The Scarlet Puppet

Part 5

By

Skytower

            Wanda was sitting by Sue’s bedside when Sue woke up. There were three reasons for this. The first was the Wanda had seen her friend go through five agonizing hours strapped in Dr. Doom’s mind scanning devices. As a founding member of the Fantastic Four Susan Storm Richards was a highly experienced superheroine. Wanda knew it would not be the first time she would wake up after having her brain deep-fried. But having a friend nearby might make it a bit easier. Especially since Wanda had securely fastened Sue to the four corners of the bed.

            That was the second reason. When Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow recovered from Dr. Doom’s mind scanner she had reverted back to a time in her memory when the Black Widow had been a Soviet spy. Natasha had nearly killed Wanda before reverting to the identity of Nancy Rushman, an un-assuming schoolteacher. Susan had never been a Soviet spy (at least as far as Wanda knew) and her fighting skills were nowhere near those of the Black Widow, but Wanda wasn’t taking any chances. The Scarlet Witch had not always been a heroine. For a time she had been a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. If Sue woke up with only that knowledge there would most likely be a fight.

            The third reason was the one Wanda didn’t really want to think about. There were only two bedrooms in the Victorian dollhouse. Nancy was using one and Wanda knew if she slept with Nancy she would force the other woman to engage in lesbian sex. Not out of any genuine gay impulse on Wanda’s part. It would be because the Puppet Master had fashioned a voodoo like puppet of Wanda. He commanded her in subtle ways and one of those ways was increased sexual desire. Nancy had already found out the hard way what that meant and every time she looked at Wanda she blushed.

            So after tying Sue spread eagle to the brass bed Wanda sat down on the plush Victorian couch and eased herself into a half sleep. She had decided against using the torture rack in the basement. Sue was her friend after all.

            A moan caused Scarlet to open her eyes. On the bed the body of Sue Richards moved slowly as she awoke. Though Sue was an inch taller than Wanda (the shrinking effect had left them all with their natural height differences intact) she was slimmer. Her breasts were small and her aureoles a very light beige compared to Wanda’s deep brown ones. Wanda had been surprised to see that Sue had shaved her pubic area completely. Heroines normally kept that part of their body well trimmed, with the type of costumes they wore it was a necessity, but Wanda never guessed Sue shaved herself completely. Wanda wondered if it had anything to do with the short butch cut Sue had taken to wearing lately. At least Sue hadn’t colored her blonde hair.

            Sue opened her eyes and it took a moment for the blue in them to truly focus. Then she became aware of her bonds. Sue gave them an experimental tug before looking questioningly at Wanda.

            "I had to take the precaution." Wanda said. "When Natasha woke up after Dr. Doom’s mind scan she went crazy and attacked me.

            "Doom." Sue groaned the word and lay back against the pillow. "We should have known."

            "Should have known?" Wanda asked untying Sue’s wrist.

            "He’s been acting strange the past few months." Sue said. "He used his robots to save Paris from a H-Bomb some terrorist had. He cleaned up an oil spill and donated the technology to do to the UN."

            "Months?" Wanda asked a sick feeling starting to grow in her stomach. "Sue, what is the date?"

            Sue told her and Wanda sank back into the chair. There had been no way to tell how long she’d been a shrunken captive, but the Scarlet Witch had thought that at most it was 2 months. Maybe 2 and a half. She’d been captive for 8 months.

            "Wanda?" Sue asked struggling with the ropes that held her ankles.

            "Oh, sorry." Wanda got up and finished untying her. "I’ve been here for 8 months Sue. What’s been going on?"

            "Too much." Sue said. "But now at least some of it is starting to make sense."

            "Wanda?"

            Both Sue and Wanda looked up to see Nancy standing in the doorway. A small tissue served as an apron.

            "Sue this is Nancy." Wanda said quickly. "Nancy, Sue Richards."

            "Hi." Nancy said.

            "Hello." Sue answered back after reading the warning in Wanda’s voice.

            "I’ve just started breakfast, does you friend like cinnamon toast or I could try an omelet."

            "Toast would be good." Sue said.

            "I’ll have the omelet." Wanda said.

            "Ok." Nancy edged out of the room. "When you’re done… ah… playing, it’ll be ready."

            Blushing red she retreated into the corridor and slipped out of sight.

            "Side effects?" Sue asked looking after her.

            "Side effects." Wanda replied.

            "Here you go." Nancy said putting the plate down in front of Sue.

            "Thank you." Sue said.

            "I’ll be making the beds." Nancy said moving out of the kitchen while staying as far away from Wanda she could.

            Wanda sighed and started to eat. As usual the omelet was delicious.

            "She really doesn’t believe that you were forced into it." Sue said. Wanda had told her much of what had been going on before they came downstairs.

            "Natasha would. Nancy doesn’t." Wanda put down her fork, her patience gone. "Sue, tell me what has been going on?"

            Sue finished the piece of toast she was eating, clearly stalling, before answering.

            "Well, for starters there is you and Ben."

            "Me and Ben? As in Ben Grim?"

            Sue nodded.

            "The wedding is next week."

            "I’m marrying the Thing!" Wanda exclaimed. Sue nodded. Wanda leaned back in her chair and nearly tipped it over. She liked Ben, in fact she admired him. But marriage? "What about Alicia?"

            "She’s dead. A car accident 6 months ago."

            "I must have caught Ben on the rebound." Wanda said numbly.

            "I thought so too at first, but…" Sue shrugged. "The more time went on, the more in love the two of you seemed."

            "Damn Doom to hell and back!" Wanda swore. Standing up she started to pace. "What will Ben think when he finds out?" She stopped and turned back to Sue. "What about my brother? How does he feel about it?"

            "He wasn’t happy." Sue said. "Not at first."

            Well that at least hadn’t changed. Wanda’s brother Pietro, also known as Quicksilver, was very protective of his sister. He had thrown a fit when she fell in love with and married the android Vision. Pietro was a chauvinist at heart. It had taken years for the rift to heal after Wanda defied him to marry the android.

            "And now?"

            "He and Ben wrecked a couple of buildings, but they seem ok now."

            Wanda sat down and buried her face in her hands. "My father?"

            "He’s thrilled. He’s going to give you away at the wedding."

            "Huh?" Wanda looked up, her eyes wide with shock.

            "Magneto’s been a lot easier to live with ever since he married the Black Widow."

            "Son of a BITCH!" Wanda shouted bringing her fist down on the table.

            "A lot of things are starting to make sense now." Sue said finishing her toast. "Doom’s been softening of late, so has Magneto… Latveria’s not even on the list of rogue states anymore."

            "My father is going to make love to a robot." Wanda snarled trying to force the image out of her mind. Her stomach broiled in revulsion.

            "Has made." Sue said. "They were married 2 months ago."

            "I’ve got to get out of here." Wanda said.

            "Why haven’t you?" Sue asked. "Just because you’re small…"

            "Try using your powers." Wanda snapped.

            Puzzled Sue concentrated for a moment. Then a dawning look of realization came to her face. Resolutely she closed her eyes and concentrated again. This time her body shimmered into a ghostly phantasm, as if she were made from frosted glass. The effort cost her and Sue let out the breath she had been holding. Instantly her body changed to normal once more.

            "Doom’s treatment has taken away most of our powers." Wanda said.

            "He’s done this before." Sue said taking a huge gulp from her glass of milk. "It’s not physical, it’s a form deep hypnosis. But still I’m sure we can get out of a cellar."

            "The sleep field keeps us unconscious when the Puppet Master isn’t around." Wanda said. "I figured out a way around that, but there is another problem."

            "Nancy?" Sue guessed.

            "Nancy." Wanda said. She must have let the irritation show in her voice.

            "She can’t be that bad Wanda. She is still Natasha after all."

            "She’s Miss Suzzy Homemaker 1950!" Wanda shouted. "It’s like living with Marcia Brady! She cleans the rooms, makes the beds… for heavens sake Sue she dust the library books! Every DAY! She keeps reading romantic novels…"

            "I read romantic novels." Sue pointed out.

            "Out loud? She corrects my English." Wanda stood up and spread her arms out. "Look at me Sue! I’m a prisoner and I’m gaining weight! Prisoners aren’t supposed to be gaining weight! If I even mention the word escape she starts crying! And now thanks to that pervert and his radioactive clay she thinks I’m a lesbian maniac who’s going to rape her every night!"

            Out of breath Wanda collapsed down in the chair and buried her face into her hands. For a few minutes she did nothing but breath. Then she looked up.

            "You done?" Sue asked calmly finishing her toast.

            "Yea I’m done." Wanda said taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Thanks, I really needed to get that out of my system."

            "I got that feeling." Sue replied dryly.

            "It should be simple enough." Wanda said. "I know where we are, Jetmore Kansas, we just need to get to a telephone. But I couldn’t get out of here alone and I think Nancy likes it here."

            "Well your not alone now." Sue said.

            "And I don’t like it here thank you very much." Nancy said appearing in the doorway. "But I’m not a superhero. I am a school teacher." She walked over to Wanda barely controlled fury evident by the way her body shook. "And I like things neat! And I read aloud because it’s good practice for sitting in front of a bunch of children! And I cry when I’m scared and a man 10 times my size scares me to death!" She shook her finger in Wanda’s face. "And I don’t think you’re a lesbian maniac, I think you’re a mean, uncouth, self centered HUSSY!" Shaking Nancy took Sue’s dish and quickly washed it and put it on the rack to dry.

            "Just because I try to make the best of a bad situation doesn’t mean I’m a cry baby. You try teaching some time. You’d break in an hour!"

            Shutting off the water Nancy whirled around and stalked out of the room. After a moment she stuck her head back in.

            "You go ahead and escape, at least I won’t have to clean up after you anymore. You could have at least dried the dishes once in a while you know."

            With that and a stamp of her foot she was gone leaving Wanda staring at the doorway, her mouth hanging open and Sue trying desperately not to laugh.

            While Wanda was still trying to cope with Nancy’s lecture the door to the cellar opened and Phillip Masters walked down the stairs.

            "So, she is awake." He said looking at Sue. Sue blushed as he gazed at her nude body, but stood and faced him as Wanda did making move to hide herself.

            "I thought you said Doom was going to make sure your step-daughter was happy." Wanda said. "Sue says she died in a car accident."

            "One of Doom’s robots." The Puppet Master said. "At the moment my daughter is in a remote Latverian village, teaching art to small children. She has no memory of the Fantastic Four or that orange lump."

            "Ben loved your daughter." Sue said.

            "Even if that were so what kind of life did he ever offer her? How many times did his enemies use her as a hostage? Did he ever propose marriage?"

            "He was scared."

            "All my daughter was good for as far as the Fantastic Four was concerned was as a babysitter for your brat."

            Sue took a step forward but Wanda held her back.

            "And you kept her safe playing around with that radioactive clay?" Wanda demanded.

            "Shut up." Masters said. "Or I’ll show you what else my clay can do." He placed a set of books on the table in the library. "Those are your scripts. I’ll give you the rest of the day to study them. We re-hearse tomorrow."

            With that he turned and stormed back up the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

            "What a bitter old man." Sue said.

            "Come on." Wanda said. "Let’s go see what play he wants us to do."

            "It’s "A midsummer’s night dream." Nancy said as Sue and Wanda walked into the library. She was sitting at the table reading one of the scripts.

            "I haven’t played in that since high school." Sue said picking up a script. "This might not be so bad."

            "Wait’ll you get into make up." Wanda said. She sat down and picked up a script.

            "I’m sorry Nancy." She mumbled.

            "It’s ok." Nancy said with a toss of her head, her tone-of-voice making it clear things were not settled between them.

            This is ridiculous, Wanda thought. She’s not even a real person, she’s someone Natasha thought up as a cover. A Barbie doll would be more real.

            The trouble with lying to yourself, as Wanda knew quite well because she was lying to herself, was that you know your lying. Nancy was a part of Natasha. Nancy was the person Natasha could have been if things had gone differently. If she didn’t have the Black Widow’s flair for the dramatic, her love of danger and zest for life Nancy did have the courage to make the best of a bad situation. She had been treating Nancy like an annoying kid sister and for the first time Wanda realized it.

            "I was wrong." Sue said, shaking Wanda from her thoughts. "I’ve never done this version."

            "Oh my god!" Nancy said her voice rising a little higher than normal. "Titania doesn’t do this to Hellena! Titania doesn’t do this to anyone!"

            "What are you talking about?" Wanda asked.

            "Take a look at page 14." Sue said. "The stage directions."

            "Titania takes Hellena into her arms and slowly pushes Hellena to her knees…" Wanda trailed off and looked at them. "Oh. He’s changed it into Debbie Does Shakespeare."

            "I can’t do that!" Nancy said going a few pages ahead. "My body won’t even bend that way!"

            "What?"

            "Page 22." Sue said absently. She seemed to be engrossed in the script.

            Wanda skipped ahead and read the page.

            "Yes it can." She said. "But you’ll have a lot of muscle ache afterwards." Wanda felt a pang of guilt as she heard Nancy gasp in shock.

            "We have to escape." Sue said. "Tonight."

            "Escape?" Nancy’s faced went white.

            "It’s either that or we do what’s listed on page 30." Sue said.

            Both Wanda and Nancy skipped forward to page 30.

            "Escape." They both said at the same time.

            Twenty minutes later Wanda was hanging upside-down. Bellow her, the floor seemed a mile away. She was dangling in the air on the far side of the dollhouse. Under the table that he house was set on Wanda could see the machine that generated the sleep field. It was cold dark metal, like most of Dr. Doom’s machines. Silver and gold glistened here and there in the dim light. A strange metal sculpture of what looked to be copper sat in the center. Attached to the pad were two small wires. Wanda had noted the machines’ design before. Every time the Puppet Master had carried her from the house to his workbench she had studied it, searching for a weakness.

            "Can you see it?" Sue called.

            "Yes." "Wanda called back glancing up. Sue was hanging half outside the window her hands clasped tightly around Wanda’s ankles. Behind her in the house Nancy had a firm grip (Wanda hoped) on Sue’s legs. Wanda almost laughed at the thought of what Nancy was looking at. Then she realized that Sue had a similar and better view on Wanda’s body.

            "I hate hanging upside down." Wanda said. Her hair got into her eyes and her breast felt awkward. Taking a deep breath she tried to ignore both that and the blood rushing to her head. She held both her arms out and gestured at the two wires connecting the aerial. She focused on one of them. Deep with in her body and mind the Scarlet Witch built a replica of the wire. Just one wire. She felt the metal in her hands, tasted it on her tongue. Scarlet felt the smoothness of the insulation, the restless motions of the electrons as the metal vibrated slightly. Pain was building in Scarlet’s head but she paid it little head. Instead she focused on the wire. She gathered moisture around it, then eased the moisture past the insulation and onto the metal. Then into the metal. The Scarlet Witch pushed time forward, altering the reality around the wire so that decades passed in minutes. Scarlet felt the wire corrode, the metal turning sour in her mouth and rough in her hands.

            But she didn’t complete the job. Just before it was about to break Wanda released her hold on the wire. The energy that the Scarlet Witch had been controlling rebelled and suddenly the mutant was assaulted from all sides. But it was battle Wanda was used to. Wanda tamed the energy, pulled it back into her body as if she was swallowing some bitter medicine mixed with sweet wine.

            Before Dr. Doom’s mental conditioning Wanda would have done all of that in minutes with barely an effort. Now her body felt like it had run a marathon. She was bathed in sweat and her arms felt like stone.

            "Do… Done." She called to Sue.

            Wanda barely felt herself being pulled up into the dollhouse.

            Sue was waiting next to Wanda’s bed when she woke up. It was night. Wanda could see the cellar illuminated through the window.

            "How are you feeling?" Sue asked.

            "Ok." Wanda said sitting up. She smiled. "At least you didn’t tie me up."

            "I’m sure I’ll return the favor someday." Sue said smiling. "Come on, Nancy is waiting for us on the roof."

            The roof of the dollhouse was a widow’s walk. Spiked gothic ironwork made Wanda feel as if she should be wearing a Victorian dress. Then again, she thought, it would be nice to wear anything for change. She’d almost gotten used to being constantly naked, but standing on the roof made her feel more vulnerable. When they stood on it the entire cellar was revealed in a panorama that reminded Wanda just how small she was. Nancy was waiting for them and handed Wanda and Sue small blue plastic cases.

            "Dental floss?" Wanda asked.

            "Food." Nancy said.

            "Oral B Satin Tape. 25m/27yd." Wanda read. Nancy she saw had added padding to one side of the case and also shoulder straps.

            "We’ll need something to eat." Nancy said. "Mine has water, yours has peanut butter and Sue’s has some crackers I made. Also I found some old wooden matches by the library window. And I got one of his cigarettes for a torch." She held up the cigarette tied up with the matches.

            "Where did you get the straps and the padding?" Wanda asked.

            "I cut up some of the chairs in the library." Nancy said.

            "You have got to watch Martha Stewart more often Wanda." Sue told her.

            Wanda stifled a response as she put the improvised backpack on. Where the hell was all this resourcefulness for the past few months she wondered.

            "Ok now link hands with me." Sue said taking hold of Wanda’s hand. She took hold of Nancy’s hand. "I’m pretty sure my forcefield will work, but it won’t be visible and it might not be too solid."

            "We’re ready." Wanda said.

            "Nancy?"

            "I’m… I… I’m ready." Nancy said stuttering slightly.

            The Invisible Woman closed her eyes and concentrated. Visibly nothing happened. Audibly nothing happened. But a few moments later Sue stepped off of the roof and out into nothingness. She didn’t fall. Wanda and Nancy followed slowly and Wanda could feel Nancy’s hand shaking. She didn’t blame her. Wanda was reminded of the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the hero steps onto a bridge he isn’t sure is there.

            "Gosh!" Nancy whispered.

            "Shush." Wanda snapped.

            They walked on and though the span was only about 16 feet to the three women it might have been the length of the Grand Canyon. By the time Sue was a few steps away from the stone ledge that bordered the window her grip on Wanda’s hand was painful. It was almost as if Sue was trying to draw strength from her. Her steps became less steady, her balance precarious.

            When they were only a step away from the ledge Wanda heeded an inner warning. She grabbed Nancy around the waist and leapt even as she pushed Sue forward. They landed in a heap on the stone. For a few minutes they just laid there. Then Nancy sat up. Her face was pale and her entire body was shaking.

            "Do you two do this sort of thing all the time?"

            "More or less." Sue admitted taking in deep gulps of air.

            "Why?"

            "Because we can’t fly." Wanda growled.

…To be continued

            Next: Now through the window to safety, but as Author Dent once said: "This must be some strange usage of the word "Safe" that I was previously un-aware of."