Chapter 4  The Sinking of the Dynamic Duo

“Time’s up,” said Kyla Smith.  Her friend, Natassia Green nodded.  The two women were better known by their superheroine names of the Blue Avenger and Nova.  The Jade Dragon had been gone her half-hour and there was no sign of her.  Natassia plunked a nickel into the pay phone she was standing next to.  The phone was picked up on the first ring. 

“Hello,” answered Suzi Kendall, also known as the Scarlet Falcon. 

“Sun Lin is not back from her mission,” said Nova, using the Jade Dragon’s real name.  “But don’t bother with the police, they went into the building fifteen minutes ago.  Something funny is happening, but we don’t know what.  We’re going in to find out.”

“Wait until I get there,” said Suzi.

“No time,” answered Nova.  “Sun Lin could be in real trouble.  We have to go now.”

“OK,” answered Suzi.  “But I’m coming.  I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”  She hung up the phone.

“Suzi’s coming, but we better get started,” said Nova. 

“Right,” said the Blue Avenger.  The two women strode openly toward the building. 


They were a striking pair.  Both women were tall, Nova standing about five foot ten and the Blue Avenger about an inch less.  Both had jet-black hair, almost oriental in hue.  Natassia’s figure was fuller than Kyla’s, but both women were beautifully proportioned.  Neither was in costume; it would have been a bit too obvious to a passer by.  They were ready for a quick change, however, and wore the main components of their costumes beneath their street clothes.  The rest of their outfits were carried in their handbags. 

As they approached the building they slowed.  They had seen about a dozen police officers enter the front door.  They had originally taken that as a good sign.  It was part of Sun Lin’s plan.  But the oriental superheroine had not come out of the building on schedule.  Nor had any of the cops.  That seemed strange.  When dealing with super villains it was best to be cautious and the Black Leopard and Ivan Retinoff fitted that description. 

They entered the foyer.  There was no one in sight.  Where was everyone?  Natassia began to unbutton her blouse.  “Let’s change here,” she said.  Within a few seconds she had stripped off her outer layer of clothing and stood revealed in the stark white and black costume of Nova.  Kyla followed suit and was soon clad in her skintight blue outfit.  Both women took their cowls out of their purses and tucked their long hair up inside.  Now they were ready.

“Where from here?” asked Kyla.  “Maybe the elevator…”

“A little bit obvious perhaps,” interrupted Natassia, “The stairs might be better.”

Kyla agreed with this choice.  They started up, Natassia in the lead.  If the staircase was booby-trapped it was better that she meet the challenge due to the super strength given her by the mystic jewel she wore in a circlet of silver around her head.  She had previously worn it on a pendant between her impressive breasts, but had found the silver headband to be more esthetically pleasing.  She had had to wear the pendant under her costume to prevent it being torn loose in encounters with criminals.  But no one could see the incredible jewel there, and Natassia felt that such a talisman should not be hidden away.  The circlet was attached to her cowl, and so was just as secure there as it was when she had hidden it, or so she hoped. 

Kyla had no such magical charm.  Her talent was that of invisibility.  She could cloud the minds of those around her, concealing her from any enemy.  Other than that she had no special skills although she had been undergoing rigorous training under the guidance of the Jade Dragon and her martial arts mentor, Master Zhou.  However, her skills were still rudimentary compared to those of the Jade Dragon or Natassia. 

They decided to head for the top floors since that was where the Black Leopard was rumored to have her living quarters, and it was also the part of the building where they had seen the Jade Dragon enter.  They encountered no obstacles on the first flight of stairs, but on the second flight Natassia triggered a trap.  A large slab of the roof dropped directly on top of the two superheroines.  If it had been anyone else but Natassia, the trap would have proved fatal.  But she caught the descending deadfall and held it up while Kyla scuttled underneath.  Even so, it was a near thing.  The chunk of concrete that had fallen weighed over a thousand pounds.  It was just within the limits of her enhanced strength to deal with it.  Once Kyla was safe, Natassia let it fall behind her and continued up the stairs.

The next trap was just as nasty.  From the side of the staircase razor-edged spikes shot out.  However, the mysterious power of the Dragon’s Eye, the gem worn by Natassia gave her more than just tremendous strength it also gave her lightning reflexes.  Even as the trap was launched, she stepped back, and the steel daggers struck nothing more than empty air.  Stepping forward, she took the steel bars in her hands and bent the heavy metal out of the way.  Then she and Kyla proceeded.  There were a number of similar traps, but she and her companion avoided them all.  Finally they came to the stairway leading to the fourth floor.  Here they ran into a barrier.  A thick steel door blocked further progress up the stairs.  Fearing an even more deadly trap they decided to take the entry door into the fourth floor corridor. 

The corridor seemed deserted, but both women were wary of further traps, and so it was with supreme caution that they moved slowly down the hallway.  Suddenly to their immense surprise there was a musical “bing” and the elevator door opened.  A young redheaded woman stepped out of the elevator.  Spotting the two heroines she moved quickly toward them.  “It’s about time you got here,” she said.  “Why didn’t you take the elevator?’

“Uh, we… never mind,” said Natassia.  “Who are you?”

“I’m Violet Chambers.  I thought you were supposed to be rescuing me.  Your friend the Jade Dragon was here about three-quarters of an hour ago.”

“Where are the police?” asked Kyla.  “We saw a bunch of them entering the building.”

“Oh them,” said Violet.  “They were supposed to escort me to the street where I would be safe, but all of them got caught in the first trap on the way down.  They are somewhere between this floor and the one above.”

“That would explain that steel door across the staircase,” said Kyla.  “How did you manage to escape?”

“I was last in line.  Just as the roof came down I was able to jump back, but the cops got trapped.”

“Where is the Black Leopard?” asked Natassia. 

“On the sixth floor.  But I think you better take the elevator.”

Natassia and Kyla both nodded.  “Alright,” Natassia said, “we’ll head up.  You better stay here.”

“Nothing doing,” the redhead replied.  “I’m going with you.  I should be safe with two superheroines shouldn’t I?”

Natassia thought for a second and then nodded.  “OK, but try to stay out of the way.  This could be dangerous.”

The three women stepped into the elevator.  It was Violet who pushed the button for the sixth floor.  The elevator began to move, but instead of going up it began to move down.  Violet punched the button again, but the elevator refused to change direction.  “Maybe someone on a lower floor pushed the elevator call button,” suggested Kyla.

“Maybe,” said Natassia dubiously.  She did not like this.  It was exactly the sort of trap that someone like the Black Leopard would set.

The elevator continued all the way to the basement and kept on going.  Apparently there was a subbasement that was not listed on the indicator lights.  Natassia guessed that the elevator dropped at least three more levels.  She looked at the roof, but could see no sign of any access hatch in the ceiling.  The sides of the elevator were smooth steel.  It was a perfect jail even for someone as strong as she was. 

The elevator stopped.  What now?  The three women looked expectantly at the door, but it remained closed.  Natassia tested the door, pushing against it with all her strength, but she was not able to move it even a millimeter.  She began to check the rest of the compartment, looking for any kind of seam or indentation that might indicate some sort of weakness she could exploit.  There were none.  Whoever had designed the elevator had created a perfect trap, and she and Kyla had walked right into it.  It was obvious now why Violet had not been trapped in it.  She was not worth trapping.  The elevator had been designed to catch bigger prey, like Kyla and herself. 

There was a click and a gurgling sound.  The three women looked at the floor.  A number of small holes had appeared in its smooth surface and through these small holes water bubbled.  “Jesus,” exclaimed Violet, “she’s trying to drown us.”

Natassia and Kyla had to agree, but they didn’t waste time on exclamations.  Instead they began to methodically tap the sides of the elevator.  “What are you doing?” Violet asked. 

“Looking for a thin spot,” said Kyla.  “It will make a hollow sound.”

Violet joined them in the tapping, but none of them were able to find any weakness in the metal sides.  By now the water was up to the waists of the two heroines and lapping at Violet’s breasts.  It was freezing cold, almost as if it had been refrigerated.  Desperate now, the three women tapped at the sides.  Violet started to shiver and moan with the cold.  Natassia picked her up and placed her on her shoulders.  “Check the ceiling, Violet.  Maybe there is a hatch there.”

Violet did as she was told.  But the ceiling gave back a sound that was just as solid as that of the walls.  The water continued to rise.  It was now up to the necks of the two heroines.  Soon they would have to swim to keep from drowning, but if the water kept rising it would trap them near the ceiling.  It seemed that they were doomed.  A horrible thought went through the minds of all three women.  Were they going to be drowned like rats?

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