The Dangers of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 43. Gathering Storm

by Skytower 

Simone was depressed and worried as Mary carried her through the halls of the mansion. Mary couldn't blame her. So much was making sense now that they knew more of the history between Simone and Merry. Simone was worried for the woman she loved, that much was obvious. But it was how that love had come about that was really illuminating. It had taken years and years for Merry’s anger and hate to subside enough to learn to love. Simone had put in those years. And now she had to live each day knowing that Merry could die. Naturally Simone didn’t want Merry in Earth Force. Battling supervillains was far more dangerous than most people realized. Mary had gone to a lot of funerals and memorial services for superheroes. But if Dollopolis was going to survive Merry needed to join Earth Force. There was a tremendous risk in that and not just for Merry. Simone had just spent an hour opening herself and her history up in a way she'd never done before. Through it all Lucy had not wavered. She was hopeful that Merry would join and be a valued part of the team, even if she felt a bit of guilt over why Merry had to join.

And what do I feel, Mary wondered. She had to admit that some parts of Simone's story had turned her on. Some parts frightened her. Some parts repulsed her. Merry had done terrible things in her life and according to Simone was still barely being held in check. From the first moment that they had met Mary had sensed an anger in Merry. Sometimes only low level but always there. Merry had been an angry person on the edge of their lives for a while now. For the first time Mary realized that she'd be working closely with the woman over a long period of time. How would that work? Would Merry always be angry? Mary had seen Merry held in check by Simone. Would she respond to Lucy or herself the same way? Would there be constant fights?

"Are Daisy and Brent here?" Simone asked. "I have missed them and I would love to see the child."

"I sent them to Seattle to pick up the yacht." Lucy said.

"What of the rest of your team?" Lucy asked.

"Alpha, Beta and Savage are following up some leads in Canada." Lucy said. "Lady Highfield needed Moon Girl's help."

"Will they be back soon?" Simone asked.

"They should be here within the next few days." Lucy said.

"You planning on staying a while?" Mary asked.

"I might." Simone said. "Out of necessity. Soon enough Merry will realize where I am. When that happens she will come here. I'm not sure how she will react to your deal Mrs. Rothschild. Merry will do almost anything to get her scythe back, of that I am sure. But joining you will require an adjustment of thought on her part."

"Can she do it?" Mary asked.

"Yes." Simone said simply. She leaned back and put her arms on Mary's hands to steady herself. "But not easily."

"Might not be easy for us either." Mary said.

"As the saying goes" Lucy said "if it were easy everyone would do it."

"You have a lovely home Mrs. Rothschild." Simone said as they approached the infirmary. It was an obvious attempt to change the subject and Mary welcomed it.

"Thank you." Lucy said. "It's no castle but it suits us."

"I remember when Merry first scanned your home." Simone said. "She was certain that the scanners were malfunctioning somehow when she couldn’t find a dungeon."

"We'd have no use for one." Lucy said. "And I've spent too much time held prisoner in them to want one."

"Besides we can always use the holoroom if we want to have fun." Mary said as they came to the door of the infirmary.

Lucy gave her a look as they went in and Mary smiled a little. There were times she couldn't resist. As soon as they entered Mary’s empathic powers picked up the pain. She looked over and saw Gadget Gal on one of the beds. An IV was in her arm but what ever drug that Yoran was using to keep her under didn't seem to be doing much for the pain. Under her blanket the small young woman was twitching in pain. Putting the infirmary in the former solarium of the house had been a good idea in a way. It had a great ocean view. But that really only did any good after you started feeling better. The curtains were all closed now because of Lizzie’s agoraphobia. There was only a thin stream of sunlight leaking in around them.

Lizzie and Jessie were on their bed on the other side of the room. Prudence was with them at their twelve-inch size. They were sitting and eating ice cream from doll-sized bowls. Mary spotted the Disney characters on the sides of the bowls. Cups really. Prudence had spent an hour once at a supermarket feeding quarters into a bubble gum machine to get a full set of mini-cups with Disney characters on them. When ever she used them she tried to wear a Disney costume. Her latest was the deer-skin dress from Pocahontas. Esmerelda sat beside the bed and there was a sketch book on her lap. She was wearing a sweater and jeans, the sort of look that had become her trademark of late. They four of them were laughing and Mary got the impression that she had interrupted a slumber party.

"And we got a widows walk on the top." Jessie said. "You can see most of the duchy from it. We…"

Her voice trailed off as she spotted Simone, Mary and Lucy. Mary felt a surge of anger from Simone. Realizing that there was no way around it Mary carried Simone over to the bed.

"Greetings Lizzie. Jessie."

There was no mistaking the frost in her voice. Mary lowered her hands and allowed Simone to step onto the mattress.

"Hi, milady." Jessie said.

"Milady." Lizzie echoed. They drew together.

"What are you drawing Esmerelda?" Simone demanded.

Esmerelda showed her the pad. On it was a Victorian house set on a small rise.

"Your house girls." Simone said looking at them.

"She was curious my lady." Jessie said. "And we had trouble describing it…"

"She… we…" Lizzie stuttered.

"You were telling them about Dollopolis." Simone said. She walked over to them, managing to keep her balance on the springy mattress. Mary didn't need her powers to know that the girls were scared. They backed away from Simone and stumbled as they talked. Prudence and Esmerelda were ignored. It was an awkward moment for everyone else, especially Prudence. "Telling her in such a way that she could make a record of it."

"Simone we were just talking about their house." Esmerelda said. "Just the house."

"And did it stop there only because I walked in?" Simone demanded. "What else would you have described girls?"

"We were just curious." Prudence said. "We've never seen it, I've never seen it. I mean I've spent time in doll houses, but their house was made for them, and I… I just wanted to know about it."

Lucy was about to say something but Mary gave her a warning look. She could tell that Simone's anger was fading and now was not the time to interfere. Lucy nodded.

"Let me see the drawing." Simone ordered.

Esmerelda put the pad down in front of her and Simone gazed at it for a long moment. Then she seemed to nod to herself.

"Very well. There is no harm in this." She looked at Lizzie and Jessie. "How do you feel girls?"

The change was instant and it made Mary realize that jumping from one emotion to the other wasn't something that only Merry could do. There was a strange shuddering after effect, an emotion Mary couldn’t identify. She’d felt it before from all of them, almost as if the emotions that she sensed were being turned on and off by a switch. It was a puzzle that Mary could not figure out and she guessed that it had something to do with the mental shields they all had.

"We lost the ships." Jessie said sadly. "We're sorry milady."

Simone walked over and hugged them both.

"And the box." Lizzie said.

"The ships can be replaced." Simone said. "As I have always told you the two of you can not."

The relief from the two of them was intense. They settled into her arms with sighs of pure love. Mary felt an ache of jealousy and quickly scolded herself about it.

"As to the box" Simone looked over at Lucy "I'm sure we'll find it."

"We have a good idea who might have hired Muscle Inc." Lucy admitted. "And why. I will know by tomorrow for sure."

"Do we go back to Dollopolis my lady?" Lizzie asked.

"Not yet." Simone said. "We might actually stay a few days."

"Really?" Jessie's voice was hopeful.

"Really." Simone said. She looked at the large tub of ice cream. "Is that chocolate?"

"Ah… yea." Prudence said.

"I'll have some then."

Esmerelda filled one of the small cups and handed it to her. A small spoon went with it and Mary remembered how many times Prudence had thanked god for doll dish sets and now she joined her. The ice cream in a cup the right size was just what they needed. Simone settled it between Lizzie and Jessie and rested against the pillow. Not a captive but a guest. Mary felt a surge of joy from Lucy. She’d hoped for this for a while.

"How did you know someone hired those men milady?" Lizzie asked.

"They had no need to steal the scythe." Simon said. "Merry and I have studied supervillain groups over the past few years, most of them operate on a profit principle. Supervillain groups, especially professional Baggers like Muscle Inc. would have been far more interested in Prudence, Esmerelda and Mary than they would a box. And that Teleport-her was there and pointed it out to them proves that. The only question is who hired them?"

"What are Baggers milady?" Jessie asked.

"Professional superhero abductors." Simone said. "They make their living capturing and enslaving superheroes and then selling them as slave labor."

"Have you ever encountered them?" Lucy asked.

"No." Simone said. "Merry came across the remnants of a battle a few months ago in Atlanta. She also overheard a conversation between two henchmen on how well the Shining Gal was in bed once she had been tamed. Before she could find out anything else a fight broke out and the men died in an explosion."

"Shining Gal vanished about a year ago." Lucy said. "Her territory was Atlanta."

"It's getting dangerous out there." Mary said.

As if to emphasize her words Gadget Gal started to groan. Almost by magic Yoran entered the room and went to her.

"Lucy we have a problem." He said. He was wearing a gray suit and a doctors white coat.

"Of course we do." Mary said following Lucy as she walked over to the bed.

"I've had time to go over the tests." Yoran said. He was carrying a folder and put it down on the empty bed beside Gadget Gal. "Her body is laced with technology, more than we ever suspected." He grimaced as he adjusted her IV. "It's one of the worst examples of butchery I've ever seen. It's five different types of technology and it looks like five different people stuck it into her. One after another over a period of years."

"You can't take it out?" Lucy asked picking up the folder. Inside was a series of color images of Gadget Gal's body. Even Mary could see that there was a lot of iron gray mixed in with the other colors.

"Not a chance." Yoran said. "Her body is rejecting the technology and parts of the technology is fighting the other parts. She should be dead, but her body is constantly rebuilding itself and the tech is rebuilding it's self. It's a perpetual war."

"And the pain?" Mary asked.

"Off the charts." Yoran said. "Any drug I could give her to keep it at bay would put her into a coma. This one is barely working."

"So she actually needs sea bliss." Simone said.

Mary turned around to see that Esmerelda had carried her over to them.

"Yes." Yoran said.

"It's illegal." Lucy said. "The FDA won't approve it even for medical research."

"She'll die or go insane without it." Yoran said. "Lucy it's like having a splinter in your foot and stepping on it, only ten times more painful."

"The Rictonian Underground is the only place to buy it." Mary said. "And we don't have an in there. We might be able to get the bottles we gave to the Mechanical Vampire back, but that's about it."

"Get it. Please."

They all looked down in surprise as Gadget Gal's pain filled voice was heard. She had opened her eyes and Mary could tell that the pain was incredibly high.

"Try to rest Letitia." Lucy said.

"Please get it." Gadget Gal said again. "I'll do anything… just get it."

Mary looked at the colored scans of Gadget Gal’s body again. She’d picked up some medical knowledge over the years, enough to know what was normal and what wasn’t. Mixed in with the bones and organs were harsh black and gray lines of circuitry. It was everywhere. She put the scans onto the empty bed.

"I… I need bliss." Gadget Gal croaked out the words. "Always have…"

"Who did this to you?" Yoran demanded.

"Dad… Dad’s friends." Gadget Gal said. She managed a bitter laugh. "Rented only… Traded me for parts. Me and Adolph. Please, I need bliss!"

"Letitia…" Lucy started.

"PLEASE!" Gadget Gal shouted. "I’ll do anything!"

"Yoran?" Lucy asked.

"No other drug is going to handle this much pain." Yoran said. He started to adjust the IV. What I’ve got her on now won’t last, her body is becoming immune."

"Can you remove the technology?" Simone asked.

Mary looked down. Simone had spread the scans out on the bed and was studying them. "Power it down and then remove it?"

"I works from the bodies own electrical field." Yoran said. "No way to interrupt the power."

"What about partially severing the nerves around the implants?" Simone asked.

"Her body rebuilds." Yoran said. "Ten minutes after I close her up the nerves would heal."

"Coating them with some neutral substance?" Simone asked.

"I don't have anything that would work. Do you?"

"Monstrous." Simone muttered looking at the scans. "And the technology defends itself?"

"That’s the one thing all of the tech has in common." Yoran said.

"Not even the Temple of Healing could help her." Simone said.

"PLEASE!" Gadget Gal shouted. She started to convulse and Yoran grabbed her.

"Letitia don’t worry." Lucy said.

With a scream of pain Gadget Gal tore out of Yoran’s grip and charged half way out of the bed. Mary saw angry red lines starting to glow under her skin. Suddenly there was a snapping sound and a dim pink force field surrounded her. She screamed and it expanded, starting a hurricane in the infirmary.

Mary ducked down and grabbed onto the bottom of the bed. Around her was total howling chaos as Gadget Gal’s force field charged the air and churned it up. Lucy had been thrown across the room and was stunned. Yoran was pressed up against the wall and held there by the wind. Esmerelda was holding onto the bed but she was being slowly dragged off it by the wind. There was no sign of Simone. Lizzie, Jessie and Prudence had formed a human chain with Prudence at the top hanging onto the bed post.

Mary looked up and realized that Gadget Gal was still on the bed, her body paralyzed by the pain she was in. Mary concentrated on the IV and telekinetically increased the flow. After a few minutes Gadget Gal's eyes fluttered and then closed and she felt back onto the bed. Slowly her force field dissipated.

"Well that was fun." Mary said climbing to her feet. "Everyone ok?"

"Bruised but fine." Yoran said. "The pain is growing faster than I thought it would."

"We need that bliss." Lucy said. "But getting it is going to take time, if I can do it at all."

"Where's Simone?" Esmerelda asked.

They looked around but there was no sign of the tiny duchess.

"Here." Simone called.

Mary followed the voice and picked up the ice cream tub. Simone was half buried in the melted chocolate.

"A soft cold landing for a change." Simone said struggling to stand up. She slipped and fell backward.

"Are you alright milady?" Jessie called.

"Fine dear." Simone said still struggling. She was up to her waist in the half melted ice cream. "But I've ruined another gown."

"Mary could you take Simone and help her clean up?" Lucy asked. "Esmerelda find some place else for Lizzie and Jessie to stay in case this happens again. Prudence, see if you can find something for Simone to wear."

"I'll stay here and try to figure out some way to keep Gadget Gal from getting worse." Yoran said.

Mary put the ice cream tub down on her sink and lifted Simone out of it. The chocolate had plastered the gown to her body and her hair to her head. Mary thought that she looked delicious and immediately chased the thought out of her head.

"You wouldn't believe how many of these get ruined this way." Simone said as Mary put her down on the sink. She started to tug at the back of the dress. After a few tries moment she gave up. "Would you mind?"

"No problem." Mary said. Simone turned around and Mary started to work on the small knots. They were too small and slick for her to get a hold of.

"No luck." Mary said after a few minutes.

Simone sighed in irritation.

"You'll have to pull it off of me then."

"Right… ah…" Mary started to reach for her and then stopped. Then she started again. Holding Simone in her hand Mary started to tug at the shoulder strap.

"You'll never get it off that way." Simone said. She was half smiling and Mary was starting to blush. She didn’t sense any anger or mocking from Simone, just a gentle amusement. But it was hard to read the woman.

"Sorry I've never stripped a foot tall woman before." Mary said.

"What about Prudence?"

"Esmerelda does it." Mary said.

"Oh, well it is simple. Hold me upside down and pull the dress over my head."

"Oh yea." Mary said. "Why didn't I think of that."

She took a firm grip on Simone's ankles and turned her upside down. Mary realized that her hands were shaking a bit. Not only that but her stomach was tight and she was sweating. Slowly she dragged the chocolate covered dress down Simone's body. Simone wore no underwear and the sight of her pussy covered in chocolate made Mary's mouth go dry. Simone’s small ‘V’ shaped red pubic hair mixed with the chocolate and brought to mind a delicious desert. She swallowed hard as Simone's small breasts were revealed to be also covered in chocolate. Simone had bright red nipples that poked through the chocolate like strawberries. She tried to avoid the sight by turning Simone around by the sight of her tiny butte covered with chocolate didn’t help at all.

"Tha… Thanks for opening up like that to us." Mary said as she put Simone down.

"You have earned it." Simone said. "Though I know Merry will not approve."

"Yea, I got that." Mary said. She reached over and turned on the water, got it warm and put the stopper in the sink. Nude and chocolate covered Simone stood by the sink with her hands on her hips and waited for it to fill. "But you gotta trust somebody sometime."

"I agree." Simone said. "Merry however has lived by trusting only a very few. She trust you though Mary, and that surprised me."

The sink was filled up and Mary shut off the water.

"Yea, sort’a caught me off guard too." Mary said. For a moment they stood there and looked at each other.

"I think that of all of the people here Merry emphasizes with you the most." Simone said. "You were not born to your life anymore than she was born to hers. Merry once told me that when she was young the height of her ambition was to live a quiet life running her estates."

Simone looked at her and for a moment Mary wondered if Simone was staring at her breasts.

"If you will." Simone said spreading her arms.

"Oh." Mary said. "You want me to…"

"Of course." Simone said. "I am the Duchess of Dollopolis and a guest in this house, you don't expect me to bathe myself do you?"

"Actually…" The rest of the words Mary wanted to say got stuck in her throat as she realized that giving Simone a bath meant that she could run her fingers over every part of the tiny woman's body. Suddenly that was something she very much wanted to do. Mary's breasts grew stiff against the fabric of her bra and she could feel moisture between her legs.

"No." Mary said. "No I didn't.

"Don't you have any bath salts?" Simone asked as Mary started to pick her up.

"Ah… No." Mary said. She picked up a bar of Ivory soap that was half Simone's size. "Just this."

"Dear girl you need more luxury in your life." Simone said as Mary picked her up and eased her into the water. Mary's body was going wild with desire but as far as she could see Simone wasn't turned on at all.

"I'm still getting used to being able to take a bath." Mary said. "Let's not push it."

"I see." Simone said. She stood in the waist-deep water and smiled as Mary dunked the soap and began to rub it between her hands to build up some lather. "I should have realized that Timidious mental scaring would go deep. I am sorry."

"Thanks for that too by the way." Mary said. "Freeing me I mean."

"I was happy to help you on that." Simone said. "But both Merry and I are amazed that you did not killed Timidious."

"Against the law." Mary said automatically. There was enough lather so she let the soap float away and eased her hands around Simone. She cupped them around the tiny woman and lifted her out of the water. The scent of the soap seemed to mix with Simone and Mary tried to clamp down on her imagination.

"Lucy's law." Simone said.

"Yea." Mary said. Her hands were gliding over Simone's body and Mary could feel every part of her. Simone stretched in her hands and Mary almost dropped her.

"I wish that I could help you on that score." Simone said. "But I fear not."

"You know." Mary said momentarily forgetting that she was holding a tiny woman in her hands."

"That you love her more than as just a friend?" Simone asked. "Yes, I know. I spent years loving Merry before she realized it, I know how you feel. And I admire the sacrifice that keeps you by Mrs. Rothschild’s side with no real hope of her true love as a reward. She needs you here and here you stay. That sort of nobility is very rare Mary."

"I guess." Mary said. She started to run her fingers along Simone’s body again. Man she could get used to this. The chocolate washed off but the soapy water left her skin shiny and slick. "Lucy’s not gay, not one little bit. Not that she doesn’t love me, need me and rely on me, but the bed is off limits."

"That’s rather sad." Simone said. "I remember well what it was like." She took hold of one of Mary’s soap covered fingers and guided it across her stomach.

"Does… who usually does this?" Mary asked as the rest of her fingers roamed over Simone's breasts. "Merry?"

"Yes." Simone said. "Though I usually do this to her as well. Sometimes to Lizzie and Jessie as a reward."

"They ever going to be Knights again?" Mary asked easing her into the water to rinse her off and lifting her out again. Simone was very light in her hands and yet very solid. She didn’t feel like a doll, or even like a small kitten or puppy. She felt like what she was: a woman. Mary swallowed hard.

"When they earn it." Simone said. She turned over in Mary's hand and stretched again. The woman's ass was taunt and it was all Mary could do to keep thinking at all.

"How long will that take?" Mary asked rubbing her soapy fingers over Simon’s bottom.

"As long as it takes." Simone said. "Gone are the days when such honors could be given easily. Simone sighed and spread her legs as Mary took a wash cloth and began to wash them. Mary nearly lost it right there but kept herself under control. "In truth I made them Knights too quickly. But they learned so quickly from Merry and I. Even in bed."

"Bed?" Mary nearly jumped at the word. "Do you mean…"

"Of course." Simone said turning over and smiling. "One of the first thing a knightling learns is how to be a companion to the Duchess. It was a tradition that Merry started in Dollopolis, when we first became a haven. Not to everyone of course, only those who were going to be Knights. Merry introduced it as a way to emphasize whom was in charge. Or that was her excuse. Truly I believe she just enjoyed having someone to share my body with. When Merry is small she doesn’t always think that I am satisfied. Of course at our normal sizes Merry towers over me so there is no need for anyone else. But when I am my normal size and Merry is shrunk… Well I think she feels that help is needed."

"Ah… Wait a sec." Mary said. Her body was on fire and it was hard to think clearly. But she had a sudden image in her mind. "So… while your like five-seven and Merry and Lizzie and Jessie are twelve inches tall you just lie there and… And they…?"

"Make love to me." Simone said. She looked at Mary in surprise. "It is my due as a Duchess and I can give as good as I get, which is impossible when Merry is at her full size."

"No… No kidding." Mary said as she started to rinse Simone's chest and stomach. She cupped her hand and Simone sat in her palm and leaned back against her arm. Mary lifted Simone out of the water and began to use her other hand to rinse her off. She used her other hand as a cup and gently gathered water and poured it over Simone. The water splashed off of Simone’s body and ran down her smooth skin. It seemed to do so slow motion.

"Mary imagine all of the fierceness that Merry takes into combat transferred to the bed." Simone said. "I can tell you that there is nothing like it."

"I can imagine." Mary said.

Like hell I can, Mary thought. But man would I like too.

It made sense. Desperately trying to take her mind off of sex Mary tried to work out what Simone was saying. Dollopolis was an amazon community, naturally the women living there would develop different ways of sex. The size difference was just a part of that. Having shrunken women make love to a full sized Simone was a way of bonding them more closely together. Probably a priority with so many women from different social classes. How many tried to be Knights, Mary wondered.

"What?" Mary asked. She realized that her mind had drifted and that Simone had kept talking.

"I was just saying that I have to partially bind Merry or wake up with some very sore limbs in the morning." Simone said.

"Oh… yea." Mary said. "Of course."

"But with Merry, Lizzie and Jessie small and myself large it's just a matter of being careful not to move to quickly."

"Just sort'a lie there." Mary said.

"Exactly." Simone said. "Well not really. In fact when Lizzie and Jessie..."

There was a knock on her door and Mary was so startled she dropped Simone into the water.

"Sorry!" Mary said grabbing her out. "Come in!" She called in a higher, louder voice than she meant to.

"I think I’ve got something for Simone to wear." A full size Prudence said coming into the room. "I don’t really have a lot of fancy stuff though."

She held up a gold sleeveless tunic with a Roman cut collar.

"That will do." Simone said. "Mary could you turn the faucet on low so that I can do my hair?"

"Ah, yea. Sure." Mary said. She put Simone down on the counter and pulled the stopper out of the sink. Taking the washcloth she swirled the dirty water to clean the sink at the same time.

"Do you know if your mother has made any progress?" Simone asked Prudence.

"Nope." Prudence said. "She’s still on the phone. "Esmerelda put Jessie and Lizzie in my room."

"Thank you." Simone said.

"Hope you use this brand." Mary said reaching into the shower and grabbing her bottle of Clairol.

"It will do." Simone said again. "And this I will do for myself since your fingers are too large."

"I can help." Prudence said.

The thought of a tiny nude Prudence washing the hair of a tiny nude Simone triggered all sorts of images in Mary’s mind. None of which she was really comfortable with. She’d known Prudence all of her life, the girl was like a little sister to her. Thankfully there was another knock on the door.

"Thunderbird 2 is beeping." Esmerelda said from the doorway.

"It must be Merry." Simone said. "She knows that I am here." She reached for the tunic and struggled her wet body into it. "I had better talk to her quickly."

"You guys go ahead." Mary said. "I’ll be there in a few minutes.

Once they were gone Mary jumped into the shower and pulled off her clothes as the cold water hit her body. She welcomed the shocking chill of the ice cold water. If Merry was coming Mary knew that she had to have a clear mind and right now her mind was anything but clear. Her body was more aroused now than it had been in the strip club.

"Wash it away Mary." Mary told herself angling the stream so that it hit her breasts. She pulled and tugged her bra off wishing her nipples weren't so sensitive. "They need you so wash it away damn quick!"

When Mary walked into the conference room Prudence and Esmerelda were standing in front of Thunderbird 2. Simone was just stepping out of it.

"Did I miss anything?" Mary asked.

"No." Simone said. She walked to the edge of the table and turned around. After a moment a hologram of Merry sitting in some sort of control cabin appeared. Merry was wearing a black jump suit and her face was set in a hard glare.

"No luck in South America." Merry said. "And the other business didn't take much time. You knew it wouldn't. You just wanted to get me away for a while."

"Yes I did." Simone said calmly. "And now you know."

"I saw the transmission from Soul Eater and Corpse Maker." Merry said. "My scythe is on Earth. HERE! ON THIS PLANET!"

Merry had leaned forward and it looked like she was going to charge out of the hologram.

"Yes it is." Simone said. Suddenly Mary was struck how much alike Lucy and Simone were; both could be perfectly calm in the face of overpowering anger. And right now Merry was angry. "I suspected, Mrs. Rothschild confirmed it the night we sent the spy back to the shadow men."

"How did Lucy know about it?" Merry demanded.

"Athena and Ida." Simone said. "They have decided to help her and us."

That got to her. Mary saw Merry falter for a moment but her anger returned.

"Help both of us? How?"

"I’m not sure yet." Simone said.

• • "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You know why." Simone said. "Or should I speak the names once more?"

"I want it back." Merry said. "And I'm going to get it back if I have to tear my way through Seattle. I'm going to track Muscle Inc. down and I'm going to tear every single one of them apart until they talk. I’ll tear the location out of their bones if I have to."

She wasn't shouting but the look on her face said it all. Mary had seen that sort of look before. Merry was the most dangerous when her anger was focused.

"That weapon nearly consumed your soul." Simone said.

"It made me strong." Merry said. "Even you can't keep my scythe away from me."

"Strong? Do you remember how 'strong' you were?" Simone demanded. "Do you remember the nightmares? The screams? What you almost did to me?"

"That weapon was…"

"The name of the city was Zerinak." Simone said interrupting her and her cold voice seemed to hit Merry like a physical blow. "The man's name was Zerin. Should I name the families? The farms?"

Merry paled. She shut her eyes and her entire body shuddered.

"Simone... Please..."

"Do you remember his screams?" Simone demanded. "Do you remember the sound of a thousand people screaming in fear as you looked at them? Men, women and children begging you to stop? Do you remember the Earth smoking? Attacking me? Breaking my arm? Standing over me with that weapon…"

"Stop it!" Merry screamed. She wiped tears away from her eyes. "I remember being strong enough to protect you! With that scythe I can go back to our world, I can kill the monsters!"

"With that scythe you are a monster." Simone said.

"I'm your monster." Merry said. "And the Powers gave that to me to keep you safe."

"And I sent it back to them so that they could repair it." Simone said. "They might have or they might not have."

"I'll find out." Merry said. "I'll start with the Underground and I'll go from there."

"You'll never find it." Simone said.

"The Four Powers gave me the scythe." Merry said. "Nothing comes between us."

"And they gave you to me." Simone said firmly. "And I will allow nothing to come between us."

Mary was glad that it was only a hologram that they were facing. She had a feeling that Merry’s emotions would have been physically painful if she had been in the room.

"You will not find it in Seattle." Simone said. "Muscle Inc. would not remain there. The only way to find the scythe Merry is through Earth Force."

"Lucy must have an idea where it is." Merry said fiercely. "I'll…" Merry trailed off and her face fell. "No. I can't go after her."

"No." Simone agreed. "You can't under the law."

Can't what? Mary almost shouted.

"But you can help her find it."

"What does she want?" Merry asked slumping back in her seat.

"You will join Earth Force." Simone said. "I have already agreed to that. You will take the oath that everyone in Earth Force takes and you will abide by that oath."

"Take an oath while a telepath reads my mind." Merry said.

"That is the deal that Mrs. Rothschild has offered." Simone said firmly. "That is the deal I have accepted."

"You'd serve me up to my enemies helpless." Merry accused. "My worst nightmare. You’d betray me like that?"

"It will not be a betrayal Merry. They are not our enemies Merry." Simone said. "I am convinced of that."

"I'm not." Merry said. "They've only ever brought us pain."

"Accidental pain." Simone said. "But I know that I can't order you to do this. So I ask you this Merry Roseskull, firstborn and last of the Roseskulls of the High Rose Hills, First Knight of Dollopolis, Duchess Consort and most favored and loved of all in Dollopolis; will you trust my judgment? Or will you leave me and Dollopolis forever? Those are your only choices Merry. Choose."

Merry didn’t say anything. For at least five minutes her image sat and gazed out at them without a readable expression on her face. Now Mary desperately wished that the woman was actually in the room with them and not just a hologram. She needed to know what Merry was feeling. Simone seemed to have gone dark emotionally.

"I love you." Merry said at last. "I trust you with my soul. That will never change. I'll change course and be at the mansion soon."

"Tomorrow night." Simone said. "You need to stop at Dollopolis and retrieve the bottle of sea bliss that Jessie and Lizzie stole from Gadget Gal. She is in desperate pain without it. Only the bliss, not the extractor. Make sure that the extractor is working. Bring me a new gown as well."

And the shocks just keep on coming, Mary thought.

"Until then." Merry said.

Simone nodded and Merry touched a control and the hologram faded out. Simone stood for a moment and then sank to her knees. Her body was shaking.

"Simone?" Mary asked. The emotions from the woman were chaotic and impossible to read. She must have been so scared that she wasn’t able to let herself feel anything fully.

"I was so scared that she would say no." Simone said looking at them with tears running down her face. She sat down and shook. "I've never been closer to loosing her."

"You'll never loose her." Esmerelda said. "Never."

"What were those names you mentioned?" Mary asked.

"Those were the names of the telepath who attacked me." Simone said. "And the city that he came from. When Merry finally recovered from the madness guilt consumed her. She nearly killed herself from it."

"And that bit about going after Lucy?"

"Under the Law of Family-under the Prime Law of Family-Merry can not attack her mother." Simone said. "There are no loopholes in the Prime Laws. When Mrs. Rothschild claimed the maternal rights in Dollopolis and Merry accepted them Mrs. Rothschild became her mother legally. Merry can not attack her."

"She's trapped." Mary said.

"Yes." Simone said. "And I trapped her. In Merry’s mind I might have betrayed her to a telepath. It is her two worst nightmares you know."

"It’s for her own good." Mary said. "And yours and Dollopolis. You guys can’t keep skirting around the edges all the time."

Simone straightened up and wiped her tears away.

"I know. I can see the future easily. Sooner or later Merry will make a mistake that will doom her. On my world she had a small army, here she is alone. Even as good as she is Merry can not survive alone."

"And you can not survive without her." Esmerelda said.

"Dramatically put, but yes." Simone nodded. "But I am close to loosing her Esmerelda. Closer than I have been for a very long time."

"I don’t think you’ll loose her." Esmerelda said. "Her love is too strong."

"I hope that you are right." Simone said. She stood up and wiped her eyes again. "Well I suppose I shall be spending the night here."

"Yea, that's not a problem." Mary said. "When did you tell L and J to grab the bliss?"

"While Gadget Gal was having her tryst with Whiptail." Simone said. "I've been curious about the substance. But of course Merry will not be bringing Sea Bliss, nor do we have any. She is bringing a special drug grown only in Dollopolis, one that can only be produced in small quantities. One that has very similar properties to bliss."

"Or that's what we're going to tell Lucy." Mary guessed.

"It's not a good idea to keep secrets from her." Esmerelda said.

"And it's very hard thing to do." Lucy said appearing in the doorway.

"But not impossible." Simone said looking at her.

"No." Lucy said. "Not impossible. What is impossible is to break through a wall of bureaucracy and medical intransigence in less than a day. For Gadget Gal’s sake I will easily accept without question a drug from Dollopolis."

"A lie?" Simone asked.

"An act of compassion." Lucy said. "In this case Justice for Letitia over the law of our society."

"Well then now that things are a bit more settled I still need to get the ice cream out of my hair." Simone looked at Mary. "If you don’t mind Mary."

"I’d like to do it." Esmerelda said before Mary could say anything. "If Mary doesn’t mind. I’ve washed Prudence’s hair many times and I’ve gotten a feel for it."

"No, no problem." Mary said. She wondered if Esmerelda knew what bathing Simone had done to her body. Probably. Even in her human form Esmerelda’s senses were more acute than a normal person. She could probably smell the sex on Mary.

"After that if you’d like Simone you and Lizzie and Jessie can join us for dinner." Lucy said.

"That will be fine." Simone said.

Esmerelda picked her up and Mary felt a twinge of jealousy. She tried to fight it down but it was harder than it should have been.

Great, Mary thought. Now I’m getting hot for shrunken women?

Coffee, Mary thought as the sunrise bathed her room in gloriously irritating light.

She got out of bed and padded into the bathroom. The dinner had started at seven and had kept going until twelve. Lucy Rothschild had at last found someone who could talk as much as she could. They’d only called it quits when Simone realized that Lizzie and Jessie had fallen asleep in their dishes. The range of subjects was incredible. Law, philosophy, literature… it had been like being stuck in a lecture hall with two competing British school masters. A weird one since Simone had sat at a small table on top of the dinner table with Lizzie and Jessie on either side of her. Their portions had been incredibly small by any standards and Simone had politely refused the wine.

"There is nothing more sad than a drunken tiny woman." Simone had said.

"Or dangerous." Lizzie added.

She was probably referring to Merry but no one had pushed the fact. Lizzie and Jessie had both asked for Sally's Soda, but they didn't have any. Instead they had drunk milk and Lucy had made a note to have Sally's Soda at the next dinner. The shrunken women ate a salad and cheese. And afterwards more ice cream.

Simone had taken the twins to the room that Lucy had given her and they had all pretty much gone to bed.

But sleep wouldn’t really come for Mary. There was too much going on with her body. For once it wasn't an outside force it was an inside one. Bathing Simone had turned Mary on and the shower had only been a temporary reprieve. All through the dinner she had worked hard not to be caught staring. Lizzie and Jessie had worn their Star Trek uniforms, but Simone was wearing the outfit that Prudence had supplied. The sight of the three of them at the table was just a complete turn on for Mary. She didn't know why but it was. She’d used her vibrator to climax twice before her lust had at last abated. Every time Mary had closed her eyes images of a twelve inch tall Lucy had filled her mind. She’d finally seemed to approach something like sleep when the sun rose.

Mary threw on a robe and walked over to the window. The sunrise over the waves was truly stunning. Gold, red, auburn, purple and orange mixed in with clouds and the ever moving sea to paint a picture for the ages. Shielding her eyes Mary picked out the Temple of Athena. It was sunrise so Lucy was in there. Nude, on her knees praying. Nude.

"God I’m so pathetic." Mary said. She turned away from the window and headed toward the door. "She's not gay Mary, get the hell over it already."

As usual Mary didn't listen to herself.

The mansion was quiet. Mary could only sense sleeping minds and emotions as she walked down the corridor. She didn’t let her mind open too far, that sort of thing was dangerous without her morning coffee. But as she passed Simone’s room Mary felt a quick flash of anger. She stopped. Then she pressed her ear to the door. Emotions were like voices to Mary. She knew that anger no matter how much the voice was muffled.

"I’m not a prisoner here." Simone's voice said. It was muffled by the door but still audible.

"Like hell you aren’t." Merry’s angry voice was un-mistakable. "They’ve probably got a mind lock on you or something. We’re leaving now!"

Like hell you are, Mary thought. A part of her was still coping with the fact that Merry had worked her way past a multi-million dollar security system that had been specially modified to spot shrunken women. But that part was a low priority.

"Lucy, Merry is in Simone’s room and she’s not happy." Mary sent the message telepathically. "I’ll slow her down."

If I can, Mary added to herself. Merry was physically capable of taking Simone, Lizzie and Jessie out of the mansion by force if she wanted too. Mary wasn’t going to let all of the work that they had done in the past day go to waste even if she wasn't sure that she could win a battle with the First Knight. She braced herself and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Simone called.

Mary entered and saw that Simone, Lizzie and Jessie were on the bed with Merry. Mary didn’t think that they had stripped when Merry had shown up so she guessed that they had slept in the nude. That hammered at her mind for a split second before she pushed it away. Merry was wearing the skin tight gray suit that she sometimes wore. She growled as she saw Mary and pulled her helmet off. Mary felt the surge of pain as Merry grew to her full size and the suit was pulled away from her skin. If Merry noticed the pain she didn’t give any indication of it. She stood naked and ready to fight.

"Want some coffee?" Mary asked trying to sound as casual as she could.

"What did you do to Simone?" Merry demanded. Her body was as tense as steel and her mind was seething with a mix of emotions that were impossible to read.

Behind her Mary could feel Goddess of Justice. She was a little down the corridor, waiting.

"Merry stop." Simone said. She walked to the end of the bed. "Look at me."

Slowly Merry turned. Then she sat on the bed and shrank to Simone’s size.

"Look into my eyes Merry." Simone ordered. "And tell me if someone has done anything to my mind?"

For a moment Merry gazed into her eyes. Then she drew Simone into a hug and they shared a passionate kiss. Mary felt the anger dim as they kissed. Silently she signaled to Lucy and felt it as Goddess of Justice’s super powered form faded.

"So you were serious about all of that?" Merry asked when the finally broke apart.

"I was." Simone said. "And I am."

Merry’s fist clenched and the anger started to grow again.

"Goddess Simone don't you realize how vulnerable I'll be? We'll be?"

"Yes I do." Simone said. "Merry I have stayed at this height since I arrived yesterday afternoon. Nothing has happened to me. It was as the old days on our world, that trust was not abused."

She had stayed… Mary suddenly realized that Simone could have grown to a normal size any time she had wished to. It'd been a test? Was the bath a test too? A temptation? Mary wasn't sure if she should be angry over it or not.

"They're very tricky." Merry said.

Lucy started to speak but Mary held her back with a thought.

"Uh-uh Lucy, let Simone talk this one out. You'll just make her madder."

"Merry they are not an enemy. Circumstances have put us at odd many times, but only that. Yesterday I let Mary bathe me and there was no danger to my person."

"You bathed her!" Mary snarled turning around.

"Yea…" Mary said holding her ground despite the jealousy she could feel. "She fell into an ice cream jug."

"That honor is reserved!" Merry snapped. "You had your hands on her nude body? What about you two?" Merry demanded of Lizzie and Jessie.

"My leg was busted." Lizzie said.

"My arm was busted." Jessie said.

Merry nodded and then looked darkly at Mary.

"You touched her. You bathed her! Did anything else happen?"

"No." Mary said and tried to hide the regret in her voice. Merry heard it anyway and her lips tightened.

"Yea, ok." Mary said. "Look cool it will ya, we aren't the enemy and she was covered in chocolate ice cream. I just washed her off. I know it takes a leap of faith but we ain't the enemy. Simone told us a lot about you two yesterday so I know you've got some long range issues, but take a look around. It's just me and with my powers I could have brought in the whole group."

"The only ones here are Prudence, Esmerelda, Gadget Gal, Yoran, you and Lucy and the security staff." Merry said. "Gadget Gal is laid up, the others are asleep. I’d eat up your security men if I needed to. I have a ship ready to blast the place with a high stun beam, I’d wake up first and go. I didn’t come in here without two ways of getting out."

"Well yea." Mary said. It was the sort of tactical analysis that the First Knight excelled at and it didn’t really take her by surprise. "But none of that’s going to happen. I haven’t woken anyone up."

"You didn’t have to wake Lucy up." Merry said. "She was praying. She’s in the corridor behind you listening."

"Ok, so if you know that you know that Lucy can stop you and hasn’t. What now?"

Merry closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Mary could sense the anger start to cool. But this time she realized that Merry was forcing it down. Things were looking up. When her eyes opened again Merry was still wary but not as angry.

"What did Simone tell you?" Merry asked. "And get in here Lucy." Merry called. "This your house you should be in the room not listening at the door."

"I didn't want to startle you." Lucy said walking into the room.

"Yea I mean you're such a skittish little thing." Mary said. "She didn't want you to faint. Simone told us your history from the first time you met till about the time you first lost the scythe."

"You told them?" Merry asked and this time there was mixture of amazement and shame in her. A deep shame and more guilt than Mary would have believed. "Goddess Simone… You told them?"

"It was necessary." Simone said. "I wanted them to know everything about you, what you were before you joined their group."

"So now you know Lucy." Merry turned and her body trembled for a moment. "You've been tearing the walls trying to find out about me. Satisfied?"

"Yes." Lucy said.

"Well don't be." Merry said. There was anger from her now but more guilt and shame than anything else. "You don't know everything. You know what… You know a little bit. You think I went as low as I could go when I had the scythe? You don't know the half of it! You don't know what I did before Simone, before Dollopolis! Stuff I'll never tell." She turned to Simone. "Stuff I'll never tell you. Stuff I can't tell anyone!"

"Merry…" Simone started but Merry interrupted her.

"I was…" Merry started to say but this time it was Lucy who interrupted her.

"What ever you were Merry is long since past." Lucy walked over and kneeled by the bed. "What ever else you may think of me you know my principles. Can you imagine I'd knowingly let anyone like 'Bloody' Merry on my team? What you have done is in the past, only you have to deal with it."

"But a telepath will tear it out of my head and tell everyone." Merry protested. "And once you know Lucy you won't be able look at me." She turned away. "And even if you do I won't be able to look at you."

Mary was a little confused. She'd never imagined that the First Knight could have a conscience, but Merry did and it obviously didn't leave her alone that much. What could be that bad? Could what ever it was be that be part of what fueled her constant anger? Had she mistaken fear for anger? The two emotion were sometimes virtually interchangeable. What kind of hell had the woman gone through?

"Merry the telepath will only know if you are telling the truth." Lucy said. "No more."

"That's what you say." Merry said. "If it's a trick I'm lost."

"If it is a trick we are all lost Merry." Simone said. "Lizzie, Jessie, do you trust Mrs. Rothschild?"

Oh, wrong people to ask, Mary thought.

"Well she is tricky." Lizzie said.

"She talks all nice when she wants something." Jessie said. "But you never know if she's nice because she wants something or if she's nice because she's nice."

"Do you think she means us any harm?" Simone asked.

Lizzie and Jessie looked at each other and shrugged.

"Well… I guess not." Jessie said.

"Not really." Lizzie said.

"Nor do I." Simone said.

"Simone she may never mean me any harm." Merry said. "But it happens anyway."

"It's bad luck is all." Mary said. She went over and sat on the other side of the bed from Lucy. She did it carefully so as not to knock the tiny women over. A part of her wished the shrunken women would put some clothes on, it was distracting. "And it's been on both sides. Every since you showed up getting you two close together is like lighting a fuse. Bad things happen to you, bad things happen to Lucy… It's happened, it's probably going to happen again, at least if you're part of Earth Force we might be able to prevent any near death experiences."

Merry sighed and sank to her knees.

"Ok. I'll do it." She looked over at Lucy. "But promise me Lucy, promise me if you ever learn the truth about my past, about what I've done, please promise me you won't hate me."

There it was again, the almost overwhelming shame and guilt. What could she have done, Mary wondered, what could anyone do to make them feel that much shame? It actually eclipsed her anger.

"I promise." Lucy said.

"When do I do it?" Merry asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Simone said. "Today you can meet all of us, we'll have lunch later. There are quite a few who will want to formally meet you."

"Great." Merry said climbing to her feet. "Now where is my scythe?"

"I do not know exactly." Lucy said. "The Power Sisters are tracing down a few leads and I…"

"WHERE IS IT?" Merry roared.

The change was so abrupt it hit them all hard. Mary felt Merry’s emotions scatter and reform into anger mixed with a kind of lust she had never felt before.

"Merry!" Simone shouted.

And instantly it was over and Merry took a deep breath.

"Sorry." She said and again Mary felt shame from her. "But I can feel her, she’s on this planet... Not here, I’d know if she were in the mansion, but someplace... I’ll find her Simone! I’ll find her!"

"Yes." Simone said gently. "You will. But not now. When did you last sleep?"

"Tuesday." Merry said.

"It’s Saturday." Mary said.

"Sleep is a luxury Mary when someone from Dollopolis might be in danger." Merry said. "And I don’t really do luxury."

"And lately sleep for you has been a trial." Simone said.

Slowly Merry nodded.

"Nightmares?" Mary asked.

"They’re my problem." Merry said. "I’ll deal with them."

And that pretty much summed her up. Mary wondered if the First Knight had ever asked anyone for help. If she even knew how to ask.

"But I don’t want to sleep now."

"You have to." Simone said. "At least for a while. We have a luncheon to go to later on."

"I don’t want to eat either." Merry mumbled but Mary could see that exhaustion was starting to eat at her. She guessed that Merry existed on pure anger and danger, take that away and her energy reserves gave out.

"For now you at least need some rest." Simone said. "Where did you put the ship?"

"I used the Gamera." Merry said. "It's on the beach by the cliffs, right under the hanger. The stuff is in it."

"Mrs. Rothschild the drug you need for Gadget Girl is in that ship." Simone said. "As well as a few things that I shall need as well. You can take Lizzie and Jessie, they can show you where it is and get it for you. Afterwards Lizzie I want you and your sister to land the ship in the hanger. Bring me what is inside."

"What about that big thing with the wings?" Lizzie said.

"She tried to eat our last ship." Jessie said.

"That was Flame." Mary said. "And she doesn't live here anymore. She joined up with the Nightcrawlers."

"Ok." Jessie said.

"One thing." Mary asked. "How the hell did you get in here Merry? We have this place wired and we set it to your size."

"Yea, I know." Merry said. "You contracted Baker Security, they bought parts from Fujisako Electronics and they subcontracted with two firms in China for the parts and one from India for the software. That many people in one project spread out that much make a lot of mistakes. It’s not terrible stuff I guess. Useless against me, but good enough I guess for your ordinary foes."

"How did you get past it?" Lucy asked.

Merry shrugged but Simone put her hand on Merry's shoulder.

"Tell them." She ordered.

Merry sighed.

"Ok, back in the 1920's the Rothschild family mixed in a bit with the Irish mob that ran most of Boston. They turned this place into a speakeasy. The drinks flowed and no matter what the federal forces could do they kept flowing. Any raids on the place only found legal drinks. They couldn't find any booze in any of the kegs they found. That was because the kegs were decoys. The booze was all piped in. Scott Rothschild had pipes driven through the cliff and down to the beach and into the bay. A ship would tie up out there, divers would hook hoses to the pipes and pump it in. They were all yachts or fishing boats and no one ever put it together. "

"How did you find that out?" Mary asked.

"The Rothschild's Dirty Secrets." Merry said. "Paten and Row Books, copywrite 1958 by Emily Rothschild. I found a copy."

"Aunt Emily." Lucy said. "She died a few years after I married Stephen. I heard rumors about the book but I've never read it."

"So you came in through the pipes?" Mary asked.

"Not all the way." Merry said. "This place has been rebuilt a few times, the pipes cut off and sealed. But they got me close enough to an old septic tank, the pipes were laid along it. I cut through the pipes and tunneled to the septic tank. The pipes leading from that got me under the foundation. I found an older sewage pipe that got me into a drain in the cellar. Then I found an old pipe behind the furnace that I think was an old gas line. This place used to have gas lighting you know. That got me into the walls. From there it was just a matter of exploring and remembering the layout of the house from the last scan I made."

"When you talked to Simone last night you were nowhere near here." Lucy said. "You couldn’t have done all of that in a few hours.

"I’ve been at it off and on for a few months." Merry admitted. "Every time you took your group on a mission. Me and the girls were tunneling away. With all the traps I knew I’d have to break in here sooner or later."

"The traps were not hers." Simone said before Lucy could protest.

"Yea, whatever." Merry said. "It wasn’t time wasted."

"Ok, but what about once you got in here?" Mary asked. In her mind she marveled at the foresight and wondered how many other places Merry had pre-drilled.

Merry pointed to the wall and they saw a small hole in the corner.

"You also had mice once upon a time. That made it easier. Plus most of your scanners are based in the rooms and corridors, not so much in the walls. All I had to do was get into the walls and keep quiet. My suit makes my body temperature the same as the air temperature. I don't show up on thermal scans. I move quietly so sonic scans don't work. When I had to move through the rooms I moved slowly against the wall, in the blind spot where the wall meets the floor, that's a design flaw in most of the Fuji stuff, they don't handle corners so well. Plus you got a lot of stuff in the room to move behind."

"Right." Mary looked at Lucy. "What was it, two million you paid for that junk?"

"I’m trying not to think about it." Lucy said sighing. "Come Mary, let's get Gadget Gal the drug."

"Oh come on!" Mary said when she saw the ship. She'd gotten used to all sorts of ships from Dollopolis but this was new. It wasn't even a ship, it was… A turtle? The ship was oval shaped, black and about six feet long. A turtle head and legs and tail stuck out of the shell. It was mixed in with some seaweed and driftwood and virtually invisible from ten feet away. As they got closer Mary saw that there were two giant tusks sticking out of the bottom of the turtles mouth.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Mary said kicking the sand. She recognized the turtle from the movie.

"Merry likes monster movies." Lizzie said. "We started building this one when she learned where Mrs. Rothschild lived and that movie came out."

"It can go underwater too." Jessie said. "And it’s really hard to spot. A couple of times we didn’t stop digging quick enough and we had to just float away with the tide."

"We watched you guys play volleyball once." Lizzie said.

Mary touched the turtle. It didn't look like it but the shell felt like metal and the head felt like it too. She didn't know why but the idea of the ship simply irritated her. It irritated her more that the mansion had been breached so easily and even more that they had been spied on. They weren’t amateurs at this for gods sake, they shouldn’t be this easy to out maneuver.

Lucy bent down and put Lizzie and Jessie down on the sand and they crawled into the turtle's mouth.

"Ok, how would you write this up in a report?" Mary demanded.

"A ship from Dollopolis." Lucy said. She seemed to take it in stride. "There is no need to go into detail."

"Have you ever seen any of those movies?" Mary demanded.

"No." Lucy said after a moments thought. "Why are you so mad about this Mary?"

"It's a joke." Mary said. "I mean sure, eagles, Star Trek ships, Star Wars fighters… Batttlstars… There are rules to this stuff Lucy! We ride around in good looking ships, supervillains ride around in spooky dark ships, we ride the white horses they ride the black horses! We don't rip off old tv shows and bad movies for props!" Mary stopped to take a breath and found herself laughing. "I don't know, why couldn't they have just driven up in an SUV?"

"That is most likely the attitude that Merry counted on." Lucy said. "The incredulity that could buy her ship just a few extra seconds that might be vital for escape. I believe that Merry does nothing without a plan."

The turtle ship stirred and the legs retracted into the shell along with the head and tail. The four leg openings burst into flame and the strange crafted lifted off. Lucy transformed into Goddess of Justice and a light disk formed beneath her and Mary. They rose and the ship followed them up the cliffs and into the hangar.

"I bet they walk around in a Godzilla suit next." Mary muttered. Lucy was right, all of the crazy stuff out of Dollopolis had a reason behind it.

"Merry likes monster movies." Lucy mused. "In all my life I don't think I've ever met someone so full of contradictions. Upstairs she was unpredictable."

"No kidding." Mary said. "You know what I felt from her in the room? Shame. Big time shame. What ever she did before she hooked up with Simone it's eating at her."

"She has a conscience." Lucy said. "That amazes me even though I have always thought her spirit a noble one."

"Lucy that girl is a psych text book waiting to be written." Mary said. "Her emotions are so screwed up it's almost painful to me, I don't know how she handles it."

They followed the ship into the hanger and watched as it landed beside Lucy's private jet and Thunderbird 2. On a shelf in the corner the bay was Prudence’s eagle. They were just about to go in when Mary spotted something. In the distance a yacht was flying over the waves between Alpha and Beta.

"Alpha and Beta are back with the Obrien's and Savage." Mary said pointing.

"Go and fill them in." Lucy said. "I'll take care of Gadget Gal."

"Right." Mary said. She glanced into the hanger and saw that part of the turtle's shell had opened. Inside was a small cargo area.

"That is too weird." Mary said.

{That was dangerous.}

{You almost blurted out the truth.}

{A truth that would have shattered everything we have built so far.}

{Even for you Dolly the emotions were hard to track.}

"It wasn't any easier from this side." Merry said. She sat on Simone's lap and rested against her stomach. Simone stroked her hair softly. "I'm sorry, Goddess I feel like I'm being torn apart! Goddess Simone look at what I am! I'm the greatest liar they'll ever find! I'm not even sure when I'm lying anymore!"

Simone said nothing and Merry was grateful for that. She leaned her head against Simone's stomach and took a deep breath. Simone had grown to her full size and cradled Merry against her body.

"I'm as scared as everyone." Merry said. She realized that she was crying and wiped away the tears. "More than scared."

There was a knock on the door and Simone looked up.

"Come in." She called before Merry could say anything.

"Good morning." Esmerelda said coming into the room. The sight of the girl cheered Merry up instantly. What every else Merry had done with her life she had freed Esmerelda from slavery. That act of nobility was something she could always feel proud of.

"Good morning Esmerelda." Simone said.

"Hi." Merry said. Esmerelda was wearing a pair of blue pajama's with a white robe. "You're looking good."

"Thank you." Esmerelda said. She sat down on the bed.

"Did Lucy tell you I was here?" Merry asked growing to her full size.

"No, I heard your voices when I woke up to take care of the children." Esmerelda leaned forward a bit. "Will you really be joining us?"

There was a lot of hope in her voice. Merry felt a flash of worry at the idea. If Lucy learning the truth was scary Esmerelda learning it was unthinkable.

"I might be." Merry said.

"At the very least we are now convinced that Mrs. Rothschild has not been behind the traps that have been set for us." Simone said.

"Shadow men." Merry growled and there was no real need to fake her anger. As a cop Merry had seen intelligence officers from various agencies tear through police investigations with callous arrogant glee.

"Agent Huang…" Esmerelda started but Simone cut her off.

"We don't speak of her Esmerelda." Simone said coldly. "Ever."

Esmerelda nodded.

"Lucy's pushing a hell of a bribe at me." Merry said.

"It will be good for all of us." Esmerelda said. "We could spend some time together at least, time when you…"

"Aren't angry?" Simone asked when she trailed off.

"Mary is of the opinion that you are always angry." Esmerelda said. "I've told her that she is wrong."

Nice to have a defender, Merry thought.

"If they think I'm a monster Esmerelda then they have a good reason for it." Merry said. "They know a lot about me now, more than I ever wanted them too. They know a lot of what I've done."

"And to Lucy it doesn't matter." Esmerelda said. "And it never mattered to me anyway."

I'm unworthy of this honor! Mary wanted to shout that in her loudest voice. But she kept quiet. Before anyone else could say anything a slight gurgling sound came from the pocket of Esmerelda's robe.

"The children are stirring again." She said taking a baby monitor out of her pocket. It was a small video iPod and on it was a picture of three children in cribs.

"Is that Daisy's child?" Simone asked.

"Yes, they named him Mathew and when they are gone he stays in the nursery with Lucy's children." Esmerelda stood up. "Would you like to see them?"

"Yes." Merry said nearly leaping off of the bed.

"There are robes in the bathroom." Esmerelda said.

Simone seemed surprised by Merry's reaction but she didn't say anything. Instead she stood up as well.

"I'd like to see Mathew." She said.

Merry liked the nursery. Lucy had taken the two rooms beside her own and knocked down a wall, creating a large enough space for the three beds. Esmerelda's room was on the other side of the nursery. The nursery was a friendly place with walls that were done with Disney wallpaper. On the padded floor were toys and stuffed animals and there was a window overlooking the ocean. Lucy's twins were three years old while Daisy's son was two. Not quite old enough to be out of the crib stage yet, though Merry was sure that they would be soon. Like their mother Lucy's children had deep brown eyes and light brown hair. There was no hint of their werewolf heritage and wouldn't be until they hit puberty. It was strange for Merry too look at them and realize that she had killed their father. She wondered how Lucy was ever going to explain that to them. Daisy's son had inherited his mother's wide body and his father's strong jaw line. Merry guessed that after an awkward adolescence he'd blossom into a handsome young man. Each crib had a mobile that spun above it but the children weren't interested. They were trying to climb out of the cribs.

"He is the ring leader." Esmerelda said a she lifted Mathew out of his crib. He was wearing a pair of blue felt overalls. He squirmed and kicked as she put him down. "First in almost everything."

"One in every crowd." Merry said. She lifted one of the twins out and put him on the floor. The twins were also wearing blue coveralls. "What did Lucy end up naming these two anyway?"

"Her name is Neith." Esmerelda said pointing to the one that Merry had placed on the floor. "Her brother is Hephestus."

"A goddess from Egypt and a Greek god." Simone said.

"Lucy loves the classics." Merry said as she put the other baby down on the floor. They stared at her and she smiled at them. She sat down and picked up a little star covered ball out of a pile of balls. Merry rolled it to Mathew who looked at it, then her, then rolled it back.

"Your turn." Merry said rolling it to Neith. She picked it up and bounced at her.

"Ambitious." Merry said. She rolled the ball to Hephestus. "What can you do?"

Hephestus picked up the ball and tried to eat it. Luckily it was too big for his mouth.

"I didn't know you liked children." Esmerelda said.

"I'm not around them too much." Merry said. She was indulging herself. Around Esmerelda at least Merry didn't want to play the First Knight. She'd done that enough on Faerun. That was why she had jumped at the chance to see the kids. Of all of the people in Earth Force Merry wanted to spend time with Esmerelda the most. Time when they weren't in danger. This was about as close as Merry ever thought that they would get. And she did love children. She loved the innocence, the pure joy of life untainted as yet by any of its pain.

"I do believe that the little fellow is going to eat that." Simone said. She bent down next to Merry and took it away from him. Hephestus looked at her with a combination of awe and surprise and then started to cry. Simone quickly handed the ball back to him and he stopped crying.

"He knows how to get his way." Esmerelda said. "When he really gets going you can hear him all through the mansion."

"Well there’s a way around it." Merry said. "Sharing doesn’t mean giving things away." She looked around the nursery. "Esmerelda hand me a washcloth will you?"

{You plan to give a Molly show?}

{This should surprise her.}

{I think this is safe.}

{Agreed. It will be another part of the puzzle that is the First Knight’s personality.}

Merry threw off her robe and took the washcloth from Esmerelda. Like nearly everything else in the nursery it had a Disney theme. In this case Tinkerbelle on a field of blue and white flowers. Merry shrunk down and wrapped it around herself, cinching it up so that it would not fall. It was one thing to jump around nude in front of adults, Merry had gotten used to that. But kids were another matter. The children looked at her with surprise and wonder. She had gone from being a giant to being smaller than them. Merry smiled at them and then walked over and picked up two more balls out of the pile. She took the ball from Hephestus and he was too curious to object. Then Merry started to juggle the balls.

After a few seconds the children smiled. Merry smiled back at them. It was a Molly show. Everyone in The Group had a strange quirk in how they enjoyed themselves. For Molly Dolemont it was to be hypnotically regressed into childhood. As a child she loved to play with shrunken women as if they were dolls. But she wasn’t too careful about how she played. Merry had learned that if she didn’t want to end up with broken bones (that hurt even if her body healed super fast) she had to find ways to play with Molly safely. One of those ways was to put on a show.

The children laughed and clapped as Merry juggled, whistled and jumped about. She kept the moves broad and wide, moving around them so that they had to keep her in sight. Merry whistled the them song from the Looney Tunes cartoon. It was the easiest to follow and the one that could never end unless she wanted it too. She moved closer to them and pulled back when Hephestus reached for the ball. Instead of crying he laughed and made waving motions with his hands. Out of the corner of her eye Merry watched Esmerelda look on in something close to astonishment. Simone was surprised but smiling.

"Mathew!" Daisy Obrien called as she burst through the door.

Merry froze and let the balls drop. The tone of Daisy’s voice said it all. It was a worried tone and the way she looked at Merry confirmed what she was worried about.

"Mathew." Daisy said again stepping by everyone to pick him up.

The children were confused and started to cry. They had been enjoying the show and suddenly it had been taken away from them. Merry envied them that they didn’t know why.

"Nice to see you again Daisy." Merry said. She tugged at the washcloth to let it fall off of her and then grew to her normal size. Now at her normal size Merry could tell that she had been right. In the corridor Brent Obrien was hurrying toward the nursery. Neither of them was comfortable with Merry around their son. Not even with Esmerelda there.

Simone was just beginning to understand what had happened. Merry sensed an argument on the horizon but she didn’t want any part of it. There was nothing she could ever say to Daisy or Brent that would change their minds. She’d played her part too well.

"Hello." Daisy said. She didn’t draw back from her but Merry could see walls going up.

"I’m tired Simone, I’ll sleep until the lunch." Merry said. "Nice talking to you Esmerelda."

Not bothering to put on a robe Merry stepped naked into the corridor. As she had guessed that he would, Brent stumbled a bit when he saw her.

Merry was in her and Simone’s room before she let the tears fall.

Simone had never realized or even guessed that Merry liked children. The only times she had seen Merry around kids had been when Merry was serving as a police officer at the mall. There she had been a stern authority figure. Seeing Merry juggle and entertain the three children had brought a warm feeling to Simone's heart. For the first time in weeks-months really-Merry had been enjoying herself. To see it crash so hard and so un-expectedly was confusing. Simone guessed that Merry knew why instantly. But for Simone it took a few more seconds. She was so used to knowing who and what Merry really was that Simone sometimes failed to realize how others saw her. Now as she looked at Daisy holding Mathew away from her lover Simone realized why. To Daisy Merry was a crazy, dangerous killer. Someone that she wouldn't chance having near her son. Simone realized all of this but still her blood started to boil as Merry walked down the corridor. She recognized Merry in the kind of deep pain that she'd never let the rest of the world see.

"Hello Daisy. Brent." Simone said.

If Daisy's actions spoke volumes the tone of Simone's voice was a library. But Daisy stood her ground.

"I'm sorry Simone but I don't want her near my son." Daisy said. "She's a killer."

"But for that killer you wouldn't have a son." Simone said clenching her fists. "This is the second time Daisy that you've hurt her in a way that no one else ever has."

"She killed forty eight people on that ship." Brent said.

"Forty nine." Simone said. "Forty nine of the worst pirates at sea. And she saved the life of a worthless shadow man. And for that you'd make her feel like…"

Simone broke off and tried to calm down. She could see things from their point of view. Daisy and Brent were an extremely moral couple. To them anyone who broke the law was a bad person. Daisy might have had a little wiggle room in her views but Brent didn't. No matter what they owed to Merry and Simone their principles came first.

"What happened?" Lucy asked walking into the room.

"Merry was entertaining the children." Simone said. "Happier than I've seen her in months." Simone looked at Daisy. "The performance was interrupted."

"We don't want her near Mathew." Brent said. "She killed forty eight people."

"Forty nine!" Simone said through a clenched jaw. "Goddess at least get the number right!" She turned to Lucy. "Is this how it is to be Mrs. Rothschild? Will Merry be a part of Earth Force or a token shunted off to the side when there is no danger? Kept in a room or a cage, not allowed to associate with anyone?"

"Simone can't you understand why we're scared?" Daisy asked.

"No I really can't." Simone said. "Merry has never struck you or hurt you in anyway. She's never shown you anything but kindness and in return you've managed to hurt her deeply. Twice. Do you think Daisy that Merry will suddenly fly into a rage and hurt your son?"

"Damn right I do." Daisy said. She looked at Brent and he nodded. "We both do. Merry tortures, she kills. I'm sorry Simone but that's not someone I can trust with my son."

"Do you share this attitude Mrs. Rothschild?" Simone asked.

"Honestly I didn't think of it at all." Lucy said. "I never expected that Merry would even want to spend time with the children. It seems totally at odds with her character. But I did realize that Merry's actions on the Tide Crawler would lead to legal problems at the very least. I had hoped to deal with them after she joined."

"That problem is settled." Simone said. "I know something of how your world works Mrs. Rothschild. That ship was operating out of Port Grancia in Bolincia. Under your laws they have the jurisdiction for any crimes. I have already paid a huge sum to have the case closed."

"You did?" Lucy asked and Simone was pleased that she could surprise the woman.

{Be careful not to give away too much.}

{It would do no good for Lucy to know more than she has too.}

{Thankfully that country is so corrupt finding the law firm to represent Dollopolis and not ask questions was easily done.}

{Still her reaction to this should be interesting.}

"Was that what Merry was doing in South America?" Lucy asked.

"Partly." Simone said. "A pre-emptive strike against your world governments and their pretense at valuing life over money. For all your claim of principles Merry and I have found corruption in your world that would never have been tolerated in ours. But you haven't answered my question Mrs. Rothschild. Would you trust Merry near your children?"

"Yes." Lucy said.

"Very well." Simone said. "I respect and understand your choice Daisy, but I am not happy with it." She moved past them. "If you'll excuse me."

"Wait." Lucy said. "Simone about the ship, are you and Merry sure that it was forty nine people killed? We only found forty eight bodies."

"Then someone escaped." Simone said. "Come, we shall ask Merry."

She started to go and then stopped. Esmerelda had been silent during the whole scene. She was hurt and torn. Obviously the Obrien's were her friends, but so was Merry. Simone felt sorry for the girl. She turned to Esmerelda and smiled.

"Thank you Esmerelda."

"Will she be ok?"

"Oh yes, she'll be fine." Simone said with a smile. The smile faded as soon as she turned away.

"What happened?" Mary asked as she joined Simone and Lucy on the way to their room. Esmerelda had given her a quick recap over the intercom but Mary wanted Simone's reaction. What she felt was a hard anger.

"A minor problem." Simone said. "One that Merry is used to. On our world men and women recoiled from her if she walked down a street and was recognized. Even in Dollopolis some women would hide if she came near. I'm sure she never expected it to happen here. Not when I told her that she was a guest in this house."

"Simone I am sorry but I think you can understand Daisy's worry." Lucy said. "You've noticed how close to the edge Merry is."

"I have." Simone said. They had come to her door and she stopped. "Understanding does not always help Mrs. Rothschild."

They entered the room but Merry was nowhere to be seen. For a moment Mary wondered if the First Knight had simply cleared out. Then she heard a splashing in the bathroom.

"I'm in here." Merry called.

"I thought as much." Simone said leading them toward the room.

Mary stopped short when she saw Merry. She'd expected her to be taking a bath, but not swimming in the tub. Merry had filled the tub, even used bubble bath and then had shrunk herself down to twelve inches and was swimming back and forth. She was avoiding the various fields of white bubbles that got in her way.

"So much for sleep." Mary said.

"I wasn't sleepy anymore." Merry said. She dived under the water and surfaced again.

"Bubble bath?" Simone asked.

"It fell in while the tub was filling." Merry said not interrupting her stroke. Her voice was calm but hard as she did the backstroke. Mary had no trouble feeling the pain coming from the tiny woman. "It doesn't matter, just another obstacle."

"Lucy has a question about the Tide Crawler." Simone said.

"Go ahead." Merry said. She had reached the edge of the tub and flipped over, but now she turned over again and floated on her back for a moment. Merry drifted back until she reached the faucet and then hauled herself out of the water and sat on it. Simone sat on the edge of the tub, Lucy stood and Mary sat on the toilet.

Man she's hot, Mary thought. Merry's large breasts had stuck out of the water and the vertical slit of her vagina seemed to keep winking at Mary as she had moved her legs. Now she sat straddling the faucet with her arms folded in front of her. The sight charged through Mary's body and fired up her imagination. Mary tried to squelch the fantasies but the reaction was already moving through her body.

"Are you sure there were forty nine people on board?" Lucy asked. "We only found forty eight bodies."

"No question." Merry said. "I went through that ship twice. Some one got away?"

"Probably." Lucy said. "If they had just fallen overboard they would have been spotted by now. A radioactive body would never escape detection."

"So I'm less of a killer." Merry said shrugging her shoulders. "Yippee."

"I'd like to know who it was." Lucy said. "We have pictures of the bodies, can you go through and see who might be missing?"

"Ok." Merry said slipping into the water. She started to tread water for a moment and then stopped moving. In an instant Merry had grown to full size again. The water dripped off of her nude body as she stepped out of the tub.

Ok, Mary thought as she got a perfect look at Merry's magnificently wet and dripping body. Vibrator again tonight. What the hell is wrong with me lately? Is Timidious getting to me long range?

It was one of Mary’s worst fears and she tried to put it out of her mind. The sight of Merry roughly toweling herself dry didn’t help at all.

… to be continued.

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