the scythe straight up. The cloth lifted off of her and Merry rolled away from it coming up in a fighting stance. She froze as she saw what it was. A large bra had been carelessly thrown over the doorknob and fallen on her. Merry relaxed and looked around. There were more cloths strewn about the place. It looked like a rummage sale for expensive clothing and underwear. The smell of marijuana was thick in the room and the smoke was so thick that it obscured the ceiling. Beneath the mess was a tastefully decorated Victorian style bedroom with dark paneled walls and solid wood furniture. The bed was a large oak with ornately carved legs. Merry was about to go toward it when a telepathic sentence stopped her.

{Look back on the wall above the fireplace.}

Merry looked and saw a three foot by five foot panel of paint splashes.

{Well we were right.}

{The Mazon Masterpiece.}

{He had it all the time.}

{To think he even offered a reward.}

"That’s worth money?" Merry asked.

{Millions.}

{A perfect example of abstract art.}

{Stolen five years ago.}

{Proceed Dolly, it’s only a distraction.}

Merry crept over to the bed and started to climb it. Once she would have argued about returning the painting to its rightful owner. But she had learned how useless that sort of argument could be. The Group was concerned with more than stolen property. That meant that Merry had to be concerned with more.

Once on top of the bed Merry looked upon three people. The man was tall and barrel-chested with movie star good looks that had faded with time. He lay between two women, a short red head and a tall brunette. The smell of the sex they had just had and the marijuana in the room hit Merry hard but she forced her reactions down. Her body wanted to respond, it wanted to become aroused but Merry wasn’t having it.

{The woman on the left is the one to target.]

Merry silently moved toward the red head. She was on her back. The woman had wide hips and breasts that were almost as large as Merry’s. The nipples were pierced with diamond studs. Willow Oakdale was one of the family legacies that the Group had been working on. She could trace her family back three hundred years and in the line were some brilliant people. Willow however had abandoned college for partying. She wasn’t getting back at her family she, she wasn't angry or upset, she just didn’t care for anything but pleasure. In essence she was a selfish spoiled brat who didn’t want to grow up.

That was about to change. Merry walked carefully between her legs until she reached the woman’s vagina. From her equipment belt Merry took a small tube and placed it against Willow’s thigh. The drug entered her body soundlessly and after a moment Merry replaced the tube and then took hold of the sides of Willow’s pussy. They came apart easily but were hard to hold because they were so slick. After slipping a few times Merry's hands found a hold and she pushed herself into the opening. Again Merry’s body wanted to respond and this time it was a lot harder to keep herself under control. This close to the woman’s sex the scent of her was nearly overwhelming. Merry braced her back and legs against the vaginal lips to keep them apart. Then she took a gun from her belt and aimed it into the woman. She fired and the small drug pellet vanished into the woman’s body.

Merry pushed herself out of the woman and fell onto the sheets. She was breathing hard, her heart pounded in her ears and her body felt white hot. She breathed deeply for a few minutes and then stood up holstering the gun.

The man would be easier, yet harder. They were all nude and his penis lay flat against his leg. It was still half inflated and Merry paused for a moment. The sight was revolting, intoxicating and frightening all at the same time. Merry took the tube out of her belt and walked over to him. Close up the penis was a large pink hairy sack with two bowling balls. Merry pressed the drug against the skin, swallowed hard as the skin was soft enough to retreat and she had to get closer and try again, and waited a moment while the drug took effect. Merry replaced the tube and then took another one out of her belt. She hesitated.

{Dolly.}

"I’m... I’m sorry." Merry said. She wasn't really sure whom she was apologizing to. She stepped up to the man’s penis and pressed the small tube against one of the small veins that showed through the skin. There was no sound from the tube or reaction from the man but Merry knew what she had done.

She’d just killed him.

Merry replaced the tube onto her belt and crept back down toward the foot of the bed. She pushed away every thought but her task. She crushed every pang of guilt. Greg Hilton had perhaps two years to live. The cancer would eat it’s way through his heart and his only chance would be a transplant. But he would have children. In about twenty minutes Gregg and Willow would wake up hotter than they’d ever been before. They’d make love and changes would start in Willow’s body. She’d become less susceptible to the effects of the illicit drugs and alcohol she loved. In fact she'd a bit healthier all around. In two months she’d find that drugs and alcohol left her cold. And in nine months she would have children. Possibly twins, maybe triplets. The Group had decided that Greg Hilton stood in the way of their plans, but they didn’t want to loose a good bloodline. And there was always the chance that if their plans changed he would be allowed to live. In the meantime the Oakdale family was being infiltrated by a maid who would suggest a nurse…

Merry looked down the hall and then started down it. The Group spun plots and more plots and she wasn't their only operative. But she was probably the most valuable. There were times that Merry actually took pride in that. This wasn't one of those times.

It was a never a good sign when the people you were working for chained you to a bed and gagged you. Even when you were a prostitute. Vicki had been in bed recovering from the beating when a nurse had come in and chained her down. Vicki had been too out of it to react before she was completely helpless. Now she was being wheeled into some sort of medical room. It was white and clean and terrifying. Waiting in the room were Moritcia and Frederick Diamond and another man. Vicki recognized him from his file. Doctor Smith. That was the only name the CIA had on the man. He was a crime doctor, wanted nearly everywhere. A brutal sadist that even ICE hadn't wanted to hire. Almost literally the worst of the worst.

"Change of plans." Frederick said. "The Red Dagger has already been captured by our children. They are the ones who will present her to the new CE. We have to find something better. You."

Vicki started to pull at her chains but they held.

"The one thing that C.E. wants above all else is someone, anyone from Dollopolis." Frederick said. "We don't have anyone except you. So we are going to use you."

"With this potion I will shrink you down." Doctor Smith said. He was a tall black man with a deep cold voice. He held up a vial. "Of course shrinking women for bait has been tried before without success. However I believe that was because Dollopolis has such a small population that they knew everyone by sight. So before I shrink you I'm going to make sure that your face is destroyed. And to be certain I'm going to make sure you can't speak and give things away. A little cut and the vocal cords will be useless."

Vicki started to scream through her gag and pulled at the chains with all of her might. But they held. Dr. Smith smiled at her.

"That's it, get it all out of your system. When you wake up your screaming days will be over."

"We'll take her to CE and announce that we've found a Dollopoian that they can use as bait for Mystery Woman." Morticia said turning from the table. "We found her on an island or something. Even if the trap fails they'll believe she’s real long enough for us to show Theodore and Vanessa why we are the true supervillains in the family. If you survive all of this we’ll pay you double and return your face and voice."

"Just trust yourself to my tender care." Dr. Smith said. He smiled at Vicki as he bent over her.

Vicki kept fighting as the nurse fitted a mask over her face. She kept fighting until the gas pulled her away from her body. She wasn’t asleep, just paralyzed. As the doctor picked up a scalpel Vicki realized that she wasn’t going to be allowed to sleep though the operations.

Lightning flashed outside of the ship and Merry grimly held onto the controls. The storm had come up from nowhere and if she were over land Merry would have found some place to sit it out. But she was still over water and while the Jupiter 2 could function under water for a short time the danger was great. At her size the ship was on the menu for any number of sea creatures. The Jupiter 2 didn't have the weaponry that the other ships had. All it had was a stun gun and that might not be effective under water.

I may have to take her down and chance it, Merry thought as a wind grabbed the ship and sent it hurtling upward. Merry was slammed into the seat and then into the straps that held her to the seat as another wind pushed the ship down. It felt as if the storm were a living being, a great feral beast and Merry was held firmly in its jaws.

"I haven't got much control." Merry said gripping the control wheel tightly. "And this is getting worse."

{Agreed.}

{You may have to take your chances in the water.}

{We are grounded.}

{You're about thirty miles from shore.}

"Even if I grow to full size that's too far to swim." Merry said. "I'll take her…"

Merry was about to finish the sentence when the lightning that was flashing around the ship struck it. Her control panel flashed and sparked like a fireworks display and the ship was tossed end over end in so many directions Merry lost count. Only when it slammed into something did Merry start to get her bearings. But that was only for a moment as the control panel exploded and knocked her out.

There were different ways to wake up after you had been knocked out. Merry knew most of them. If a villain knocked her out she came awake slowly, searching with her senses for clues to where she was. But in the case of a ship crash waking slowly wasn’t a good idea. The idea was to drag yourself awake as fast as possible no matter how much it hurt or how much you wanted to sleep. So when Merry woke up the first thing she did was open her eyes and reach for the control wheel. It didn’t respond and Merry’s eyes scanned the console. Or at least what was left of it. Her view drifted toward the window. Outside the window Merry saw water.

"Down." Merry said as the ship moved up and down in the current. "Well I was heading here anyway."

{We don't have any telemetry from the ship.}

{For obvious reasons considering the state of the controls.}

{We’ll have to beef up the next model.}

{Lightning can be a bother.}

It can be more than that, Merry thought but was careful not to say it out loud. Sometimes the Group viewed her adventures as some sort of video game. No, most of the time they viewed them that way.

"I'll run a systems check." Merry said. There was acrid brown smoke in the ship but it was thinning as the air filters worked. Some of the console panels still sparked and crackled.

She reached for the computer but the ship twisted underneath her and Merry's arm fell against a different console. One of the screens lit up and a scrambled mess of static appeared on it. Merry was about to shut it off when a light on the console stopped her.

"It’s a scrambled signal." Merry said. "The auto-decript is working."

{Well you are near Canada.}

Merry nodded. A lot of supervillains used Canada for a base. There were many remote places where strongholds could be secreted.

"I might as well let it run." She said.

Merry tapped a few commands on the main console and after a moment a list started to appear. Many of the items were in red. Many more of them meant nothing to her. But she knew that the Group was seeing what she was seeing. If the ship was fixable they’d tell her. When the list ended there was silence for a few minutes.

{Workable.}

{The fuel tank didn’t rupture.}

{The control lines snapped.}

{That should be easy enough to fix. Merry prepare for puppet mode.}

Merry swallowed and un-strapped herself from the chair. The Group didn’t use puppet mode on her that often. In puppet mode they took direct control of her body. It was a horrible experience and Merry dreaded it. But it was the only way that the ship was going to be fixed.

"I’m ready." Merry said.

She stood up and walked stiffly to the back of the cabin. Merry watched as her arms and hands worked without her direction. There was no way to stop them even if she wanted too.

Officer Dolly is now Dolly the Mechanic, Merry thought and tried to keep herself sane as her body continued to work. The first time they had used her body like this Merry hadn't been able to sleep for three days. She could be shrunk, picked up and fondled but her body was still her own. But this took even that away from her and Merry was locked into a prison where only her thoughts were her own.

It’s the only way, Merry told herself.

A few hours later Merry felt her body returned to her. The ship was fixed, or at least fixed enough to work. She went back to the pilots seat and slumped down into it. Her arms were sore and so was her back. In puppet mode she had no real feedback, so any pain was felt later. Her limbs were still trembling and would be for a while.

{The storm has not abated.}

{We suggest you stay put.}

{In the meantime the auto-decrypt has finished.}

{Let's take a look.}

Merry keyed in the command and one of the screens lit up. It showed two people seated at a desk. They were both wearing white business suits and black hoods. The man was heavy set and the woman was slim. On the desk in a cage was a nude shrunken woman. She huddled against the bars and didn’t move. Merry gasped when she saw the woman’s face. It was melted, with only one eye left and the nose was so deformed it hung over her mouth.

"Are you sure she is from Dollopolis?" A voice asked.

At the name the woman looked up and struggled. Merry saw that her wrists were tied to the bars of the cage. She was wearing what was left of a red dress.

"As sure as we can be." The man said. "We found her on an island next to a wrecked toy ship, but she blew it up when we got close to her. She got caught in the blast."

"That’s why we didn’t get to the Red Dagger first." The woman said. Under her a subtitle appeared, it read ‘Morticia Diamond’. "We were busy with her."

"Bring her." The voice said. "Even if she can’t talk we’ll find a way to make her talk. Timidious wants to get anything he can on Dollopolis and so do we."

"Tomorrow then." The man said and his title read ‘Frederick Diamond’. "At Sloclum Lake."

"Will our children be there?" Morticia demanded. "We have been wanting to see them for a long time."

"They’ll be there with their captive." The voice said. "And you’ll settle things before either or both of you will be allowed to join."

The picture cut out.

"A trap." Merry said leaning back. "Another trap for me."

{A trap yes, but no.}

"What?"

{This transmission was heavily encrypted using three separate frequencies to break up the signal.}

{It was also low powered for short range to a relay station.}

{There was no way they could know or even guess that you would be in range to pick it up.}

{And even so you wouldn’t have if the ship had not been damaged.}

"If it was short range where did it come from?" Merry asked.

{A cargo ship five miles from your current position.}

{The Diamond’s used to be fairly low on the ICE totem poll.}

{The new Criminal Enterprises organization that is forming must seem like a great opportunity for them.}

{But their feud with their children continues.}

"I don’t know them." Merry admitted.

{You can’t know everyone.}

{They are petty smugglers who have an ongoing relationship with the heroine Red Dagger.}

{Who vanished last week.}

{It is obvious what has happened.}

"Their kids got the Red Dagger and they whipped up the girl in the cage as a fake." Merry guessed.

{Most likely.}

"Where is Sloclum Lake?" Merry asked.

{In the mountains of Washington state.}

{But you are not going on another heroine rescue mission Dolly.}

{It’s time those people learned to take care of themselves.}

{They should not need you to keep rescuing them.}

"I’m not thinking of the Red Dagger." Merry said. "I’m thinking of the girl in the cage. Look what they did to her."

{Not our concern.}

Merry swallowed and gripped her hands to try and stop them from shaking.

"I think it should be. Even if she’s a mercenary she’s had her face destroyed and she’s shrunk. Once the telepaths C.E. uses finds out she’s not from Dollopolis she’s dead." Merry ploughed on before they could say anything. This was one of those times when she didn’t-couldn’t-think, it would only slow her down. She spoke and thought in the same instant, letting her heart take over completely. "Look Criminal Enterprises wants to pick up where ICE left off, that’s something we should try to stop. ICE was a rival for you, you don’t want another rival. All we have to do is send a message to Lucy that the Red Dagger and maybe Timidious are at Sloclum lake and she’ll do the rest. And I’ll go to the ship and get the girl from the cage. There have been a lot of traps set for me like this, if I don’t take the bait at least once people will start to wonder why... I mean they destroyed her face so that we couldn’t know that she wasn’t from Dollopolis by sight... That means..."

Merry had to pause to take a breath and calm down her voice. Her heart was pounding and she was sweating heavily. They could see through her of course, the Group always could. But would they go along with her anyway? Merry’s heart ached when she thought of the woman in the cage. She’d come too close to that same fate many times.

{Wait. We will consider.}

Merry took a breath and relaxed a little. If they were going to talk to each other she had a good chance. If they said yes she’d rescue the girl. If they said no... Merry might try anyway and risk punishment.

Oh Ida please let them say yes, Merry prayed.

It was nearly an hour before they spoke again.

{We have decided.}

{You may rescue the woman.}

{And we have told Simone to tell Earth Force about the danger the Red Dagger is in.}

{Rescue her if you can. But everyone on that ship is to die.}

Merry’s heart stopped.

"Kill every one?"

{We have our reasons Dolly.}

{The Diamond’s are career supervillains.}

{The men they have on that ship are worthless.}

{The world won’t miss any of them.}

"I understand." Merry said. "How many men are there?"

{Forty-nine.}

Merry nodded. Was the life of that woman worth forty-nine deaths? Were they all as bad as the Group said?

Not my choice anymore, Merry told herself. She tried to believe the lie and failed.

"What is the layout of the ship?" Merry asked.

{We are not sure.}

{We have the original plans.}

{But smugglers always make improvements.}

{You’ll have to get close enough to scan.}

"Right." Merry said taking hold of the control wheel. Her hands weren’t shaking anymore.

The Tide Crawler was an old decrepit looking ship. It looked more than bad. The hull was a deep shade of green and rust, the deck looked like it would fall apart and the superstructure didn’t look as if it would stand a good strong wind. But to the scanners on the Jupiter 2 things looked a little different. There was an inner hull made of a very strong alloy, gun and missile emplacements fore and aft and force field emitters on the superstructure. The inside of the ship was even more impressive. It was powered by a nuclear reactor and boasted some very sophisticated laboratories. And it did have a cargo hold that was full of antique autos.

The ships sensors were even good enough to spot the Jupiter 2 if Merry had been even a little less careful. But she had been careful. The storm had abated and Merry had moved behind the ship and hovered at a thousand feet. Then she had descended on a long slope, always keeping the Jupiter 2 in line with the exhaust from the smoke stack. Merry had guessed that it would be the Achilles heal in the ships security net and she had been right. Once she was only a few feet above the main smoke stack Merry was too close to be picked up on the Tide Crawler’s radar. Merry had then piloted the ship down the outside of the smoke stack and landed it next to a tangle of pipes near the mast.

Merry had never been on a ship at sea before. The rolling gate was not as bad as in the stories she had read, but it was there. The smell of the sea mixed with the ship, old oil and old salt telling of the oceans it had steamed across. She had landed late in the evening and the deck was deserted. Merry found an air vent and slipped into it.

The air vents on the ship were a lot larger than the ones Merry was used to in buildings. It was strange being her normal shrunken height and having a lot of room. Merry had to smile as soon as the thought hit her. Twelve inches tall was her normal height when she was small, but she’d never actually thought that it was normal till now. The vents were also cleaner and Merry was grateful for that. Dirty vents usually meant wildlife.

It took Merry hours to move through the vents. As she moved she heard the sounds of the ship and the crew. She tried not to think of the men and women on the ship, but it was impossible not to because she had to think about them to be careful of them. One careless glance at a vent as she moved by might be enough to put her into a cage. So she moved cautiously. Merry also thought that if the Diamond’s had any serious ideas about catching someone from Dollopolis they’d surely put traps in the air vents. But there were none. No traps, no cameras or microphones or motion detectors. All of which suited Merry. She moved deeply into the ship until she came to the vent that opened up into the control room of the nuclear reactor. It wasn’t a large room, ten feet by twenty feet. The reactor control panel was state of the art. Instead of dials and knobs there were multiple computer stations and screens. That sort of sophistication was very economical since it meant that there only had to be one operator.

It also made the reactor very vulnerable. One shot of full radiation will kill everyone, Merry had argued. And it’ll make this ship light up like a Christmas tree to the US coastguard’s anti-terror net.

The Group had agreed and Merry slipped out of the vent and climbed to the floor. The tech on duty was sitting with his back to her. From the way he was sitting he was asleep. He was at least fifty from the looks of him, a fat man with thinning black hair that was swiftly going to gray. He was wearing a dirty gray coverall and was slumped back in his seat snoring.

Merry grew to full size and moved up behind him. Now was the time she knew. In almost every movie she had ever seen now was the time when the villains sprang the trap on the heroine. The doors would burst open and guns would be leveled at her. Or the tech would swing around with a gun in his hand.

But nothing happened as Merry grabbed him by the throat. He had perhaps a moment of awareness before that moment ended along with his life. Merry snapped his neck and felt a bit of her soul scream. What did she know of this man? What had led him to this point in life where he worked for smugglers? A nuclear technician had to be smart enough to find honest work. What had stopped him from doing so? What was his name? Did he have a wife or kids? Merry suddenly saw the man as a child, growing up; choosing his path through life. And now that path had ended. Destiny? Fate? Or simply the fact that random chance had put him there for Merry to murder?

Merry left the body in the chair and went over to the control console. She hoped that what ever fate awaited him in the next life the man was ready for it. She hoped that the other people on the ship were ready for it too. Merry wondered if she would be ready when her time came.

It had taken hours to find her way to the reactor room, but it only took one hour to make her way back to the ship. Merry hoped that the tech would not be found. If they found him they might find out what she had done to the ships reactor.

Getting back into the Jupiter 2 Merry took off and moved to the side of the Tide Crawler. The Diamond’s lived on the ship and their cabin was located under the super structure on the aft deck. They were extremely well protected against anything approaching the ship. The sensors would pick up any air craft or boat and even submarines or frogmen would be spotted. But Merry was already on board. She guided the Jupiter 2 across the deck no more than a few inches from the deck surface. Then she went over the side and kept her disk shaped craft parallel to the side of the ship. It was getting lighter out and in the twilight Merry’s ship was nearly invisible. She moved to the aft superstructure and then shifted the Jupiter so that it was perpendicular to the ship. Then she rose so that she could see through the window. Inside was a vast stateroom with a large bed, dressers, desks and a super large tv. The room was expensive but not opulent. But there was no sign of the girl or the cage.

That would make it too easy, Merry thought as she used the stun beam to melt a hole through the Lexan that was set in the windows. The windows were tough and Merry had a few uneasy moments as the Jupiter's power levels dropped quickly. But they stayed within the safety range as the melting point was reached. Once it was done Merry got out of the hatch and crawled to the hole. It wasn’t easy even with her spidersuit gripping the hull. The Tide Crawler was moving up and down with the waves and it was hard for the Jupiter 2 to match it. Merry miss-timed her grab and for a moment was hanging from the melted glass. But she recovered and climbed into the room. Strangely enough the room smelled like pine.

Merry grew to full size and then opened the window. The Jupiter 2 floated silently into the room. On the bed Morticia started to stir but a blast from the stun beam made sure that they would both stay asleep. Merry checked them and then put the ship down onto the floor. Then she started to search the room. Plan A would have been to take the girl from the cage and leave. But Plan A was a plan that never worked.

So come on First Knight, Merry told herself as she found the rope and handcuffs that she guessed would be there. Time for Plan B.

Merry checked the gun. A modified Isher gun; eight shots capable of firing a plasma bolt or a .44 caliber slug. She'd found it and a full armory behind the tv. It was light, made of ceramics and fit nicely in her hand. It was also illegal by international treaty, one of only five guns to be outlawed everywhere. The plasma part of the gun was powered by a micro-element that could be converted into a mini-nuclear bomb.

"This should be fun." Merry said as the Diamond's started to wake up. Merry had stripped them both, including their masks and tied them next to each other and to the bed. She hadn't spread-eagled them; their wrists and ankles were bound together. She had gagged them as well. With the masks removed the Diamond's weren't un-attractive. They were both about sixty. There was a scar that started at his left cheek and seemed to travel over to her right one. His hair was black going to gray and her hair was blonde going to white. The scars weren’t that wide or thick, Merry wondered why they didn’t fix them with plastic surgery.

The Diamaond's came awake quickly and furiously. They screamed their rage beneath their gags and wrenched their bodies against the ropes. Merry let them go on for a few minutes and then yawned and pointed the gun at them. Both of them fell silent.

"I am Mystery Woman, the First Knight of Dollopolis." Merry announced. Their eyes went wide and instead of rage she saw fear in them. "Now no shouting, no threats, no bargaining. I'm going to remove your gag and you are going to have the tiny woman brought her. I'll take her and go and you'll live. Do you understand?"

They both nodded and Merry reached over and pulled the gag out of Morticia's mouth.

"How did you find out?" Morticia asked.

Merry pulled the trigger and the bullet went into the mattress only an inch from her thigh.

"Questions were not included in the deal." Merry said coldly.

Someone started pounding on the door and Merry stood off to one side. She positioned herself carefully so that she could take cover behind a desk if she had too.

"Are you alright in there?" Came the urgent question from the other side of the door.

"Invite them in." Merry ordered.

"Get in here!" Mortica shouted.

The door burst open and two men with drawn guns charged in. They were both tall, broad and wearing jeans and jackets.

"Drop your guns or you're out a boss." Merry ordered.

The men instantly aimed at her but Merry didn't waver.

"I've got this on the plasma setting." Merry said. "Before you can shoot me I'll set them both on fire."

"Drop them!" Morticia ordered. The men obeyed but stared at Merry. "Tell Dr. Smith to bring that shrunken woman up here."

One of the men looked at the other and nodded, then backed out of the room.

"Back up to the door." Merry ordered.

The man backed up and seemed to stumble. He started to fall back and then reached behind his back. Merry's shot took him full in the chest and slammed him into the wall next to the door.

"Nice try." Merry said. "You have good guards Morticia."

"Thank you." Morticia said. She and her husband were struggling against the ropes but Merry wasn't worried. "How do we know you'll just leave when you get her?"

"I give you my word." Merry said. "As First Knight. Once I get her we'll leave this ship. I won't kill you, your husband or anyone else with this gun or a knife or any weapon here. If you know anything about me you know my word is good."

Morticia nodded.

James Bond, Merry thought. Just keep playing it like a James Bond role-play.

A few minutes later a tall black man with a flat nose appeared at the doorway. In his hand was the cage with the tiny woman in it. He had obviously been roused from sleep. He wore a pair of white pajama bottoms and a robe.

"Mystery Woman?" He asked.

"Hello." Merry said. "Free her and put her down on the floor. Then step away."

"I've heard a lot about you." He said opening the cage. So far you live up to your reputation."

"Reputations are what you get when you be yourself." Merry said.

"But you've trapped yourself." The man said smiling. He held up the woman who was struggling in his hand. "I can crush her before you shoot me."

Merry pointed the gun at Frederick.

"You crush her, I castrate him with my next shot. Think he's going to let you live afterwards?"

"Dr. Smith do what she says." Morticia snapped. "This is no time for your sick games!"

"I was just…"

"Playing for time while the security men post sharp shooters on the deck to shoot my ship when I leave." Merry said. "Times up. Put her down."

"There is much I would like to do to you woman." Dr. Smith said scowling as he put the woman down onto the floor. "You should be taught respect."

"You’re not the first one to say that to me." Merry said. "I drink from the skull of the first person to tell me that."

Dr. Smith smiled. Then he stood up and started to back away. Merry kept her gun on him until he was outside of the door. Then she fired hitting him in the leg. He went down screaming and Merry rushed to the door and slammed it shut. She could hear pounding on it from the other side but Merry knew that it would hold.

"I didn’t kill him." Merry told the Diamaond's as she bent down to look at the woman. "Just wounded him. No one tells me that I need a lesson in respect."

Vicki had never been happy to see someone shot. Until now. The gas that the crime doctor had used on her hadn’t put her to sleep, it had not only paralyzed her but it had made sure that she wouldn't pass out from shock. So she had felt every single moment of his torture. She had felt every moment as he had cut into her neck and destroyed her vocal cords. Then he had used some sort of ray on her face and she had felt her flesh melt. Only then did he let her sleep. When Vicki woke up he had a mirror waiting. It wasn't only her face he had destroyed, he had scared and burned much of her body. She had started out the assignment as a beautiful young woman and now she was a broken doll.

I’m one of them now, Vicki thought. One of The Masked. It was a phrase in the C.I.A. used for agents who had been irreversibly maimed while on assignment. If they stayed on in the agency they were assigned desk jobs and were shunned. There was an office at the end of a hallway that no one went near unless they had to.

I shunned them, Vicki thought. Now if I’m lucky I’ll get to be one. I hear their pretty good about that.

But she wouldn’t be that lucky. Not with Timidious ripping into her mind. If there was anything left when he got through with her Vicki didn’t think it would be her.

With all of these thoughts and more Vicki had sat in her cage and tried not to feel sorry for herself. But it was impossible not to. She’d been ambitious enough to take the assignment and dumb enough to think she’d make it through. Now the best thing she could do was kill herself. But how? Nearly naked and tiny in a cage she was the definition of helplessness. They’d left her untied after the call to C.E. but there was nothing in the cage but the shred of red cloth she had been given to clothe herself.

So suicide was out and it a cowardly thing to do anyway. The agency wouldn’t expect her to do it. Her country wouldn’t be served by a suicide. She’d just have to wait and hope. But the very thought of hope seemed laughable to her.

Then in the middle of the night the lights came on and Dr. Smith rushed into the lab and grabbed her cage. He moved with a purpose and Vicki wondered what was going on. When she was brought into the Diamond’s stateroom Vicki saw that they were tied up and that a tall woman in black was holding a gun on them. Vicki was puzzled until she heard the name: ‘Mystery Woman’. But that was impossible. Her mind refused to accept it. That would mean that somehow Dollopolis had found out about her and was rescuing her.

It was the shot that broke though Vicki’s psyche and truly started her mind working again. She’d been watching Dr. Smith as he backed up and the shocked look on his face when the bullet hit made her realize that it was all real. She spotted the ship on the floor and realized that the impossible was happening. She recognized the disk shaped ship from a model that one of her co-workers had on his desk. The Jupiter 2 from Lost in Space.

"If you can walk get into the ship." Mystery Woman said leaning against the door.

Vicki stumbled to her feet with her legs feeling like rubber. But she stumbled and lurched over to the Jupiter and climbed into it. Inside was a single seat and a control console. It didn’t really look like the inside of the ship from the show but Vicki didn’t care. A minute later Mystery Woman got in and sat down.

"Hold onto something if you can." Mystery Woman said. "We’ll have to dive straight down to avoid the sharpshooters and then we’re going to have to move like hell to get away before the reactor blows.

Vicki grabbed the back of the chair with a death grip. The ship lifted off and she was almost thrown to the wall by the force of the acceleration.

"Damn, can’t go under!" Mystery Woman said. "They’ve got people ready down there. Have to try just a flat out run. Hang on!"

Vicki grabbed hold of the chair with her arms and wrapped her legs around the base as much as she could. She heard clanging sounds as what she guessed were bullets hit the hull.

"Good shots." Mystery Woman said calmly as she twisted the craft.

More shots hit the hull and alarms started to sound.

"Damn good shots." Mystery Woman said as she pulled back on the wheel. The Jupiter climbed with enough speed to make Vicki’s arms ache.

"A missile?" Mystery Woman snapped as another alarm sounded. "Hell I guess we’re out of range of the guns."

She hit a few more switches and suddenly the ship seemed to stop moving. After a moment Vicki realized that it was still moving, just not accelerating. A few seconds after that a missile streaked by and vanished.

"Stupid missile." Mystery Woman said. "Well at least we’re far enough away, the radiation from the reactor won’t hurt us." She hit a few more of the controls and then un-strapped herself and stood up. "You can let go now."

Slowly Vicki let go of the chair. Her arms and legs ached but not badly. Mystery Woman looked at her and Vicki realized how she looked. She looked away.

"Don’t worry." Mystery Woman said. She pulled off her hood. Beneath it was the face of a beautiful blonde haired woman. Just like the briefings described. "You’re not from Dollopolis are you?"

Vicki shook her head.

"I didn't think so." Mystery Woman said. She bent down and took a closer look at Vicki's face. There was no repulsion in the woman's eyes, no pity, just compassion. "Well you definitely need our help anyway. What’s your name?"

Vicki pointed to her throat and shrugged.

"They did that too you didn’t they?" Merry asked looking at the scar. "So you couldn't talk."

Vicki nodded.

"Well don’t worry, by now they’ve been exposed to enough radiation to kill them by tomorrow night." She turned and keyed in a control. A monitor screen lit up showing the head of a woman with red hair.

"Hello Merry." The woman said. "Was she one of us?"

"No." Merry said stepping aside. "Sorry Simone but this was another trap. But who ever she is she really needs us. They ruined her face and her body and cut her throat so that she couldn’t warn us."

"Bring her with you." Simone said. "We’ll see what we can do for her."

The screen went blank and Merry turned back to Vicki.

"I’ll have to put you out." She said taking a tube from her belt. "But don’t worry, the Temple of Healing should have you fixed up in no time."

I'm going to Dollopolis, Vicki thought. I'll be cured! I won't have to be one of the Mask!

Her ambition rose again. Officially the C.I.A. couldn't try to find Dollopolis or anyone from Dollopolis. Un-officially the word had come down that any information that could be found out had better be found out. And now Vicki was actually going there! Her career might not be dead after all.

"This won't hurt." Merry said as she pressed a tube against Vicki's arm.

Vicki fell asleep wondering how much she could find out.

"Well you can't say she's subtle." Mary said. She stood on the deck of the Tide Crawler and carefully used her telekinetic powers to lift a body over to the waiting helicopter. That was the last and the crew of the chopper waved and moved away. The ship was too hot for any normal human to stand on and even the dead bodies had to be put into special body bags. Mary was wearing a special radiation suit. Beside her stood Goddess of Justice. She was in her normal costume; a silver sleeveless chainmail tunic that reached down to her knees. The tunic was belted at the waist with a golden belt. Her beautiful face was drawn into a hard disapproving mask. Her golden hair flowed in the wind. Goddess was too powerful to be affected by the radiation.

"This can't go on Ms. Dream." Goddess said. "Every time we cross Merry's wake we find dead bodies."

"Well… yea." Ms. Dream said. "But let's look at the list for a sec Goddess. Count Intellect, Duchess Sidonia, Knife's Edge; pretty evil list."

"That doesn't matter and you know well what I mean." Goddess said. "Forty eight men and women are dead Ms. Dream. Of them only two could truly be considered evil. It is one thing to kill in the heat of battle but Merry deliberately set the reactor to kill these people after she got away. What was the first thing I taught you?"

"That our powers don't put us beyond the law." Ms. Dream said. "I know, I know. But the point is that you taught me. I was what, 20 when we met, I could be taught. We don't know how old Merry is and I'll bet you this boat that she doesn't learn easy."

"She can not be beyond the law." Goddess of Justice insisted.

"You saw the video we pulled out of the ships computer. They had someone from Dollopolis. Or thought they did. You know how Merry reacts to anyone from her city being hurt and that girl was definitely hurt."

"I know that." Goddess said. "And I understand it and I fully understand the position Merry and Simone are in. But this can not go on Ms. Dream. Merry can not continue to kill anyone she comes across. Somehow I must stop her."

Ms. Dream thought of the times she had spent with the First Knight. Merry was nearly always angry and was borderline insane. She lived by a set of laws that were equally insane. That coupled with an almost bottomless devotion to her people and a ruthless streak a mile wide made her very dangerous. Her powers were simple but tactically she was brilliant. It wasn’t a battle Ms. Dream wanted.

"How?" Ms. Dream asked. "We both know you can't find Dollopolis, Athena won't help you get there again. Face it the best we can do is try to clean up after her."

"I can talk to them." Goddess said. "Through Prudence. When we return I will ask her to contact Simone and I'll talk to her then."

"And ask her what?" Ms. Dream asked. "To muzzle her First Knight? News flash Goddess, Simone doesn't have a problem with Merry killing."

"Simone can be reasoned with." Goddess insisted.

Oh hell I know that tone, Ms. Dream thought. She resisted the urge to throw up her hands. In her super powered Goddess of Justice form or as plain old Lucy Rothschild; it made no difference. Lucy's voice took on a particular tone when she had decided something. Once she had decided to do something she was going to find a way to do it. Which meant that they were once again on a collision course with Dollopolis. And every time that happened pain happened. From the start every encounter with Dollopolis had nearly ended in disaster. At least for Merry and Simone. It was a little embarrassing to admit but because of Merry International Criminal Enterprises had been shattered, a traitor in Force Group J exposed and Ms. Dream herself had been freed from a telepathic hold on her mind that caused constant pain. And as far as Ms. Dream knew none of it had benefited Dollopolis. The last time Ms. Dream had attacked Merry telepathically and nearly caused her death. Ms. Dream still felt guilty about it and the fact that Merry supposedly didn't remember it didn't help. Simone had also nearly died on that little adventure. And despite all of the pain Merry and Simone had gone through Simone had still come through with needed antidotes and cures even though she could barely stand at the time. They hadn't heard from Dollopolis since and Ms. Dream was perfectly ok with that.

"I know what you are thinking Mary and I understand." Goddess said. "But I can't let the past mistakes we-I-have made sway my judgement. Somehow Merry must be brought under control. They are on our world now, not theirs and our world has laws."

"Well when you talk to Simone I'm gonna have some popcorn ready." Ms. Dream said. "Cause it's gonna be one hell of a show."

"If only I knew more of their laws." Goddess said.

"Hell Lucy I don't think they know their laws. Half the time I think they make them up on the spot."

"Goddess?" Moon Girl flew down to them and behind her was the Power Sisters. Their long black hair flowed in the ocean breeze and the green glow around their bodies protected them from the radiation. Moon Girl's alien body didn’t even notice the radiation.

"How did it go?" Mary asked.

"Red Dagger and Rainbow Woman will be fine." Moon Girl said. "The Diamond's and Black Death were captured but Timidious and his allies escaped. We don't know who they were. Timidious was forcing Red Dagger and Rainbow Woman to fight to the death. Now that they are free they both want to meet Mystery Woman and thank her in person."

"That's not easy to do." Ms. Dream said.

"Yea they should get in line." Alpha said.

"I'm sorry but the true masterminds escaped us." Moon Girl continued. "I believe that what remains of ICE is now behind CE. But Timidious is more powerful than before, he almost took control of me."

"Was he hiding his true power all those years?" Goddess of Justice asked.

"Maybe." Ms. Dream said bitterly.

"Has she been here?" Alpha said looking at the bodies. "Mystery Woman?"

"Yea the dead bodies are a dead give away." Ms. Dream said.

"What did she do?" Alpha asked.

"Fred and Morticia had someone from Dollopolis." Ms. Dream said. "Somehow Merry and Simone found out about it. They gave us the tip about Sloclum lake. You guys went there, we were on our way to join you when the coast guard called us and told us a ship was giving off enough radiation to light up Tacoma. When we got here we found a few survivors. They didn't last long. They told us that Merry got what she wanted and left and five minutes after that everyone started dying."

"Everyone?" Alpha asked.

"Everyone." Ms. Dream said. "She killed a tech and then routed the ships water supply and air conditioning through the reactor core. The Diamond kids are orphans now."

"Very efficient." Moon Girl said.

"Horrible." Beta said looking around. "How many dead?"

"Forty eight." Goddess of Justice said. "And this ship is too contaminated to leave in the ocean. We'll have to carry it to Navy Yard City in Washington for decontamination."

"I can't believe that she feels inadequate beside us." Moon Girl said. "By my ancestors I wish to meet this woman at last."

"You may get your wish." Goddess said turning away from them for a moment and looking out at the sea.

They were silent and Ms. Dream guessed that they knew what Goddess was going to say next. They'd all been with her long enough.

"Forty eight people dead, a ship turned into a radioactive tomb and navigation hazard… Merry leaves destruction where she goes and the scale of her actions is growing. What if this ship had run aground before we found it? What if another ship had happened by it? What if this ship had drifted close enough to shore for the wind to carry the radioactive smoke from the stack into populated areas? I know her, Merry in battle; Merry facing a problem will choose the quickest, bloodiest solution. We can't let her have such freedom. Not here, not in our world."

"What do you propose?" Moon Girl said. "Goddess we owe her…"

"I owe her my daughters life." Goddess said. "And I know what else she has done for us at great cost and risk to herself. But our obligation ends when the life of an innocent is in danger. It's only a matter of time before Merry crosses that line. We can talk to Simone. We must tell her plainly that Merry must have some limits on her actions or… Or we'll have to stop her somehow."

"Goddess!" Moon Girl gasped. "Are you serious? Lucy she…"

"I know!" Goddess of Justice snapped. Her voice was strained and they could all see the frustration on her face. "Don't you think I know? But what if she does something like this in the middle of a city? Moon Girl I am not betraying her. Not this time. But you know what little we know of 'Bloody' Merry. On her world she destroyed an entire city to kill her enemies, we must not allow her that freedom here."

"She's right MG." Ms. Dream said. "I've spent more time with Merry than anyone here and I'm telling you she's right. That woman's a volcano always about five seconds from erupting."

"What do you propose to do?" Moon Girl asked.

"Once we have finished with this ship we'll contact Dollopolis and talk to Simone." Goddess of Justice said. "What ever else Merry is she is completely devoted to her sovereign. If we can convince Simone I feel sure that she can find a way to reign in Merry."

"And if she does not?" Moon Girl asked.

"You just had to ask that didn't you." Ms. Dream said. "Couldn't let it go."

"It must be asked." Moon Girl said. "Ms. Dream this woman…"

"Killed forty-eight people." Alpha said.

"Goddess of Justice is right Moon Girl." Beta said. "We owe Mystery Woman more than anyone and Goddess of Justice is still right."

"First we'll try talking." Goddess of Justice said. "Then if we have to we'll think of something else. Perhaps Simone will allow someone from Earth Force to accompany Merry on these rescue missions." She started to rise into the air. "Come, we have a ship to carry."

Moon Girl's face had a dark look on it and the Power Girl's faces looked un-certain. Ms. Dream took a deep breath and looked out at the calm sea. She doubted that even if Simone listened Merry could be 'reigned in'. And if she couldn't be… Earth Force could probably capture Merry but holding her was another matter. And even if they did Simone had shown herself to be very resourceful. She'd see an attack on Merry as an act of war. She'd fight back. If Lucy's golden tongue failed…

"then let the nightmares commence." Ms. Dream said sadly finishing her thought aloud.

…To be continued.

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