Knightlings

Chapter 2. "Don’t Panic"

by Skytower

Don’t panic.

That was what Merry had always told Jessie and her sister.

‘When you get caught-because trust me you’ll get caught-don’t panic. Think Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.’

Jessie had no idea what Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy was, but she clung desperately to the advice Merry had given her as Aphrodite carried her over to the bed. Aprhodite’s hand had closed tightly around the upper part of her body. Jessie’s arms were pinned to her side and her legs dangled helplessly. Jessie was in good shape, her twelve inch tall body was as solid as it could be, but one careless squeeze from the full sized girl and she’d be dead. Even just holding her Aphrodite was putting enough pressure in her grip to make breathing hard. Her fingers were cold and clammy and she smelled stale.

But what really made it hard for Jessie not to panic was the scissors that Aphrodite kept snapping open and closed. The harsh metallic scraping was incredibly loud in the empty bedroom.

Aphrodite carried Jessie over to the Victorian computer desk, pushed the keyboard out of the way and then sat down. She was wearing a black robe.

"Let’s start with a name." She said holding Jessie above the desk. She brought the scissors close to Jessie’s feet and snapped them a few times.

{Jessie, use the name ‘Corrella’}

{We will instruct you what to say.}

{Do not deviate from the theme we lay out.}

{We have planned for this.}

Jessie swallowed hard. She was scared beyond anything she had ever known, but the Giant’s were still with her. They had a plan. For the first time Jessie realized what Merry meant when she had told them that the Giant’s were the best people to have in your corner when you were cornered.

"I’m Corrella." Jessie said. Her voice was full of fear and that brought a smile to Aphrodite’s face. She snapped the scissors open and closed under Jessie’s feet and Jessie pulled her legs up as far as she could in response.

"What were you doing in my closet?"

{You were searching for food.}

{Plead a bit.}

"I was looking for something to eat." Jessie said. "Please don’t hurt me."

Aphrodite smiled and squeezed harder. Jessie cried out as the pressure on her tiny body increased. After a minute Aphrodite eased up.

"Where’d you come from?"

{Tell her Blake’s Hall. But the construction forced you out of there.}

"Blake’s hall." Jessie said. "I was living there until the workmen destroyed my hole. Please, I’m sorry, I won’t..."

"You’ll do what I want luv." Aphrodite said with a tone of pure sadistic joy in her voice. She opened the scissors and caught one of Jessie’s ankles between the blades. "And I didn’t ask where you came from, I asked where you come from."

{Tell her Dollopolis.}

"I’m from Dollopolis!!" Jessie screamed as she felt the cold metal press into her skin. A nightmare image of spending the rest of her life with only one foot danced across her mind. She knew that the Giant’s could most likely repair her body, but even so the thought of having a part of her cut off terrified Jessie. She would have thrown up if there were anything in her stomach.

The door to the room started to open and Aphrodite opened the desk draw, threw Jessie into it and slammed it shut.

Jessie hit hard against something in the drawer but didn't black out. She heard voices but they were too low for her to understand. Then they were gone.

{You are alone.}

{Time to escape.}

The drawer was nearly pitch black but Jessie could see a sliver of light at the front of it. As her eyes adjusted she looked around. With her in the drawer were pens, pencils, nail polish bottles, books and small notebooks. Jessie had come to rest against a bottle of Sally’s Sparkling Crimson nail polish. The drawer wasn’t high enough for Jessie to stand so she started to crawl toward the light.

"I'm sorry mistress." Jessie said climbing over loose pens and pencils.

{It happens.}

{Merry has told you that.}

{Again, we planned in case such a thing happened.}

{Can you open the drawer?}

Jessie had reached the front of the drawer but the crack that the light came through wasn't big enough to get her fingers into. She lay down and tried to open the drawer by bracing herself against the floor and pushing at the roof with her legs, but it wouldn't move.

{Try the back.}

Jessie crawled to the back of the drawer. There was an opening between the back of the drawer where it reached the back of the desk. Jessie stuck her head into it and looked around. The desk backed into the wall and there was about five inches of space between them. Climbing out of the drawer she braced her feet and hands against the wall and the back of the desk and slowly edged down to the floor.

Once there Jessie took a moment to get her breath back. Then she walked to the edge of the desk and looked at the room.

"Oh no!" Jessie gasped the words out. "The closet door!"

{Closed.}

{What about the door to the hallway?}

Jessie walked out from behind the desk and saw that the door to the room was closed as well. She was trapped. There was too little space under the door for her to crawl through. Jessie's heart beat faster as she looked around the room for any way to escape. Her eyes made a circle of the room. She was standing by Tranquility's computer desk. Back toward the closet was her princess bed and between the desk and the bed was the door to the hallway. There was a white wicker hamper beside the door. Across the room was a dresser and beside that the metal cot that was Aphrodite's bed, then a window and another computer desk. Beside the computer desk was a smaller dresser and beside that a bookshelf. Even though there was a lot of room to move around in she was essentially in a cage.

"The window." Jessie said and was amazed how calm her voice sounded.

{Give it a try.}

Jessie ran over to the window. Violet curtains with white lace hung down just low enough for her to grab. She jumped up, grabbed hold of the fabric and began to climb. Some of the lace tore in her grip but Jessie didn’t care. Jessie made to the window sill and stepped off. The window stuck out of the house by about two feet. Jessie went over to the window. It was three feet wide and at least four feet high, with individual pains of glass in lead frames. Jessie looked at it and tried to fight down her growing desperation. Grabbing the small handle at the bottom of the window she tried to lift it but failed. Jessie looked up and saw that it wasn't locked. It was just too heavy. For a few minutes she grunted and lifted with everything her small body had; but it wasn't enough. Finally she had to give up. If the room was her cage the window was her bars.

"What do I do now mistress?" Jessie asked.

{Hide.}

{Aphrodite did not give you away.}

{She wants to keep you for herself.}

{Hide and wait for your chance.}

"Hide where mistress?" Jessie asked looking at the room.

{Where you will not be seen.}

That wasn't a great amount of help but as scared as Jessie was there was no way she was going to tell them that. She started to climb down the curtains.

Lizzie sat on her hands. It was the only way to keep them from the controls. She wished that she could tie herself to the chair. The Giant's had told her not to go to Jessie's aid, either with Thunderbird 2 or on her own. The order had set off a titanic struggle within Lizzie. Her sister was her world, but the Giant's were her gods. Thunderbird 2 had weapons that could knock out, or even kill a person. She could smash through the walls of the house if she needed too. But none of those weapons would work. Lizzie knew that. Even if they did using them would mean disobeying the Giants.

A thousand different ideas came and went in Lizzie's mind but she didn't say a word. The last time it had been Lizzie who had been caught, but a little girl had caught her, one who seemed to know about shrunken women and about Merry. That girl had just carried Lizzie over to Merry's office in the community center and handed her to Merry without a word and then gone back to her friend in the wheelchair.

But this was different. These girls were like, like…

Like we were, Lizzie thought. She squeezed her hands into fists under her legs. Oh Goddess they are just like we were when we caught Merry's friend!

Lizzie started to pray. Merry and Simone had told her and Jessie about the Goddess Ida. No other god had ever listened to Lizzie and her sister, the Giant's wouldn’t listen to her-they might care but they weren’t helping her now and now was what Lizzie was thinking about-maybe Ida would.

It was the only thing Lizzie could think of to do. So she preyed and she fought back tears.

Jessie jumped off of the curtain and looked around. Hiding, as Merry told them often, was the art of finding a place no one usually looked at. In a room like this where did no one look?

Under the beds was out, everyone looked there. Same for under the dressers and desks. Lizzie looked at the wicker hamper. Perfect. She could burrow into the laundry. Maybe they’d even take her to the laundry room, if they had one. She started to go toward it and was nearly there when the door opened.

Jessie froze and so did Aphrodite and Tranquility. But she moved before they did. Jessie ran for all she was worth between their legs. The two girls bumped into each other reaching down to grab her and Jessie was out into the hall way and freedom before they got up.

But her freedom was cut short as a hand reached down and grabbed her.

"What have we here?" Verity asked holding Jessie firmly.

"She was in our room." Tranquility said. She peered at Jessie. "Never saw her before."

"Neither have I." Aphrodite said.

"Please let me go." Jessie pleaded. Both Tranquility and Verity were wearing the one piece swimsuits with the lightning bolt on them.

"Oh not on your life tiny girl." Verity said and there was a deep dark look in her brown eyes. A look of cunning and malice.

"Not until we have a nice tiny talk." Tranquility said giggling. Her eyes showed only curiosity at a new toy.

Aphrodite’s face showed fear but she hid it before the other two girls saw it.

Verity carried Jessie back into the room and tossed her onto Tranquility's bed.

"Bubbly little thing isn't she." Tranquility said as Jessie bounced up and down.

Jessie recovered enough of her balance to back away from them. Tranquility's bed had a gray and white afghan as a cover and Jessie stumbled in one of the holes and fell back into the pillow.

"What is she?" Aphrodite asked.

"Let's find out." Verity said.

She reached down and grabbed Jessie by the arms. Holding her arms straight out Verity held her up to Tranquility. "Pull those black things off of her, let's see what she's got."

Giggling Tranquility went to work.

"Please no!" Jessie pleaded. Tranquility ignored her and started to un-wrap one of Jessie's legs.

"You really have to forgive the curiosity girl." Verity said with mock kindness. "We just want to know if you have everything a girls supposed to. While we find that out you can tell us the rest. What's your name?"

"Corrella!" Jessie shouted. Jessie laughed as Tranquility brushed against the bottom of her foot with a fingernail.

"She's ticklish." Tranquility exclaimed delightedly. She held Jessie's ankle with one hand, pinching it with her thumb and forefinger while she stroked the bottom of Jessie's foot with the little finger of her other hand. Jessie screamed with laughter and twisted vainly in their grip.

After a few minutes Tranquility stopped tickling her and un-wrapped Jessie's other leg. Jessie tried to keep still, guessing that struggling would only make her situation worse. After Tranquility un-wrapped the cloth around her stomach and between her legs Verity turned Jessie around and upside down.

"Well she's got all the normal openings in all the normal places." Verity said pulling Jessie's legs apart.

"I guess all the normal things go in and out of them." Tranquility said. "Fancy a man her size?"

The three of them laughed at the thought. Then while Verity held Jessie upside-down by her ankles Tranquility pulled the rest of Jessie's wrappings off.

"Tiny boobies." Tranquility remarked.

Verity put Jessie down on the bed and Jessie backed up into the pillow and hugged her legs to her chest.

"Now don't be shy," Verity said "we're all girls here."

There was more command than suggestion in her voice and Jessie slowly let her legs down.

"Now where did you come from and why are you here?" Verity asked.

"I was living in Blake Hall." Jessie said, stuttering slightly. "There was a hole in the wall, it was warm, but the workman broke through and I had to run."

{Claim you are hungry, ask for food.}

"Please, I'm hungry, it's been days…" Jessie pleaded.

"Hang a sec." Tranquility said. She went over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers. Coming back she opened a bag of M&M plain candies and took a red one out. She started to hand it over to Jessie but pulled it up just as the tiny girl reached for it.

"Uh-uh, up you go, reach for it." Tranquility said giggling again.

Jessie stood up and reached.

"Up, up!" Tranquility commanded snatching the candy out of her reach each time Jessie grabbed for it. "Come on, you can do it."

Jessie had to jump a few times before Tranquility let her grab it. Then she sat back down and started to eat. The shell cracked and the chocolate flowed into her mouth. Jessie made a great show of wolfing the candy down even though she wasn't very hungry. If her hunger moved any of the girls they didn't show it. Verity's face was un-readable, Tranquility was enjoying herself and Aphrodite was a mask of calm.

"Thank you." Jessie said.

"There's a good little thing." Tranquility said patting Jessie on the head. She held another M&M above Jessie's head. "Come on, up, up…"

"No." Verity said. "Not yet." She looked steadily at Jessie.

"You didn't come from Blake Hall." Verity said. "At least you didn't start out there. Where're you from?"

"Dollopolis." Jessie said.

"Do tell?" Verity commanded and a strange look passed over her face.

"Where’s that?" Tranquility asked.

"It wasn't part of your world." Jessie said. She kept her eye on the M&M. "It's gone now. Blew up. All gone."

"Sad." Verity said calmly. "How'd you end up in this room?"

{You were running from a cat in the woods and ended up in Tranquility's bag when she went swimming, she carried you back and you've been hiding and trying to get out ever since.}

"I was near the pool, near the woods." Jessie said. "I was running, a cat was chasing me, I climbed into her" she pointed at Tranquility " bag and she brought me."

"Two days ago." Tranquility said.

{Plead some more.}

"Please." Jessie said reaching for the candy.

"Pretty please." Verity said holding Tranquility's hand as it started to drop.

"Pretty please!" Jessie repeated as ordered. She didn't need to make up the fear that showed in her voice.

"You know something." Tranquility said to Verity as Verity let her hand drop.

"Hmm…" Verity said as Jessie ate. "I know what we have here. Remember that row with Force Group J and Earth Force? The one where Hellspite was killed? Mystery Woman?"

"Hell yea." Tranquility said. "She knocked ICE and some of the capes about pretty good."

"She's Mystery Woman?" Aphrodite asked, speaking for the first time.

"Not a chance." Verity said. "I snuck in to the closet when my Mother got the briefing. Mystery Woman's supposed to be some big blonde. But she is from Dollopolis."

{Here is a good chance.]

{Act surprised.}

Jessie looked up.

"I'm not the only one?" She asked. "Someone else survived?"

"If my mum’s briefing is right." Verity said smiling. Her smile showed teeth and was all predator. "Seems like a few others survived as well. Mum's under orders to get word back to Force Group J to give anybody she finds from Dollopolis to them."

"Oh we are not going to give this little cutie away." Tranquility said smiling. She reached out and patted Jessie on the head. Jessie couldn’t help flinching away from the giant hand.

"Not bloody likely." Verity said. "See I found out that Mystery Woman was the one who broke up Force Group J, cause after that briefing Mum got a call from Goddess of Justice, and she asked Mum to get in touch with her if any showed up. Laid out the whole sob story of the place. Captain Pharaoh thinks they’re a threat and is hunting for them, Goddess of Justice says they aren’t and is hunting for them."

"Ohhhh… Super Politics." Tranquility said laughing. "Pulling each others hair out are they?"

"And worse." Verity said.

"All this trouble for such a little bitty girl?" Tranquility said. She tossed Jessie another M&M.

"Oh, not for her." Verity said. She leaned in and Jessie shrank back, pushing herself into the pillow. "You know a woman, big-well sort of-blonde hair, big boobies… very mean fighter?"

{React with surprise, name Merry as the First Knight.}

"The First Knight is alive?" Jessie tried not to shout the question but it came out that way.

"What's her real name?" Verity asked. "If you’re from Dollopolis you’ll know it."

"Her name is Merry." Jessie said. "Please, is she alive? Is she in this world?"

"Why?" Verity asked. "You're not going anywhere."

"That's right." Tranquility said. "We're not giving you up."

"Please…" Jessie started.

"Have another one." Tranquility said tossing the M&M at her.

Jessie picked the candy up and started to eat.

"What else do we know?" Tranquility asked Verity.

"We’ll know a lot more than anyone else once she starts talking." Verity said. She sat on the bed and watched in silence as Jessie ate. When Jessie had finished the candy Verity spoke. "You know what we have here? We have money, we have pure gold."

"A reward?" Tranquility asked. She held another M&M over Jessie’s head and when Jessie reached for it Tranquility poked her in the stomach. Jessie went down and Tranquility reached down and pinched her breasts. Jessie squealed and tried to protect herself but Tranquility merely battered her hands away and continued pinching.

"There might be one." Verity said. "But we aren’t going for it. This little thing is going to get us more money than we ever thought of before.’

Why do they need money, Jessie wondered as she squirmed under Tranquility’s fingers. It was hard not to let herself become aroused. They’re rich, they’re richer than rich. Why the hell would they need money?

"How so?" Tranquility asked.

"Force Group J wants to know about Dollopolis, ICE wants to know about Dollopolis, Earth Force wants to know about Dollopolis..."

"They’ll all pay for what she knows." Tranquility said finishing Verity’s sentence.

"Won’t they think it’s a fake?" Aphrodite asked.

"There’s a few things that no one knows about. Things that only someone from Dollopolis would know." Verity said. "Corrella, who’s the Duchess of Dollopolis?"

"Simone." Jessie said.

{Plead a bit here.}

{Lay it on thick.}

{Rewards and punishment if they do anything to you.}
{If we judge them correctly this should help you in the long run.}

Jessie wasn’t sure she liked the phrase ‘long run’, but orders from the Giant’s were never to be ignored.

"Is Simone on Earth?" Jessie asked and she let the fear she was feeling show in her voice. "Both her and Merry?"

"I’m not sure where they are, but they’ve been here." Verity said.

"Please, get me to them somehow!" Jessie pleaded. She climbed to her feet. "They’ll give you all the gold you can carry, more, if you want."

"You’re that valuable?" Tranquility asked.

"She’s the Duchess." Jessie said. "She'll do anything for any of us! Please, if you can get me to her somehow... anyhow..."

"I don’t think so." Verity said. "I have other ideas."

"But…"

"Oh no, I'm not giving you up." Tranquility said. She fingered Jessie's hair. "I've always liked dolls you know, and the things we could do together…"

"You should let me go to them if you can." Jessie said backing up. "If the First Knight is on this planet you don’t want to get her mad."

"Oh a threat." Tranquility gushed. She pushed Jessie down and rolled the tiny woman onto her stomach.

"No threats." Tranquility said and started to spank Jessie. She held Jessie's ankles and each word was followed by a sharp spank.

"No." Spank.

"No." Spank.

"No threats!" Spank. Spank!

The last spank was extra hard and Jessie cried out.

"There, there." Tranquility said softly after she let Jessie rest for a few moments. She said it again; "There, there." while stroking Jessie's ass. She rolled Jessie over. "There's the rule little darling, you don't threaten."

"I was warning you." Jessie said wiping tears from her eyes. "The First Knight… she's dangerous when she's mad."

"Well then we'll just have to make sure no one ever finds you." Verity said.

"I'm a prisoner?" Jessie asked.

"No luv you’re a pet." Tranquility said. "A mascot. Aphrodite, go to the science lab and grab a cage will you?"

{Try to make a run for it.}

Jessie took off across the bed at full speed, aiming for the edge closest to the wall. Tranquility's hand closed around her before she made it.

"Small but fast." Verity said. "Aphrodite get the cage. And get something for her to eat too. A girl can’t last on chocolate forever."

"Yes Great One." Aphrodite said. She didn't bother to dress but left the room.

"Bring her over here." Verity said going over to Tranquility's computer. Tranquility picked Jessie up and followed her.

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

"We're going to put together a little teaser FAQ file." Verity said. "Just enough to convince my mum that we've got someone from Dollopolis. Then we're going to send it to her anonymously and then we'll think about a price."

"You’re mum will get into trouble if she doesn't tell Force Group J." Tranquility said.

"And Goddess of Justice will be mad if she does." Verity said smiling. "It will tear her apart." She laughed and turned the computer on. A gong sounded as the Mac started up. "We don’t have to follow up, we can just let her sit between them and stew."

"Why don't you let me go to them?" Jessie asked. In her heart she knew why and shame ate at her. When that little woman had run into their party neither Jessie or Lizzie had cared about her. Now she was getting that back. "They’re my people, my friends..."

"Because we don't want to." Verity said. "And we have the power to back it up."

"Our lot always get what we want." Tranquility said. She pressed her index finger between Jessie's breasts and traced a line down between the tiny woman's legs. "Remember that."

"I'd be happier with them." Jessie said. "Don’t you care about that?"

"We're happier with you here." Tranquility said. "And I’d rather I’d be happy than you would."

Jessie couldn't keep the tears from her eyes.

"Oh how cute, she's crying." Verity said scornfully. Then her tenor changed to a stern one. "Don't cry little woman, you're safe with us and you’re going to be that way for the rest of your life."

Jessie fought back the tears and sat down.

"Have another chocolate." Tranquility said holding out one of the M&M's.

Jessie looked away and didn't say anything.

"Well have a little sulk then." Tranquility laughed.

"First question:" Verity said. "What happened to your world?"

{Repeat exactly what we say.}

{Try to be sad at the memory.}

"We left before it blew up." Jessie said as the words appeared in her mind. "Duchess Simone told us that the wars had gone on too long, had done too much damage. The planet was coming apart. She sealed the city into a bubble and launched it into the void between worlds."

"How did you come to be here?" Verity asked.

"The bubble burst." Jessie said. She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. "Waves of chaos went through the duchy, we were all thrown around. I blacked out and woke up in your lake."

"When was this?" Verity demanded.

"I don’t know." Jessie said. "I got stuck in one of your cellars for a while, days or weeks, and when I got out I couldn’t tell how many days had gone by."

"Was it winter when you showed up?" Tranquility asked.

"It was summer I think." Jessie said.

"What about..."

"Hey where have you lot been?"

The door opened and Judith stumbled into the room. She was wearing the black swimsuit and her eyes were slightly glazed. In one hand she held a wine bottle. Behind her nude and equally drunk came Tracy.

"Yea, how long does it take to..."

Both of them stopped and stared at Jessie. Comically Judith looked at the wine.

"Who’s this then?" She asked reaching for Jessie.

Jessie screamed in fear and bolted toward the back of the desk.

Lizzie could see both entrances from the point on the roof where she had landed Thunderbird 2. She saw Aphrodite bolt out of the house and head toward the campus.

{Start the engines and follow her.}

Lizzie took off, grateful to have something to do. She had sat in frustration, a feeling only somewhat relieved by her prayers to Ida. Lizzie had felt something for a moment, just before seeing Aphrodite. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it had been a presence. She thought. Lizzie wondered if her mind hadn’t been playing tricks on her.

Following Aphrodite chased those thoughts out of her mind. She lifted off and kept the engine power low, following the young woman across the campus. Aphrodite went into a large gothic looking building.

{The library is hardly where you will find cages.}

{Lizzie, move around the windows until you can spot her.}

Lizzie started to guide the ship around the grand building. The library was a converted church, or looked like one. She spotted Aphrodite on the second floor in a room full of computers. Carefully Lizzie guided Thunderbird 2 so that she could see over Aphrodite's shoulder.

{She's on AOL again.}

{Using the libraries public access terminals.}

{'Girl from Dollopolis is here, Verity caught her.'}

{'Will be there tomorrow. Get ready. K.O. All by midnight tomorrow, place them where we have discussed.'}

Aphrodite signed out and left the room.

{Well that was cryptic again.}

{Where's good old plot exposition when you need it?}

{We know someone will show up tomorrow.}

{We just don't know who or why.}

"There she goes." Lizzie said pointing to the doorway. Aphrodite was heading toward another building.

{Keep her in sight.}

Lizzie guided Thunderbird 2 over to the other building and gained some altitude in case Aphrodite used another exit.

{It might be best to get Jessie out of there.}

{An X-factor could be too dangerous.}

{This is a time when our intelligence is not sufficient.}

{Agreed. Who ever Verity's mother is she is connected to the superhero community. We also have no idea who Aphrodite is talking too.}

"She's heading out." Lizzie said. "And she's got a cage."

{A simple gerbil cage.}

{Not a problem.}

{Lizzie, go back to the roof.}

{You have some preparations to make.}

Jessie's move caught her captors off guard. She made it to the edge of the desk and jumped into the space between the desk and the wall.

"Get her!" Verity shouted.

The desk started to move but Jessie was already moving away from it. She ran across the bookcase and was diving under the dresser when she heard Tranquility shout. The hand missed her by inches. Jessie kept running and scurried past the window. Shouts followed her and she spared a look to see that Judith and Tracy were tangled up with Verity on the floor. But Tranquility was right behind her. Jessie made it to Aphrodite's bed and dove underneath it. She felt Tranquility's hand on her leg but a second later the bed shook and Tranquility cried out in pain. Jessie guessed that she had hit her head on the edge of the bed.

Jessie paused a minute and looked out from under the bed. Verity was still un-tangling herself from Judith and Tracy while Tranquility was sitting back rubbing her forehead. The door to the hallway was still open and Jessie ran toward it with everything she had.

"Get off!" Verity shouted wrenching free of the other two. She made a grab for Jessie and missed. Jessie leaped over a prone leg but she didn’t see the other leg in time. It swung around and caught her full in the stomach. Jessie went flying across the room and bounced off of the wicker wastebasket. She fell to the floor stunned.

"Got you!" Tranquility snapped grabbing her.

Dazed Jessie just looked up at her.

"Is it broke?" Tracy asked.

"No, just bruised." Tranquility said looking Jessie over.

"Why'd she take off like that?" Judith asked.

"A drunk ten times her size was reaching for her." Verity snapped. "What'd you expect her to do?"

"I wasn't drunk." Judith said and then added "much."

"How is she?" Verity asked.

"Nothings broken." Tranquility said running her fingers up and down Jessie's body. "Just had the wind knocked out of her I guess."

Tranquility put Jessie onto her bed and the four girls crowded around her. Jessie laid still. She wasn't hurt much, but there was no escape now.

"What is she?" Tracy asked.

"A tiny woman from Dollopolis." Verity said. "And if we play it right more money than we can imagine."

"We have money." Tracy said.

"Money our parents can snatch away from us anytime they want." Verity said. "Remember last summer when they pulled that Caribbean trip out from under you?"

"She's really a woman?" Tracy said. She reached for Jessie. Jessie whimpered and curled up into a ball.

"Gently." Tranquility said sternly.

Jessie tried not to react as Trudy's fingers roamed over her body.

"Marvelous little bottom." Tracy said pinching Jessie's ass.

Jessie curled herself up even tighter.

"Come on, show us what you got." Judith said. She reached over and took Jessie's arms and Tracy took her ankles and they slowly pulled Jessie out of her curl. Jessie tensed her entire body but she was helpless in their grip. Anger and shame competed in the look she gave the giant women as they examined her body.

"Got a magnifying glass?" Tracy asked. "I want to see if she’s got a magic button between her legs."

"I hope the First Knight gets all of you." Jessie said bitterly.

"Who's that?" Tracy said.

"You remember from the news? Mystery Woman?" Verity said. "That's the First Knight of Dollopolis, I listened while my mother got talked to about her."

"Big time!" Tracy swore.

"Right, and big time money." Verity said.

Judith and Tracy let Jessie go and she sat up. Verity leaned down and brought her face up close to the shrunken woman.

"Just so you know; no one knows you're here, no one's looking for you. You're ours pet."

"Our new house mascot." Tranquility said.

"We should put her in a cage or something." Judith said.

"Aphrodite's getting one." Verity said.

"We should do something to mark her as ours." Tracy said. "How about we brand her? Heat up the house coat of arms pin in the fireplace and press it into her ass."

"You're not spoiling that lovely piece of anatomy." Tranquility said.

"Tattoo?" Judith suggested. "How about right across her stomach?"

"It will be better if she's not marked up." Verity said. "More valuable that way."

"Got the cage." Aphrodite said walking into the room.

You'll all pay for this, Jessie thought as the cage was put in front of her.

"Walk in or we put you in." Verity said.

The cage was a Plexi-glass Gerbil cage. The floor of it was red and there were round openings in the sides for attaching travel tubes. The openings were sealed with red covers. The door was a while plastic grate. The smell of cedar filled it.

Jessie walked into the cage and then sat down. The door swinging shut was as loud in her ears as any jail cell she had ever been in. And in Jessie’s mind there wasn't really a lot of difference between the girls and the cops who had grabbed Jessie and her sister on many occasions. They were bigger; they had the power. That equation had defined Jessie's life before she had been shrunk and it still defined it.

But this time it was different.

Merry's going to get you for this, Jessie thought fiercely. She's going to get every one of you. She looked at each one of them and silently promised what would happen. But her looks earned her only scorn and derision.

As she had been taught to do, Jessie sat down to wait.

Lizzie lay in a bath and tried to relax. In the passenger cabin of Thunderbird 2 one of the cabinets folded out into a small bathtub. It was for when one of them had to get out of a survival suit. Such a suit could only be taken off painlessly if it was dissolved. Jessie had put herself into the tub and felt her skin tingle as a blue/green chemical broth had flowed in. The Giant’s were directing the chemicals. Periodically Lizzie took a deep breath and dunked herself as they instructed.

"Mistress, is Jessie ok?" Lizzie asked.

{She is as well as she was ten minutes ago.}

{They have exhausted themselves playing with her and are now asleep.}

{Not all of them.}

{Verity is only half asleep. She watches.}

"Do you think she thinks that Jess isn’t alone mistress?" Lizzie asked.

{Possibly.}

{Verity is intelligent.}

{We have checked and her mother has no obvious ties to the superhero community.}

{It would be better if Jessie isn’t exposed to anyone who might recognize her.}

{We told her to use a different name so as to back up the idea that there are Dollopian refugees scattered everywhere. That will fall apart if Goddess of Justice or Ms. Dream show up.}

{Tonight you will go in and rescue her.}

{By the time you are done with your bath no one will recognize you two as being twin sisters.}

{That is a safeguard in case you are seen or caught.}

Lizzie swallowed. She was scared, but there was no way she was going to leave Jessie with those bitches. She lifted her hands out of the water and splashed her face. Under the water her skin was starting to turn a dull shade of gold.

Jessie woke up, not that she had ever really been asleep. The girls had played with her body for hours, bending and twisting and examining it in so many ways Jessie lost count. Through it all the theme had been that she was a new toy, a new diversion. The assault on her dignity had been more vicious and more complete than she could ever have imagined. They had pressed their fingers between her legs and pinched her breasts and her ass and Jessie’s body had responded. She had climaxed many times, each time to mocking drunken laughter. Jessie was sure that no woman had ever been as thoroughly raped before. Jessie and Lizzie had run with rough crowds in their short lives, but none of them even came close to the callousness of Verity and her group.

What Jessie didn’t realize was that part of the reason they had hurt her so much was after the time she had spent in Dollopolis and with Simone she had more of herself than she had ever had before in her life. Self respect was a concept new to Jessie and if someone had even mentioned it she would have looked at them blankly. Between a father who thought of them as slaves and a school system that thought of them as worthless and a police force that considered them easy targets; Jessie and her sister had never really thought much of themselves. Dollopolis had changed that, Merry and Simone had changed that. Jessie had discovered self worth, even if she had never actually named the concept. She had discovered it and during the night she had also discovered how much it could hurt to have that self worth attacked.

So she didn’t really sleep. She dozed lightly, approaching the border between being asleep and being awake, but each time the peace of true sleep seemed close Jessie would wake up. Usually it was because one of her captors shifted in their sleep, or some nightmare started that Jessie refused to accept. The end result was a few hours spent neither asleep nor fully awake.

Her captors slept in huddled, drunken groups. Jessie had learned long ago that if you got someone drunk or high enough their sexual preferences faded. Verity and her friends proved that. Jessie didn’t think that they were all gay, but after a combination of wine and coke they enjoyed each others bodies in an orgy that stunned the young woman. Both in its depravity and its meanness. If they had considered Jessie a new toy each of the girls considered the other an old toy. Whips, vibrators, clamps and other things had been brought out and used. But she could tell from looking that none of them-almost none-knew what they were doing. At least not by that time. They were too drunk and high to think clearly. At one point Aphrodite tried to stick a dildo into Judith’s ear.

But Verity knew what was going on. She was the one who kept herself just on one side of sobriety. With that edge she steered them all into doing what she wanted. From the look on her face as Judith whipped Tracy while Tranquility and Aphrodite held her down Jessie could tell that Verity was on a power high. And when it was over Verity had kicked and shoved Tracy and Judith onto Aphrodite’s bed and then made Aphrodite lie on the floor. She’d called them dogs, bitches and worse. Tranquility was now tied spread-eagled to her own bed and Verity had then blindfolded her and then played with her body with clothespins and a small whip. By the time it was over Tranquility was screaming incoherently and begging for it to stop and it to go on. Finally she had passed out.

These were the people that the Giant’s were going to use to take over England? Even knowing that the Giant’s almost never made mistakes Jessie had a hard time believing it.

Now it was nearly noon, the sun was streaming into the window and none of them showed any signs of waking up. Verity slumped against Tranquility and her eyes were only half open. Jessie wondered when any of them ever went to class.

A musical tone sounded through the room. An ominous pedantic tone that kept sounding. It sounded for two minutes before Verity’s eyes fully opened and she started to move. A few minutes hunting in the clothing and party debris found a small black cellphone. Verity carried it back to the bed, leaned against Tranquility, took a deep breath and opened it.

"Hello Mother." She said.

{Jessie, we will feed you both sides of this conversation. Slump down and pretend to be asleep.}

Jessie obeyed and into her mind appeared the other half of the phone call.

"Have you been in London in the past week?" Serenity Highfield demanded.

"You would know Mother." Verity said. She stood up and went to the window. She yawned and stretched, not caring that the curtains were open and that she was completely nude. "That satellite lock you keep on me is accurate to two feet isn't it?"

"That's for your protection."

"Oh of course it is." Verity said. "Look mum it is nice to hear from you, I guess, but I'm really busy right now."

"You either talk to me or to the police." Serenity snapped. "There was a robbery at a London museum; two guards ritually sacrificed and a priceless Mayan dagger and scepter stolen. Your hair was found at the scene of the crime."

"Well it wasn't me." Verity said. "One of your old foes must have gotten some of it somehow and is framing me."

"Have you noticed anything strange in the past few weeks?" Serenity demanded.

"Nothing at all." Verity said looking straight at Lizzie. She yawned into the phone. "Look mum just use that clout of yours, tell them about the satellite lock. Then go and take care of who ever did this."

"Verity this is serious." Serenity snapped. "For once in your life take something seriously."

"Well what do you want me to do? You're the superheroine." Verity’s voice was light but her face was growing dark. "Call in one of your magic friends and figure out what's going on. Just be a luv and leave me out of it."

"I'm coming down there, I'll be there by tonight." Serenity said. "Be careful until I get there."

"You're coming down?" Verity assumed a pose of mock astonishment. "Are you sure? It isn't holiday after all, not my birthday either. Sure you'll recognize me?"

"Just be careful." Serenity said.

The line went dead and Verity looked at the phone for a moment and then threw it across the room. With an in-articulate scream she stomped around the room kicking and smashing anything she could. She even picked Jessie's cage and was going to smash it, but Jessie screamed and the scream seemed to shock Verity out of her rage. She held the cage at eye level and there was a deadly menace in her voice as she spoke.

"If I find out your part of this I will tear the limbs off of your body." Verity swore. Then she set Jessie down and walked over to the bed.

"Wake up." Verity said pulling the blindfold of Tranquility. She slapped the bound girl hard across the face and Tranquility started to wake up. "Wake up!" Verity said again. "My mother's coming. Time to get cleaned up for her majesty."

Verity accompanied the last word with another slap.

"Why is your mother coming her?" Judith asked staggering to her feet. "Think she found out about the little darling?"

"No, it's something else." Verity said as she untied Tranquility. "Sounds like someone's trying to frame me again."

"Again?" Tracy asked. "What is this, number five?"

"Seven." Verity said. "But mummy's coming here, so it's time to act all harmless."

"What about Corrella?" Tranquility asked.

"Keep her in here, keep her quiet." Verity said.

"How? She's bound to scream."

"No she isn't." Verity said. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a small Zip-lock plastic bag. Inside the bag was a white cloth. Verity took the cloth out of the bag and held it against one of the round vent openings of the cage. She pressed the bag against the other one.

Jessie smelled something sweet and her stomach recoiled. She started to get dizzy.

{Chloroform.}

"No!" Jessie screamed. She staggered over to the door of the cage and started to beat against it. If she lost consciousness the Giant's wouldn't know where she was, they wouldn't be able to tell Lizzie where she was. She would be completely lost!

Jessie beat against the door with everything she had but it soon became hard to even lift her arms. When she couldn’t beat against it Jessie clawed at it, digging her fingernails into the semi-hard plastic. Her legs got tired and seemed to turn to rubber. Her head and throat got sore. She started to fall and Jessie grabbed the bars of the gate and heaved. At last she slumped against it as the drug swamped her unconscious. Her body became weaker and weaker until Jessie wasn't even able to lift her arms anymore.

"Stubborn isn't…" Was the last thing that Jessie heard.

The sun was nearly set when Lizzie climbed out onto the roof and crawled to the edge. Behind her Thunderbird 2 took off; operated by the Giant’s by remote control. She was on her own. At least as much as she ever was. They were with her, invisible and watchful. But they were miles and miles away. Lizzie was the twelve inch tall girl walking across a roof. But this was for her sister so Lizzie swallowed her fear. She got to the edge of the roof and looked down. The line that she had used to lower the I-pods to Jessie was still there. Lizzie took hold of it and started to slide down.

Her bath had produced changes in Lizzie. Her skin was now bright gold and her hair bright blue. Lizzie thought that she looked like one of the Anime characters that Merry loved so much. She was wearing the same dark wrappings as before, but now there were knives at her thighs and strapped to her legs. One scratch from the knives and the drug on the blades would keep a person out for at least an hour. But Lizzie's task had become harder. After Jessie was knocked out Lizzie had no idea what the girls had done to her.

Lizzie slid down the line and swung herself into the hole. If Jessie was hurt Lizzie was going to ask Merry to kill them all. Simone had always told them to live the fantasy of Dollopolis and Merry had set vengeance high in that fantasy. Lizzie wasn’t sure if she could actually kill anyone, but she knew that Merry could.

In the enclosed between wall space Lizzie felt better. One hand rested on the knife strapped to her thigh. Cautiously she went down the passageway. In the dust she saw her sisters footprints and Lizzie felt a fresh stab of worry. But she moved on cautiously, keeping a careful eye out for traps.

It didn't take long for Lizzie to reach the hidden alcove that opened into Tranquility and Aphrodite's room. The first door swung open easily, but Lizzie didn't go in. Instead she moved her head left and right, searching for traps.

{Nothing in the hidden closet.}

{It is possible that Aphrodite does not know about the passageway through the walls.}

{She must suspect it.}

{If so she has not laid any traps here. Proceed Lizzie and be ready.}

Lizzie drew a knife for both hands and walked into the hidden closet. When she got to the door she pressed her ear against it.

{Sounds of struggling.}

{Not Jessie though.}

{With Verity's mother coming it is un-likely they are still playing sexual games.}

{Lizzie, investigate.}

Lizzie tested her strength against the sliding door and was surprised to find that it moved. She moved it a little bit and then peered through the opening. The door to the room was open. On the floor Lizzie could see Tranquility bound and gagged.

{Now why is she like that?}

{This is no casual play bondage.}

{Nor is she alone.}

{Lizzie, it is time you asked some questions.}

"Yes mistress." Lizzie whispered.

They were right about the way Tranquility was bound. She was nude, her arms bound behind her with ropes and then bound to her body with black leather straps. The ropes and the straps were so tight they pressed into the skin. Judith and Tracy were nude as well and were tied just as tightly. Each of them had their ankles tied. The girls were lying on their stomachs in the center of the room. Their ankles had been tied together. The bodies almost formed the letter 'Y'.

Lizzie walked into the room and saw Tranquility's eyes widen. Trying to look threatening Lizzie walked over to her. Close up Tranquility's dark eyes were revealed to be a very deep brown. Her face was strongly built with high cheekbones and a full nose. She was gagged with a sock pushed into her mouth. Lizzie walked right up to her. It was a strange feeling to walk up to a giant and know that the helpless one was the giant. Lizzie didn’t like the feeling, if any giant could be helpless then so could the giant she loved. It was a scary realization.

"Where is Corrella?" Lizzie demanded trying to put as much menace into her voice as she could. She held the knife tightly in her hand and moved it toward Tranquility's face until the bound girls eyes crossed.

"Where is she?" Lizzie demanded again pulling the sock out of Tranquility's mouth. "I know she's here someplace, I followed the dark haired one when she grabbed the cage."

"Who are you?" Tranquility asked.

"I'm Roxanna." Lizzie said repeating the name the Giant's had given her to use. They had told her it was appropriate to England because of someone named ‘DeFoe’, but hadn't explained why.

"She told us she was alone." Tranquility sounded hurt.

"Where is she?" Lizzie demanded again. She brought the knife close to Tranquility's eye. "I'll bind you if you don't tell me!"

"I don't know!" Tranquility squealed. She struggled in her bonds, trying to back away from Lizzie. "Verity knocked her out and took her away!"

"Did she tie you up?" Lizzie demanded.

"No!" Tranquility said. "It was that bitch Aphrodite! Let me go and I'll help you find her."

"If you were going to help us you wouldn't have gotten a cage." Lizzie said. "I'll find her myself and if she's dead I'll come back and blind you all!"

Lizzie picked up the sock and shoved it back into Tranquility's mouth when the girl opened it. Then she turned and ran back toward the closet. Once inside Lizzie slumped against the door. Her body trembled and she was breathing hard. Her face felt hot.

"She was scared of me." Lizzie said. "Goddess I felt… it felt… Like I was back in the park with Merry's friend. I don't want to be that anymore!"

{You aren't.}

Lizzie's head snapped up. That was not the speech of the Giant's, but it wasn't her own thoughts either. There had been another presence in her mind. A calming one. She felt her heart slow and her head clear.

{Don't worry Lizzie you are doing fine.}

{Interesting that Aphrodite tied up all of them.}

{What ever is planned is planned well.}

{Lizzie, go to the entrance to Verity's room. Her mother has just landed.}

"Landed mistress?"

{It seems that Serenity Highfield is the heroine Iron Mistress.}

{It explains much.}

{But it looks like we are being drawn into yet another mother/daughter feud.}

{It seems our fate. Lizzie, get moving.}

"Yes mistress." Lizzie said and started to run.

Lizzie was ready when the spring door opened and braced herself so that it wouldn't send her flying. Once it opened she peaked into the closet. An assortment of shoes and shoeboxes greeted her. Lizzie crept into the closet and looked out through a crack in the door. Verity was talking to an older woman. The woman was a little taller than Verity was. She had dull red hair worn to her shoulders, light brown eyes and a sharply pointed chin. They looked too much alike not to be mother and daughter or older and younger sisters. Verity was wearing a Victoria's secret black underwear and bustier combination with a loose black lace robe over that. It was an intentionally trashy look. She was sitting next to her computer with a bored look on her face.

"Honestly mother I've been here the entire week." Verity said.

Her tone of voice matched the look on her face but Jessie didn’t buy it. There was anger in Verity's eyes.

"Verity this is no joke." Serenity Highfield said keeping her voice barely controlled. She was wearing a long red skirt and a loose long sleeve red blouse. There was a necklace of gold chains around her neck and matching gold chains were around her wrists. "I wouldn't have come down here if it was one of your usual antics."

"You mean I can actually do something to get your attention?" Verity demanded. "I shall have to make a note of that. What was it?"

"Two men are dead." Serenity said.

"I didn't kill them." Verity said. "I don't care what they found near the bodies.

"Tomorrow the police are going to come." Serenity said. "I managed to delay them that long but they'll be here. I won't be able to help you if you don't tell me the truth!"

Her voice had cracked at the end of the sentence and it showed some of the anger she felt.

"Mother I have not left this place since Christmas holiday." Verity said her voice starting to crack as well. "Not that you've checked up on me yourself, but you keep an eye on me with that damn satellite and you know it!"

"I know you feel I've neglected you…" Serenity said.

"Feel it? Mother I have it documented in an online blog!" Verity laughed. "I tell quite a few stories about you, the only thing I leave out is your armor fetish."

There was a knock on the door before the argument could go on.

"Who is it?" Verity called.

"Aphrodite love." Aphrodite opened the door and came in carrying a tray with a wine bottle and two full glasses. She was wearing a black robe. "Thought you could both use something to drink before the real shouting started."

"Thanks." Verity said taking one of the glasses.

"No thank you." Serenity said frostily.

Verity drowned her glass quickly while Aphrodite put the tray down onto the table.

"Ask Aphrodite mum." Verity said sitting on the bed. "She'll tell you I've been here all the time."

"That's true Mrs. Highfield." Aphrodite said. "She had nothing to do with the museum robbery."

"Of course…" Verity started to say something but suddenly held her head. "I…"

"Verity?" Serenity asked.

"I'm… not… feeling… well…" Verity said and fell forward.

"Verity!"

Mrs. Highfield rushed over and caught her daughter. As soon as she turned her back Aphrodite threw off her robe revealing a skin tight black leather outfit. She came up behind Serenity and clamped a cloth pad over her mouth.

"Don't worry Mrs. Highfield I expect that's the drugs I put into the wine." Aphrodite said as they struggled.

Serenity let her daughter fall and planted a sharp elbow into Aphrodite’s stomach. Aphrodite fell back and Serenity broke away from her. But she was un-steady on her feet and Aphrodite charged into her, tackling the older woman to the floor. Once on the floor Aphrodite pressed the cloth against Serenity’s face again. Serenity fought back, twisting her head and grabbing Aphrodite’s wrists. She managed to lift the cloth away from her face but it was clear that the chloroform had weakened her. Aphrodite sat up and pulled her wrists free, but before she could resume the attack Serenity chopped her in the throat. Aphrodite fell back gasping and Serenity attacked. She grabbed one of Aphrodite’s arms and twisted it behind her. Then she grabbed the hand that held the cloth and held it against Aphrodite’s face. Aphrodite’s eyes went wide and she struggled wildly, but the drug worked on her as it would have worked on her intended victim. After a few minutes her struggles grew weaker and then ceased all together as her eyes rolled in her head and her body fell limp.

Serenity let her fall to the floor and then went over to check on Verity. She was feeling for a pulse when the door opened silently.

Lizzie blinked. The girl in the doorway was Verity. But not quite. Being a twin herself Lizzie knew what to look for. There was a slight difference in the nose and the shape of the eyes. Those eyes looked with anger on the scene before her. She was wearing a dark gray skirt and blouse and black chains around her neck and wrist. She motioned with her hand and the cloth rose off of the floor and flew into Serenity’s face, flattening itself over her nose and mouth. Caught by surprise Serenity sat up and grabbed at it, but claw as she might the cloth stayed with her. Her struggles stopped as she saw the girl in the doorway. Shocked she stopped struggling and the chloroform drove her to the floor as it had Aphrodite. Her last gasp was a strangled scream of despair.

Through it all Jessie had watched and wondered if she should do something. But the Giant's were quiet and she didn’t think that there was much she could do.

"It is so nice to meet you at last mother." The girl from the doorway said. Her voice was full of mock respect. You don’t really live up to your reputation you know, it was so easy to capture you. You should not disappoint a daughter so. I think I’ll accept my inheritance now if you don’t mind. It is a bit early, but then in an hour or so you’ll be dead anyway."

She bend down and took hold of Serenity’s wrist. Then she started to speak. The spell was a long and complex one and it enveloped them both in a swirling multicolored mist. When the mist dispersed the only difference was that Serenity was wearing the black jewelry and the new girl was wearing the gold. She stood up and admired the chains. Then she held her arms straight out and spoke.

"My blood is Highfield, my soul is England, I call forth the steel and blood and soul that is my birth right!"

The new girls form shimmered and her clothes vanished as the chains traveled around her body, growing as they did so until she was completely covered with them. Then they flowed like mercury and formed themselves into a suit of armor. The armor was not form fitting, but it wasn’t bulky either. There was a flow and grace to it, but a dark one. There were spikes along the arms and shoulders, the face on the helmet was a frightening visage of a harpy with large fangs. The hands were edged with metal talons. The armor was gray for the arms, black for the hands and feet and blood red for the torso.

{Iron Mistress.}

{England's premier heroine.}

{To think all this time everyone thought that the armor was a high tech creation.}

{Good miss-direction. How many foes have attacked with science when they should have used sorcery?}

{The question is now what is she up too?}

{It has to be more than theft of the armor.}

{We should stay with her.}

{Lizzie, follow her if she leaves.}

The new comer examined herself in the armor and a distorted metallic laugh filled the room.

"Let the power be gone until I summon it once more." She said and the armor shimmered and vanished. She turned and made a gesture and after a moment Tranquility, Judith and Tracy floated into the room. They were all awake and from the looks on their faces terrified.

Bending down the young woman pulled some rope from a pocket in her skirt and tied Serenity’s arms behind her and then her legs together. Then she did the same to Verity. When she started to tie Aphrodite up Lizzie moved. She skirted the edge of a desk and then ran over to Serenity and climbed under the giant woman’s skirt. Lizzie moved as far up the skirt as she could and then froze. After a moment Serenity started to rise. As she was levitated off of the floor more and more of the skirt came away from her body. Lizzie moved along the skirt, matching her self to the speed of the ascent. When she got close enough Lizzie grabbed onto the hem of Serenity’s red panties and held on. Soon she felt the body move though the air.

Lizzie watched as the floor gave way to the window and then they were out in the air, floating above the tree line. Her grip on the hem was tighter than Lizzie had ever gripped anything in her life. She had grabbed hold near the crotch and her weight was pulling the panties tighter around Serenity’s sex. Lizzie resisted the temptation to close her eyes. She knew that the Giant’s were seeing with her eyes and that they needed to see where she was going. The wind whipped the skirt around her and carried the cool night air to her. It chilled Lizzie but she tried not to feel it.

They went past the athletic fields and into the woods. When they came to the far end of a pond they landed. As soon as Lizzie felt her legs hit solid ground she let go of the panties and started to move forward. She wasn’t fast enough and Serenity’s leg came down on top of her, pinning her under them. Lizzie grunted and squirmed and worked her way free. Then she crept down Serenity’s leg to the hem of her skirt. Looking out she saw that the girls had landed in a ring of torches. But the torches weren’t on sticks. They were held in the hands of hideous gargoyle statues. At least Lizzie hoped that they were statues.

{Make for the trees.}

Lizzie looked around, saw that the girl was busy making gestures in the air and took off as fast as she could. It only took a half a minute for her to reach the safety of the tree line. Then she knelt behind a trunk and peered out.

As the girl finished her gestures an altar had taken shape. It was large, fifteen feet high. Made of gray stone and covered with glowing red runes the artifact resonated with evil. It was shaped like a cone, with a shallow groove around the rim. At the girls gesture Tranquility, Judith and Tracy floated up and over to the altar and were placed upside-down against the cone shaped part. As they touched the stone miss-shapen hands grew out of it and held their ankles and stretched across the bodies. The girls screamed through their gags. In the torchlight their nude bodies were ghostly white.

"Let me go!" Aphrodite shouted as she started to float over to the altar. "We had a deal!"

"You failed." The girl said calmly. "Failure has a price."

Aphrodite floated over to the alter and was bound like the others, but another hand grew to cover her mouth and gag her. She twisted and screamed in her bondage, but there was only anger, not pleading in her manor.

Suddenly Lizzie saw Jessie. She was slumped down in her cage on the far side of the circle of torches. The cage rested on its side on the ground. Lizzie started to work her way toward her sister.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Verity demanded nearly spitting in her rage.

Lizzie spared a glance and saw that Serenity and Verity were awake and had managed to sit up.

"She is your sister Verity." Serenity said. There was a lot of pain in her voice but Lizzie doubted that Verity heard it.

"I don’t have a sister!"

"Then who am I you silly bitch?" The girl demanded laughing. Then her tone turned bitter. "I suppose our mother never told you about the one she threw away."

"I never threw you away!" Serenity insisted. "You were taken from me hours after you were born!" She looked around. "Where is he? Where is the Arch Duke?"

"You mean father? Dead."

"Will someone please tell me what is going on!" Verity screamed. "Who is this bitch?"

"She is your sister." Serenity said quietly. "Her name is Truly."

"My name is Theodora!" The girl snapped. "That’s the name father gave me, that’s the name he gasped out as I strangled him to death, that is the name you shall call me for what little time you have left on this world."

"I shall never call you that." Serenity said.

"It doesn’t matter mother." Theodora said affecting a board attitude. It barely covered her hatred.

She gestured and Serenity and Verity rose and floated over to the alter.

"Truly you have the armor." Serenity said. "I can’t imagine the hell you’ve gone through growing up with that evil man, but if you seek vengeance of some sort on me why involve others?"

"Because it’s fun." Theodora said.

Lizzie had made it over to the gerbil cage and saw that Jessie was still out. She started to go toward the cage when a mental alert sounded in her mind.

{Hide.}

Lizzie froze and flattened herself on the ground. The smell of damp leaves and dirt filled her head as she pressed herself against the ground. She didn’t move as Theodora walked over and picked up Jessie’s cage.

"It’s the same sort of fun that dear sister was going to have with this little creature." Theodora said opening the cage and taking Jessie out. She ran her fingers over the un-conscious tiny woman. "This is Corrella of Dollopolis. Verity and her friends caught her only last night."

"Dollopolis?" Serenity echoed.

"Yes, and there are some who will give me quite a bit for her. Don’t look at me like that mother, at least I plan on selling her, Verity and her friends were planning on keeping her as a pet. Do you want to hear how poor Corrella begged to be let go and how they laughed at her?"

"No." Serenity said. "That’s not true!"

"Ask your daughter." Theodora said. "Come dear sister, deny it, I’m sure she’ll believe you."

"Verity how could you?" Serenity demanded. Her voice cracked at the question and it took her two tries to ask it.

"Ask her about the ‘Anti-happiness society’." Theodora said. "Ask her about the pranks she’s played, a little food poisoning here, a little blackmail there..."

"No." Serenity tried to scream the protest but there was no strength in her voice.

"Maybe I was the lucky one, growing up a slave in my father’s castle. He never neglected me, at least once a day I was abused in some way or another." Theodora looked closely at Jessie and blew lightly on her. "We had darlings there too, a little like this, father would enjoy eating them at great feasts held in his honor."

"Where were you?" Serenity demanded and her voice was nearly a growl. "How could he have hidden you all these years? There is not a day that has gone by that I haven’t searched for some sign of him."

"He was smarter than you were." Theodora said. "He blackmailed the Legion of Mystics and they provided him anonymity in another dimension and blocked your probes."

"NO!" Serenity shouted. "Miss Shadow would not do that to me!"

"She did." Theodora said. "I don’t know what he had over her, but it was good. One of the few secrets I didn’t pry out of him before I killed him."

"So what do you want now?" Verity demanded. "You have the armor, even if you’ve got something against mum I didn’t even know you existed. Why drag me and my girls into it?"

"So I should let you and your friends go?" Theodora laughed. "Do what I want to dear mother and let you go?"

"I didn’t mean that!" Verity snapped.

"Too bad." Theodora said. "It would be nice to have had you for a slave sister."

"So what are you up too?" Verity demanded. "Are you going to keep us hanging upside down until our heads explode?"

"Well that would be fun." Theodora said laughing. She pulled a curved dagger out of the air. "But no. What I’m going to do is sacrifice you all to Lord Erobos, and in return he’ll grant me ten times the power I have now."

"You’re a fool to trust him." Serenity said. "He’s cheated smarter women than you."

"Yes, but in this case he won’t cheat, because he’s grateful to me for killing father.

Jessie moaned in her hand and woke up. She screamed as she looked around.

"Don’t be scared darling." Theodora said stroking her head. "I’m not as mean as my sister, I won’t make you beg for food. Just obey me without question and you’ll have nothing to worry about." She licked her lips. "I have so many things I’m curious about."

"Who are you?" Jessie asked.

"I’m..." Theodora froze in mid-sentence and started to fall forward.

‘It’s easy to be stealthy when a villain is ranting.’ Merry had told them after they watched one her anime shows. ‘They’re paying too much attention to themselves too be careful.’

All through Theodora’s rant Lizzie had crawled toward her, moving slowly and freezing when ever the talking stopped. She crawled through the dirt, the leaves and laid absolutely still when bugs or worms crawled in front or over her. It seemed funny to Lizzie that bugs and worms were around; wrong somehow. They were never there in the movies. Didn't the bugs and the worms know what was going on? When she got close enough Lizzie plunged the knife into Theodora’s ankle. Now she dodged as Theodora slowly sank to her knees and fell flat on her face. She lost her grip on Jessie and Jessie leapt clear at the last moment.

{Remember girls, names.}

"Corrella!" Lizzie shouted running over to Jessie and wrapping her in a hug. The name was fake but the feeling relief was not. Lizzie had never been so scared for her sister.

"Roxanna!" Jessie shouted back and her hug was just as fierce.

"Come on." Lizzie said pulling her up. "That drug won’t last on her."

"Wait!" Verity shouted as the girls stood up and started to go. "Get us out of this!"

Jessie and Lizzie looked at her, looked at each other, shrugged and started to go again.

Forget it bitch, Lizzie thought.

"Please wait!" Serenity pleaded. "I know you have no reason to help my daughter and her friends, but please release me."

{No.}

{At least not right away.}

{It would not be in character.}

{Try to react as Merry would.}

"No." Jessie said as Lizzie looked at her. She tried to think of how Simone would talk. "They are horrible creatures. They deserve what happens to them."

"I’m sorry!" Verity shouted.

"Corrella..." Lizzie started.

"They made me beg for food!" Jessie said, and there was no need to feign the anger in her voice. "They used my body like a rag doll! They would have treated a dog better than me! Let them rot!"

"I didn’t do anything." Serenity said. "If you will not help them please help me."

"And then what?" Jessie demanded taking a step toward them. "Once you get free you’ll catch me again, you’ll catch both of us! You’ll turn us over to that bitch of a daughter of yours!"

"I won’t." Serenity said. "I promise I won’t."

"We can’t trust them." Lizzie said. She took Jessie’s hand and started to pull her away. "You’re right, let them rot."

"I can get you to Dollopolis!" Serenity shouted after they took a few steps.

{Agree reluctantly.}

{We have a slightly different plan.}

{It is in motion but we need time.}

{So take your time freeing them.}

"How do you know about Dollopolis?" Lizzie demanded and was proud of herself for thinking to ask. She had to remember that 'Roxanna didn't know everything 'Corrella' had told them.

"The First Knight has been on Earth." Jessie said. "And the Duchess has been here too. Verity mentioned them to me last night."

"I can get you to them." Serenity said. "You have my word on it."

Lizzie looked at her sister.

"Blood tells. Look at her daughters."

"But this could get us back to the Duchess." Jessie said playing along.

Do Simone and Merry feel this fake when they do this, Lizzie wondered. She felt sure that anyone with a brain would have known that she was lying. It was nearly impossible to choose the right words and she was grateful that she and Lizzie were too small to see their faces clearly. At full size Lizzie was sure that someone would notice how fake she looked.

"Look at them." Lizzie said. "They could squash us."

"We could get home." Jessie said.

{Timing is right.}

{Agree now.}

{Merry and Simone are on their way.}

{As is Goddess of Justice.}

"How would we free you?" Lizzie asked turning to Serenity. "You’re held by stone."

"The necklace and bracelets that my daughter is wearing." Serenity said. "Bring them to me."

Jessie and Lizzie looked at each other and then walked over to the un-conscious Theodora and pulled of the chains. They were halfway to the altar with them when a circle of flame erupted from the ground and surrounded them.

"I’m sorry but I don’t want her helped." Said a tall dark haired man who walked into the torch lit circle.

{Nothing is ever simple is it?}

{This just has to be the Arch Duke Darksun.}

{He's a sorcerer and a misogynist.}

{Be careful girls.}

What the hell was a 'misogynist'? Lizzie wondered.

"Darksun!" Serenity nearly spat the name. "You monster! If I were free…"

"That is one of the reasons I don't want you to be free." The Arch Duke said. He gestured and Theodora floated into the air and the altar grew an extra space to accommodate her. She fitted in on the other side of her mother.

He was handsome. Lizzie couldn't deny that. The Arch Duke was tall, dark haired and had a square jaw and lots of muscles. She could see most of them because he wore a black skin-suit that seemed to have been painted onto his body. She could even see the outline of his penis. He wore a long red cape as well.

"Father?" Theodora asked weakly opening her eyes. "How?"

"A spell." Darksun said. "You didn't torture and kill me Theodora, you strangled one of the stable boys."

"But the answers…"

"Were all designed to lead you here, and to have you do for me what I wanted you to do. You trapped and made helpless your mother and delivered to me the family jewels." He raised his hand and the necklace and bracelets floated over to him. "And as a bonus you have given me two refugees from Dollopolis. I will cheat on my deal with Lord Erobos. I will instead use you all to bring Hellspite back to Earth. He is very interested in anything from Dollolopolis and will pay a high price for these two."

"This is impossible!" Theodora shouted pulling at her bonds. "I planned…"

"You didn't, I did." The Arch Duke said. "I've been planning this from the first day I raped your mother. I taught you well daughter, but not too well."

He picked up the dagger and walked over to them. Slowly he played the dagger up and down Serenity’s legs. Her skirt had fallen nearly to her waist and she squirmed as the metal touched her flesh. Playfully he cut off her panties.

"Braggart you could not have planned this!" Serenity growled squirming.

"Oh not this exactly." The Arch Duke said. "But in a general way. You see Serenity I knew that if I got you pregnant you would not abort the children. I had planned other things for you and the child but then Force Group J interfered. Imagine my shock when I found out that you bore twins?" He sighed with a bit of mock sadness. "But they were girls, not the sons I truly deserved. But then I hit upon a way to torment all three of you and in the end gain more power than I had previously dreamt of. So I took one of them, only one. I knew that the obsessive nature of your character would cause you to neglect the one you had while you searched for the one you lost."

"Right there." Verity snapped.

"Exactly." The Arch Duke laughed. "They have inherited my natural cruelty at least dear wife."

"I am not your wife!" Serenity screamed. "You drugged me! Tortured me! raped me! There were no vows between us!"

"No, just your begging." The Arch Duke said smiling. The man reminded Lizzie of the drug dealer who had once lived in their cellar. They had discovered him one night abusing a drugged Jessie and their father, in a rare moment of parental outrage, had killed the man. They had lived for months on his stash of drugs and money. Lizzie still remembered helping throw him into a hastily dug grave.

"Why did you chose her and not me?" Verity demanded.

"She was closest to me." The Arch Duke said. "I fought my way into the hospital, through Force Group J and took her. Of course your mother could have stopped me."

"The price was all of London." Serenity said coldly. "He was taking you through the portal when I caught him, I had him in the sights of a gun that would have killed him. But he had a nuclear bomb set to go off if he didn’t step through the portal. I had to let him go."

She was crying as she finished and Lizzie felt the woman’s despair. But Verity and Theodora didn’t.

"You bitch!" Verity said.

"A mother shouldn’t value anyone more than her own daughter!" Theodora agreed.

"And the bomb was fake at any rate." The Arch Duke laughed.

"Lizzie." Jessie whispered. She pointed to the flames. "Boost me over, I can jump it."

Lizzie looked at the flames. They weren’t wide and they were only a little higher than they were.

"Will the knives work on him?" Lizzie asked.

"Do you have any other ideas?"

{We do.}

{A good thought Jessie.}

{But not needed.}

{Let this play out.}

"At last they have found some common ground Serenity; they both hate you."

"Shut up!" Verity snapped.

"And they hate me." Darksun laughed. "What a family we have."

"Why did you teach me magic?" Theodora demanded.

"Because I planned for this." The Arch Duke said. He ran the dagger down Serenity’s leg again. "Didn’t you ever wonder why I left this dagger where you could find it? Why I had so few guards on it?" He started to walk around the alter, running the dagger over the bodies of the other bound girls. Their muffled screams were truly pathetic to Lizzie. They were rich, all they had to do in life was keep being rich but they played silly games instead, trying to be evil. She had no sympathy for them.

"This is one of the things I stole from the Legion of Mystics." The Arch Duke said. "This along with the Seal of Orant allowed me to keep them at bay all these years. This dagger can open portals to other worlds. Why did you think I would be so careless with it? I knew that once you killed me your hatred would need another target. I didn’t have to formulate a plan to destroy your mother and sister, you would do that for me. All I had to was watch and wait. I even planted the seed of lust for power in you, by telling you about my dealings with Erobos."

"I… I…" Theodora tried to speak and failed.

"You were what you are; a woman. It was comical to see you try and be an extraordinary one. And now dear wife I will give you one last choice." The Arch Duke said standing in front of her. "Which daughter shall I kill first? Verity, who you neglected or Theodora who you abandoned."

"I will make no choice." Serenity said. "And her name is Truly, not Theodora. You had no right to take her and no right to name her."

"What kind of choice is that?" Verity shouted.

"A weak choice." Theodora said.

"The only choice a mother will ever make." Serenity said. "I will not chose one or the other. Better we all die here, now."

"I will kill Theodora first." Darksun said. "She did try to kill me after all."

He raised his hands and started to chant. But then he stopped. Lizzie looked up and saw what stopped him. Thunderbird 2 was hovering above the alter.

"What in the dark hells is that?" The Arch Duke asked.

The belly of Thunderbird 2 opened and nearly two gallons of water splashed onto the alter. The effect was dramatic and instantaneous. The red runes faded and the stone cracked and started to smoke. Like an ice-cream cone on hot pavement the alter simply melted. A foul smelling steam bubbled forth from it and then it exploded.

The Arch Duke screamed in amazement and then in pain. The blast threw him back a few feet. An arrow was suddenly sticking out of his shoulder. He dropped the dagger and whirled around. Merry seemed to appear directly in front of him. She wearing her Knight Suit, the green jerkin and tights that Simone had designed. The top of her face was covered with a green mask. Merry kneed Darksun in the crotch and grabbed his cape when he started to fall forward. Merry quickly twisted it around his head and then wrapped a rope around his neck. She twisted it in her fists and then started to pull it tight.

The Arch Duke staggered to his feet and his hands started to glow red.

{Get down girls.}

Lizzie and Jessie pressed themselves flat against the ground. Merry started to spin the Arch Duke around, keeping him off balance. He clawed wildly at his throat and launched blast after magical blast from his hands. But there was no way to sight his target, no way to fight back. Merry was shorter than he was and pulled him backward. For a few minutes they played a macabre dance. The Arch Duke threw magical bolt after magical bolt into the air. He shifted his body, flipped Merry over his shoulder, rolled on the ground and even tried stomping on her feet. Merry said nothing but she matched him move for move and never let go of her grip. After maybe five minutes Darksun's arms started to fall to his side and the magical glow around his hands started to fade. Merry spun him around one more time and then flipped him onto the ground. She sat on his back and Lizzie could see the muscles straining in her arms as she pulled the rope tighter and tighter. Merry's face was hidden by a half mask, but Lizzie knew from experience the fierce look it must have held.

At last the Arch Duke stiffened and then fell limp. Merry held on for another few minutes, then she lifted him up and carried him over to one of the gargoyle statues. Lifting the body over her head Merry brought it down on the head of the statue. The crack of breaking bone as his spine hit the stone echoed in the clearing. Merry took the torch out of the statue's hand and held it against the body until the red cape caught on fire. After a few moments the body twitched and jerked as if it were trying to move. Merry slammed the torch against the head and the body at last was still. Lizzie was sure that she saw shapes in the smoke, the Arch Duke being chased by demons, but they were gone quickly.

The sound of a new battle made Lizzie look back. Aphrodite and Theodora were rolling on the ground tearing at each other. Verity was slowly getting to her feet and Serenity was crawling toward something on the ground. The jewelry.

The flames around Lizzie and Jessie had faded. They were free but had no idea what to do.

"No you don't mother!" Theodora screamed. She broke away from Aphrodite-kicking her savagely in the jaw to do so-and ran at her mother.

"Get off her!" Verity screamed and tackled her. Their battle carried them to the ground and over Serenity who was quickly entangled with them.

{Get the jewels and pull them back.}

Lizzie and Jessie moved, running to where the bracelets and necklace were. They grabbed them and started to pull them away from the fighting trio.

Theodora knocked Verity and Serenity's heads together and then rolled over and grabbed the fallen dagger. With a shouted magical word she pointed it at the far end of the clearing. A shimmering black and gray vortex appeared. Theodora ran over to Jessie and Lizzie and grabbed for the jewels. An arrow appeared in her arm.

Theodora screamed but grabbed anyway. Her hand closed around Lizzie and she stood up. Jessie made a grab for her sister but failed. Holding the dagger in one hand and Lizzie in the other Theodora made a run for the portal.

Merry stepped into her path and planted her fist into the girls stomach. Theodora went down gasping, Lizzie rolled free and Merry grabbed the dagger out of Theodora's hand.

For a moment it looked like she might use it on Theodora, but a screaming Serenity tackled Merry. They rolled on the ground wrestling and Theodora stood up and ran to the portal again.

Merry jabbed Serenity in the stomach and then raked her fingers across the other woman's eyes. It was enough pain for Serenity to loose her grip and Merry broke away from her. In two steps she was at the portal and she and Theodora grappled half in and half out of it. For a moment they vanished but then they re-appeared.

With a roar of rage that might have been a curse Aphrodite charged into both of them. The impact pulled Theodora away from Merry and Merry stumbled back out of the portal. With a loud thunderclap it collapsed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Serenity screamed. She stumbled and crawled over to the spot where the portal had been and started tearing at the ground.

"I won't loose you again!" She screamed.

Merry left her and rushed over to where Jessie and Lizzie were laying on the ground.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I guess." Jessie said.

"Can we go home now?" Lizzie asked. She had never felt so tired in her entire life.

"Our rides coming." Merry said as Thunderbird 2 landed near the edge of the trees.

"Where is she?" Serenity screamed charging into Merry. Merry was caught off guard and they rolled over Lizzie and Jessie.

Lizzie managed to push her sister down just as Merry and Serenity rolled over them. The crushing weight caught her at the wrong time. Her leg snapped and so did her arm. Her breath was squeezed out of her chest. Merry and Serenity were quickly away but the pain was there and Lizzie screamed.

Merry reacted to the scream. She head-butted Serenity in the nose and blood poured down the heroines face. Then she grabbed Serenity's arm and jammed it up and down violently. There was an audible popping sound as Serenity's shoulder dislocated.

"MUM!" Verity shouted as her mother fell. She ran toward them and Merry met her with a kick to the stomach.

When Verity fell to the ground Merry planted a knee on her chest and held the dagger against her chin.

"Corrella begged for food and you laughed." Merry said coldly. "You…"

"Merry we must move!"

Lizzie looked up and saw that Simone had helped Jessie up and was looking at Merry.

Merry left Verity and ran over to them, shrinking as she did so. Lizzie was amazed that Merry's outfit shrank with her, and so did the dagger.

"Broken arm and leg, maybe some ribs too." Merry said, she took hold of Lizzie. "This'll hurt."

Lizzie screamed and passed out when Merry picked her up.

Epilogue 1.

"Oh yea, she's been here." Ms. Dream said looking at the smoking corpse. "And she hasn't mellowed much in a half a year." She and Goddess of Justice had been alone in the mansion when the call had come in. A quick message from Simone of Dollopolis. A message in the open, from a pay phone.

"Iron Mistress is in trouble, she needs help. Trace this phone call. She is facing her daughter in battle."

A bit short, but the voice print matched and thee was no response to Earth Force's call to Iron Mistress. After that Goddess had taken them across the Atlantic at a speed that was nearly immeasurable. Ms. Dream had seldom seen her friend push herself so hard. They arrived to find it all over.

"She was tall, blond, she fought fiercely." Serenity said. She leaned into Goddess of Justice and stared numbly at the charred remains of the Arch Duke. Her arm was in a sling and a bandage covered her nose. "She killed him."

"That's what she does." Ms. Dream said. "I think it's her hobby."

"Darksun is dead." Serenity whispered.

"She truly does not seem to like magic users." Goddess of Justice said.

"She didn't kill anyone else though." Ms. Dream said as Tranquility, Judith and Tracy were helped into ambulances. Verity Highfield wrapped in a blanket sat on the ground near where the portal had been. She hadn't said anything to anyone, especially not her mother. It had been for a half-hysterical Tranquility to fill in a lot of the blanks.

"Nineteen years I searched for her." Serenity said. Her voice was numb with shock. "Nineteen years. She hates me. She's evil. My daughter is evil."

"With the Arch Duke dead we can find her." Goddess of Justice said. "She's been taught to be evil, she can be taught to be good."

If Serenity heard her words she didn't show it. Instead she walked over to Verity. Reaching down Serenity started to put her hand on Verity's shoulder, pulled back, and then gently rested the hand there.

"Verity…"

"Don’t touch me!" Verity shouted jumping up. She backed away stumbling slightly but recovering. "Don’t ever talk to me again!"

She ran out of the clearing and after a moment Serenity turned and walked back to Goddess of Justice.

"She needs time." Goddess said hugging her. "She just needs time."

"She needed me and I failed. They needed me and I failed." Tears started to run down her face.

"They're alive." Ms. Dream said.

"Verity needs time." Goddess said again. "My own daughter needed time once as well. Let the shock fade."

"What about Truly?" Serenity said. "Gone through that portal, back to where I can't find her?"

"We might be able to find her with the Arch Duke dead." Goddess of Justice said. "Miss Shadow…"

"Has some explaining to do." Serenity said coldly. Her voice became angry. "Nineteen years and she has looked me straight in the face and lied for all of those years. Every year on Truly and Verity's birthday she has cast her spells. Every year she's raised my hopes and it was all a lie. A LIE!"

Goddess of Justice and Ms. Dream winced at the tone of her voice. It was tinged with hysteria.

"Come, let's go back to the college. You need to rest."

"I must find her!" Serenity shouted. She started to mumble, her words and her voice switching from despair to anger as she talked about her daughters and Miss Shadow.

Ms. Dream reached into her mind and gently pushed Serenity asleep. She fell limply and Goddess of Justice picked her up.

"Really great live we lead isn't it." Ms. Dream said. "Rapes, torture…"

"We'll find Truly for her." Goddess of Justice said. "And Verity will come around in time. The Highfield bloodline has never known a villain."

"Darksun's has." Ms. Dream said.

Goddess of Justice didn't reply as she formed a disk of light beneath them and they floated back toward the school.

Epilogue 2.

Jessie had finally managed to stop shaking and her tears had finally stopped. The danger seemed almost like a bad dream, but at the same time she knew it wasn't. It had been real. She had come close to enslavement, death…

"I want to kill them." Lizzie said weakly. It was hard for her to breathe. Merry had said that one of her ribs was broken.

"Me too." Jessie said. "They made us fail."

"You didn't fail." Simone said.

They were in the cabin of Thunderbird 2. Lizzie lay on one of the bunks, her arms and legs bandaged with splints and her stomach wrapped tightly.

"And that isn't why you want to kill them." Merry said walking into the cabin.

Jessie looked away from her but Merry came over and sat down beside her. Jessie was sitting next to Simone and she pressed into her duchess as much as she could.

"You want to kill them for what they did to you." Merry said. She rested her hand lightly on Jessie's. "You were small and you were helpless and they couldn't have cared less. You were the new toy and toys don't get to complain."

Jessie started to cry again.

"It's all right dear." Simone said hugging her tightly. "You're safe now."

"Merry we're sorry." Lizzie said suddenly. "Those girls, they were just like us. What they did to Jessie…"

"You did to Margarita." Merry said. "But that was then, this is now."

"Guilt doesn't last for ever dears." Simone said. She stood up and went over to a cabinet. Opening it up she took out a Thermos and four cups. "You did something bad and you've made up for it ever since."

"Let it go." Merry said gently. "I have."

{And you did not fail.}

{We told you to replace the I-Pods and you did so.}

{Complications, as Merry has told you are often un-avoidable.}

{As it seems are superheroes.}

"What will happen to those girls now?" Jessie asked.

"Oh I suspect their days of being bitches are gone." Simone said.

{We agree.}

{It will actually be easier to reprogram them now.}

{Trauma such as they went through leaves the mind in a fragile state.}

{Easily manipulated.}

"What about Verity?" Lizzie asked. "We never replaced her I-Pod."

{Special case.}

{It will bear watching.}

{And we have not heard the last of them yet.}

{Especially since Merry grabbed the dagger.}

"Let's drop it in the ocean." Merry suggested.

{No, we have a place to keep it until it is needed.}

{And it will be needed.}

{Verity will not give up.}

{And Goddess of Justice will not fail to help her.}

"What do you mean?" Simone asked.

{We mean that Merry has added yet another person to her kill list.}

{Her reputation is growing.}

{At an alarming rate.}

{Goddess of Justice will see it as a personal mission to get closer to Merry and Dollopolis. She has always done so before in similar situations.}

"Why mistress?" Jessie asked.

{Because Goddess of Justice believes that everyone who is good must side with her.}

{She sees Merry and Simone as good, that they are un-friendly to her is not something she will tolerate.}

{Also she sees in Merry a wild spirit that must be tamed.}

{Even if she does not want the dagger the Legion of Mystics will want it back.}

"What do we do?" Merry asked.

{We are making plans.}

{Do not worry.}

"How long does this coloring last Mistress?" Lizzie said looking at her gold skin.

"I like it." Simone said. "It give's you an exotic look. She started to pour a dark liquid into the cups.

{It was a precaution; it should fade in a week.}

"I kinda like it too." Lizzie said.

"I think it looks better switched." Jessie said. "Gold hair and blue skin."

"Goddess no she'd look like Smurfette." Merry said.

"Who?" Lizzie, Jessie and Simone asked at the same time.

"I'll show you sometime." Merry said sighing.

"Hey, we can be any color can't we mistress?" Lizzie said suddenly.

{Yes.}

"Oh wow!" Jessie said. "We could be like orange and green and we can change off months…"

"Yea, like silver!" Lizzie said.

"Let's not over do it girls." Simone said. She handed each of them a cup and then handed one to Merry. "For now let us drink and rest. Your first mission as Knightlings is over and you did very well." Simone raised her cup. "Drink of success dears, it makes anything taste better."

Jessie drank the hot chocolate and decided the Simone was right.

End.

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