The Scarlet Puppet

Part 8

By Skytower

            A person who is about to waken from a deep sleep stands at a doorway. It is the doorway between two worlds. Whether one world or the other, the sleeping or the waking, is better or worse can never truly be known. For a waking person has little memory of the sleeping world and a sleeping person has little care for the waking world. But the person just about to wake can see both worlds clearly if only for an instant. The option to continue sleeping is nearly always there.

            Wanda Maximoff otherwise known as the Scarlet Witch wanted to stay asleep. Her body, shrunk though it was, was full of aches and covered with dry semen. Still in the back of her mind was the voice of the puppet master. It whispered words of lust into her mind’s ear and stirred frightful passions within her heart.   

            Yes. Sleep she thought would definitely be preferable. But Wanda chose to wake up anyway. She was an Avenger after all, and the world needed her. So drawing upon the inner strength that had carried her through countless battles Wanda stepped through the door and woke up.

            Hearing came first. She heard the steady drone of a newscast, heard the regular fall and rise of a man’s breathing. Then came smell and she found her head filled with beer fumes. Her stomach rebelled at the fumes and had she eaten anything in the past few hours Wanda might have thrown up. Controlling her stomach she paid attention to the rest of her body. She was lying on her side, on something soft. Her head rang with pain and the skin on her chest and part of her face felt like someone had smeared honey over it and left the honey to dry. Opening her eyes was hard. The stuff had covered Wanda’s face and nearly glued them shut. Wanda wiped and peeled the stuff away with her finger. It came away from her skin like melted cheese and once again her stomach protested its revulsion. Once again she controlled herself. Wanda opened her eyes and looked at Johny Watson’s face. It filled her world, the beard, the mouth half-open and the eyes shut. Each time he breathed the smell of stale beer assaulted her. Wanda silently rolled over and sat up. She was on a brass bed set against a wall. At the foot of the bed was a large tv, playing the newscast. Johny Watson lay on the bed, arms and legs splayed out. His nude body, slim and well muscled called to Wanda and the sight of his penis, now limp and docile, filled her mind with images of the sex they had. That her own body was still unclothed didn’t help, but Wanda had been naked for so long she had nearly forgotten what clothes felt like.

            She wanted him again Wanda knew. As long as the Puppet Master had some control over her the Scarlet Witch’s sex drive would be on a high level. But the same willpower, which had woken her up, forced her eyes away from the penis. Suddenly the voice stopped. The cessation of lust was so un-expected Wanda nearly fell to her knees. Mastering herself the Avenger closed her eyes and searched her mind. Instead of sex she felt anger and fear.

            "Enough!" Wanda swore gritting her teeth. She was not a puppet she was not going to be used like one. Taking control of all the emotions she felt the Scarlet Witch trapped them, stuffing them into a small corner of her mind. Then she opened her eyes again. The tv caught her attention and she nearly let her emotions loose again at the sight.

            The building was nothing more than a heap of rubble but Wanda knew the neighborhood well enough. She had visited the Baxter Building hundreds of times and even wrecked she new it.

            "Though it is impossible to confirm at the moment it is believed that the Invisible Woman and her son were in the Baxter Building when it was destroyed." The announcer said.

            Now Wanda truly sank to her knees. The true Sue Richards wasn’t even in New York it was Doom’s robot duplicate that must have perished. But Franklin Richards was no robot. Wanda had babysat him a few times, the bright innocent child who stood at the center of Sue’s life. If he was truly dead…

            The thought died in her mind even as a gasp mixed with a choked sob escaped her throat. Fewer times as she had visited the Baxter Building Wanda had also been a guest at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, home of the X-men. Only a smoking crater was to be seen.

            The images went on for a few minutes. The Pentagon, Avengers Mansion, Atlantis and others all reduced to rubble. But it was the last image that shook Wanda from her stunned state. Castle Doom in Latveria was gone.

            "This is the scene live from Latveria, home of Dr. Doom." The announcer said. "Also hit were headquarters of the criminal organizations known as AIM, Hydra and the Magia. Each attack came from space and was completely un-expected. Who ever is attacking is obviously going after anyone with enough power to fight back."

            Almost on cue there was a small explosion in the center of the ruined castle and when the smoke cleared an armored form emerged. It was Doom. Half his armor was torn away from a blackened body and one arm appeared to be missing entirely. He staggered and would have fallen, but a man appeared next to him. He was Doom’s own height and build wearing armor very similar to Doom’s, but only a hood, not a mask covered his head. Without a look at the camera he put his hand on the armored shoulder of Dr. Doom and they vanished.

            "The best laid plans of mice and men doth often go astray." Wanda quoted softly. She looked around, realizing that now more than ever freedom was her top priority. Johny still lay on the bed and Wanda’s eyes were drawn to the leather restraints at each corner.

            It took time. At her size moving Johny’s arms was like moving huge plastic bags filled with cookie dough. By the time she got the first wrist into a restraint and had it secured Wanda was sweating. But she didn’t stop. The second arm was harder than the first, it was close to the edge of the bed and she nearly fell off twice. But Wanda pulled and tugged and lifted until she was able to put the leather restraint around the wrist and strap it down.

            "Lilliputians strike back." Wanda whispered angrily heading for his legs. It was amazing to her how much she hated Johny. He hadn’t truly rapped her he had merely taken advantage of the situation. But she hated him. Deeply. And the dried itchy stuff covering the upper half of her body and most of her face gave the Avenger even more reason to hate him.

The tv was still on, still giving re-caps with footage she did not want to see. But shutting it off might wake the giant. It was harder with the legs. Not being able to lift them with her arms Wanda laid down and bounced and squirmed until she got her own legs under them. Then she lifted straining every muscle to get his leg to move. An inch at a time it worked and when the last strap was around his ankle and belted securely Wanda collapsed for a moment.

            Johny lay like a giant X on the bed still sleeping away the beer he had drunk. Wanda was tired but she got up and slid down the sheet to the floor. Once on the floor Wanda looked around. Ahead of her was the hallway and Wanda hoped that the smugglers had no pets. The Avenger crept along the wall, trying to ignore how dirty she was. Wanda had not felt this dirty since her battle with Mary the Mud Lady. She stopped and shuddered for a moment at the memory. She had recorded the battle into the Avengers archives, but it was triple locked and could only be read by an Avengers Chairman or the President. Putting the thought from her mind Wanda stepped out into the hallway.

            Though she had been upside down and lust crazed Wanda remembered the path to the room that held the Black Widow. She stepped quietly on the cold metal the formed the corridor. Again Wanda wondered what a metal ship was doing in the middle of the desert. The question stayed in her mind as she walked slowly down the corridor. The passageway had the feel of the 19^th century to it. The rivets that held the steel together were large and solid and there was a slight smell of oil in the air. Gas lamps spaced evenly apart lighted the corridor. She walked past a bathroom/shower. The fittings were straight out of the 19^th century, porcelain and brass. The place was a mess, with toiletries and towels strewn about. Wanda kept going.

            Two more doors down Wanda found the small workshop that she and Natasha had been held in. The Black Widow sat in her cell in the large birdcage. A distant look on her face the slim black haired woman swung back on forth on her perch.

            "Natasha." Wanda called walking into the room.

            "You are free Wanda?" Natasha said getting off of the perch. "How? Where is Johny?"

            "He’s sleeping it off." Wanda said starting to climb the stool that stood by the workbench.

            "You satisfied him?" Natasha asked not keeping the surprise from her voice.

            "Like men always say," Wanda said struggling to the top of the stool, "size doesn’t matter."

            "If we can get free I think I can use their computer to send an email." Natasha said pointing to the imac. "Even their account is password protected we can set up our own. There is a huge stack of AOL disk next to the computer."

            "They must be one of the freeloaders." Wanda said judging the distance from the top of the stool to the workbench."

            "I think it has more to do with their smuggling operation." Natasha said. "It is an easy way to keep the police confused."

            "Maybe." Wanda took a few steps back. Then she ran and jumped. She almost didn’t make it slamming her stomach into the side of the tabletop and hanging on with her arms.

            "I believe the X-men to be our best hope." Natasha said. "Doom most likely has all other possibilities covered."

            "No." Wanda said grunting as she climbed onto the tabletop. "No he doesn’t."

            "What?"

            Wanda sat down as the enormity of what she had seen on the television came to her once more. Her voice went numb as she told Natasha.

            "The Baxter Building, Avengers Mansion, The X-men headquarters, the Pentagon, all gone. I saw the ruins. Johny had left a tv on."

            "Doom?" Natasha asked.

            "No, his castle was hit too, he barely escape alive."

            "Then who?"

            "I don’t know." Wanda said. "I do know that a lot of my friends are gone. The newscaster said that Sue and Franklin were in the Baxter Building. It was Sue’s robot double that had to have been there, but not Sue. But Franklin…" Wanda looked at the Black Widow. "If Sue doesn’t know Natasha I’ll have to tell her. How do I tell her that her son is dead?"

            "We do not know that he is dead." Natasha said. "Many times the people you speak of have cheated death, until we know for sure we can not loose hope."

            Wanda took a deep breath and stood up. Natasha was right. But how right? Being a super hero was a small and dangerous club and Wanda always knew death walked with them. But this was so much death, hitting so many of the few who took up the costume and mask. Despite her knowing Natasha could be right, or rather hoping Natasha could be right, Wanda felt despair eating into her heart.

            "Lets see about getting you out of there." Wanda said forcing her mind to the problem and forcing her heart to be silent.

            It took them nearly an hour to get the key and free Natasha. Wanda stopped briefly to use the water in Natasha’s water dish to clean herself off. It felt good to get a little of the junk off of her skin, but what the Avenger really longed for was a hot shower or bath. It took less time to run into frustration with the computer. Turning it on was easy, but the computer stubbornly demanded a password before it would go any further than the start up screen. A quick search found no other phone or any other way to communicate with the outside world.

            "We might not have much time left." Natasha said as she sat down on the edge of the computer table. "Shirley could be back soon."

            "I know." Wanda said. "Come on. We’ll ask Johny for the password."

            "He will not tell us and at this height we are hardly threatening enough to intimidate him."

            "I have an idea about that." Wanda said.

            Some time later Wanda and Natasha walked into the bedroom. Between them they carried an ivory handled straight razor. Wanda had noticed it as she had walked past the bathroom. It was half her height and would be awkward to handle but by now Wanda felt up to the challenge.

            "Hey ladies." Johny called from the bed. He didn’t look concerned despite his bondage. "You’ve been missing some interesting stuff on the tube."

            "What has been going on?" Wanda asked.

            "We’re being invaded by robots from outer space."

            At the foot of the bed Wanda and Natasha stopped and looked at each other. They had both faced aliens in their careers as heroines. Some like the Kree and the Skrulls were famous, others like the insect-like Brood and the plant-like Gnolls were barely know. Wanda shuddered at the thought of the Gnolls. It had been her first encounter with an alien race and their examination and use of her body had been the cause of many nightmares.

            "How do we know this?" Natasha asked snapping Wanda out of her reverie.

            "Fox news." Johny said. "They’ll be coming back with the press conference in a few minutes. On the tv a commercial blared.

            "We will watch but it changes nothing." Natasha said and Wanda nodded.

            "I wouldn’t trust him as far as I could lift him."

            Natasha gave a small smile at Wanda’s grim joke and together they climbed the bedspread pulling the razor up as they went. It wasn’t an easy climb even though it was only a few feet. Wanda felt the linen fabric against her skin more harshly than when she had climbed down. Now it seemed as if she were climbing a vine with sharp tiny needles. By the time she and Natasha stood on the bed they were both tired. Slumping against Johny’s leg Wanda looked at the tv. Reed Richards face filled the screen. It was the face Wanda expected for she knew Reed truly thought Sue dead. His thoughtful blue eyes were filled with pain and seemed to have sunk somewhat into his skull. The strong jaw quivered as he spoke.

            "What we are dealing with here is a race known as "Autotrons". They are a race of robots that have only one view of any organic species they encounter. If that species does not recognize the Autotron Empire as it’s rightful overlord, that species dies. They make no distinction between any of the races or any of the motives or lives of any human being."

            He paused for a moment and Wanda could feel her own heart break as he went on.

            "Their initial assault was launched from a now destroyed vessel in orbit. Iron Man died destroying the ship. I am not going to name those killed, this is now a war and the information might help the enemy. We have detected an alien armada of 200 ships just entering the ort zone. Defenses are being prepared."

            "Tony." Wanda whispered sinking against Johny’s leg. Cool, suave debonair Tony Stark. She had never had the feelings for him that she’d had toward Captain America. Wanda had sometimes been irritated with Tony’s controlling personality. But he had always been a staunch friend and ally. Now he was dead. It was nearly too much death to handle and only the sound of Dr. Doom’s voice coming from the tv pulled Wanda out of her grieve.

            "Reed Richards is correct." Doom said. He was standing without aid, but his armor was still heavily damaged. "These alien robots care not at all for the petty differences between us. Therefore Doom has allied himself with the remains of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Not only will I aid, but so too will my son."

            Wanda gasped as the next person stepped up to the microphone. He so clearly resembled photographs of Victor Von Doom before the accident that destroyed his face that there was no doubt as to his lineage. The brown hair and fathomless brown eyes both were the features of an incredibly handsome face. When he spoke the voice was very much like Doom’s, but with the bitterness or the metallic echo that his father had.

            "I am Victor Von Doom the second." He said looking straight into the camera and for a moment Wanda was reminded of Captain America. "Because of my father’s many enemies I was raised in secret after my mother was killed by agents of Baron Von Struker. But now I will stand with my father and his former enemies against this common foe. I…"

            There was a commotion out of camera range. Wanda had a brief glimpse of an energy ray striking Dr. Doom but then the screen went black.

            "Big time trouble." Johny said. "You little ladies better let me go."

            "Tell us the access code to the computer." Wanda snapped.

            "Forget it Thumbalina."

            Wanda and Natasha walked between his legs and then climbed up onto his stomach. Natasha grabbed a hand full of his pubic hairs and jerked them straight.

            "Tell us." Wanda said swinging the razor like a scythe. The hairs came away very close to the skin. "Because the longer we have to do this, the worse my aim is going to get."

            Johny swallowed as Natasha grabbed another fist full of hair.

            For the next half-hour or so Wanda and Natasha continued their unorthodox barbering. Swinging the razor was much like handling her staff for Wanda so Johny was in little real danger of mutilation. Not that she was going to let him know that. Natasha would grab as many hairs as she could, pull them taunt and Wanda would swing the razor. Soon the upper base of Johny’s penis was bare and the shrunken heroines started to work their way clockwise. A part of Wanda still wanted to take the penis and satisfy herself, but she held that part ruthlessly under control. It helped somewhat that flaccid and half-bald the penis looked some bizarre piece of modern art. When they reached the 3 o’clock position Wanda jumped down between his legs while Natasha took hold of the head and pulled it up. It was grotesquely comical to see the former soviet spy use a headlock to grab and pull the penis back. It was harder not to cut him without Natasha holding the hairs straight but Wanda was careful. Then something happened that shocked her, just when Wanda thought she was beyond being shocked.

            The penis twitched once, twice, thrice. Then Natasha lost her grip as the male member became erect.

            "This is turning you on!" Wanda exclaimed.

            Johny smiled and gave a half-apologetic shrug.

            Wanda dropped the razor but before she could say a word another voice came into the room. Harsh with a guttural accent the voice carried in its tones near absolute evil and complete contempt.

            "He is like all Americans. Weak and perverted."

            Wanda looked up to see the Red Skull standing in the doorway. Captain America’s greatest foe wore a baggy green jumpsuit with a black belt and black boots. His sneer was conveyed through the mask and his cold blue eyes held neither mercy nor any hint of a soul.

To be continued…