Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
He stopped. Natassia was
no longer screaming. She had
gone limp, blood streaming from her many
wounds.
Brick took the
Dragon’s
Eye from his pocket. He
seemed to regain some of his control.
A thought had just entered his primitive criminal
mind. What if he put on the
pendant? It might make him
invulnerable to harm. It might
make him the strongest and most powerful criminal on
earth. He raised the gleaming
gem before his eyes. The pendant
was far too small to fit around his bull neck, but perhaps he only needed
to wear the stone and not the rest of the
ornament.
He caressed the green stone. To
his surprise, it was not cold, as he expected it to be, but rather warm as
if radiating some sort of energy.
Even as he looked the stone seemed to brighten, glowing with an eerie
light.
“It’s the stone,” he
thought. “I don’t need
the rest of the pendant.”
He reached into his pocket and took out a large
jackknife. Inserting the blade
into the gap between the stone and its gold setting, he pried it
loose. He turned to one of his
henchmen. “Give me your
tie,” he ordered.
“Sure boss,” answered the thug, stripping off his brightly colored
necktie.
Brick cut a small slit between the folds of material making up the tie and
placed the glowing stone into the cavity.
“This oughta do it,” he said.
He tied the two ends of the tie together. “I’m gonna be the most
powerful man on earth!” he shouted, as he slipped it over his
head.
The result was not what Brick expected.
There was no feeling of strength flowing from the
stone. Instead, he felt weak
and nauseous. He swayed unsteadily,
and then suddenly buckled over clutching his
stomach. Retching, he spewed
his guts over the concrete floor.
His throat seemed to be
constricting. Soon it was so
tight he could hardly breathe.
Gasping, he tore the tie from his neck, and fell to his
knees. He could no longer
stand. Pitching forward, he sprawled
semiconscious onto the floor.
Around the fallen hoodlum, pandemonium briefly reigned as Brick’s henchmen
ran to help their fallen boss. None
of the thugs had much love for the brutal crimelord, but all of them saw
his collapse as an opportunity to curry favor with
him.
The confusion gave the Jade Dragon the extra time that she
needed. She used her free hands
to untie the ropes holding her ankles.
Free from her bonds, she rolled off the
tabletop. A few feet away was
a long counter. On its surface
were a number of sharp instruments of
torture. It was but the work
of a few seconds to grab one of these and use its sharp blade to free Suzi
and Kyla.
None of the heroines felt much like taking on Brick Henson and his goons
in the condition they were in, but there was no way that they were going
to leave without making some attempt to rescue the new heroine that Brick
had so brutally assaulted. It
was at the moment that they were considering their next move that one of
Brick’s henchmen suddenly noticed
them. In a voice bordering on
panic the thug screamed the alarm.
Now there was no choice, they would have to
fight!
Natassia screamed as the lash cut into
her. Her beautiful body was being
destroyed by the brutal crime boss.
Blood poured from the deep gashes the scourge had ripped in her smooth
skin. Her breasts, shoulders,
and belly were covered with bleeding
welts. Her knowledge of the brutality
of
She must have only been unconscious for a few
minutes. She was awakened by
shouts and screams. An incredible
sight greeted her eyes. Groveling
on the floor in front of her was Brick
Henson. He was lying in a huge
pool of his own vomit. Across
the room two women, naked except for their masks, were battling with about
twenty of Brick’s henchmen.
Considering what had been done to each of them, they had made an amazing
recovery. Natassia marveled at
the incredible strength of will and body that was being displayed by the
Jade Dragon and Scarlet Falcon as they fought against overwhelming
odds.
The third woman was missing.
Natassia wondered at this for a second until she saw a number of
Brick’s men stumble and fall for no apparent
reason. Then she
understood. The Blue Avenger
was there, but invisible as usual.
Most of Brick’s men were unarmed.
It was a strange situation for a gang of thugs, but Brick had a morbid
fear of being bumped off by his own troops and forbade all but a few of the
most trusted of his squad of goons to carry guns in his
presence. As a result, the contest
boiled down to hand-to-hand combat, and in this area the Jade Dragon and
Scarlet Falcon held a decisive advantage.
The two women tore into the assembled thugs like avenging angels,
striking down all who opposed them.
A couple of Brick’s close lieutenants drew their guns and fired
off a couple of rounds, but in the confused melee none of the bullets came
anywhere close to hitting either woman.
And then the Blue Avenger was upon them, striking
invisibly. The combined assault
was too much for most of the gangsters.
Those who were still able took to their heels and ran for their worthless
lives, leaving a dozen or so of their comrades littering the floor behind
them.
Although Natassia was alert enough to witness the route of Brick’s gang,
she was so thoroughly debilitated from her ordeal that she was unable to
stand. She watched the action,
held upright by the steel triangle she had been clamped
into. Suddenly she was aware
of someone behind her. She could
not see who it was, but quite incredibly she heard a clanking sound, and
her manacles were opened. Unable
to stand without the support of the massive frame, she collapsed, falling
backward toward the cement floor.
She was caught awkwardly before she hit the
floor. Whomever, had released
her was not very strong, as the weight of her body drove him to his
knees.
“Oof, you’re a heavy
girl.”
It was Retinoff. For whatever
reasons, the diminutive madman had freed
her. But he barely had the strength
to carry her. Natassia felt herself
being dragged toward a door at the back of the
room. Too weak to struggle or
even cry out, Natassia was being separated from the three superheroines who
were still occupied with the last of Brick’s
gang. With a sinking feeling
in her stomach, she was dragged through the doorway and into another
room. She noticed as Retinoff
closed the door that it appeared to be constructed of heavy steel
plate. It would be very difficult
for anyone to follow her if the door was
locked.
To her dismay, Retinoff pulled a heavy bar across the door, effectively sealing
the room. Natassia lay sprawled
on the floor, too weak to move.
“I hope you don’t mind my dear,” said Retinoff, “but
I am going to give you a great honor
today. You see, I have never
had a woman before and you are to be my
first. Brick promised me a share
of his captives, but he reneged. He
preferred to torture you all to death.
Such a waste! Fortunately,
I have been able to save you for myself.”
As he spoke, the pint-sized madman was peeling off his
clothing. In a few minutes, he
had stripped himself naked.
Natassia saw that he was certainly not much to look at, with a penis
that hardly measured three inches, however, she
did not welcome the idea of losing her virginity again to such an evil little
runt.
Somehow, drawing strength from a source that she did not know she had, Natassia
managed to sit up. She was not
going to give in without a fight.
She tried to rise to her feet, but the effort proved to be too
much. She was still bleeding
from multiple lacerations, and the more she bled the weaker she
got.
“Ha ha, a little weak are we?” Retinoff scoffed at her attempt
to resist. “It must
be so strange for one who is usually so strong to be so helpless, but let’s
just make sure you don’t make a miraculous
recovery.”
Retinoff moved behind her and pushed her
forward. Struggling feebly, Natassia
felt the mad villain draw her arms behind
her. Within a few seconds, he
had lashed her wrists behind her, using his own
shoelaces.
Natassia began to tremble uncontrollably.
She had never felt so helpless, not even when she was being brutally
beaten by Brick. To be bound
and threatened with rape by one as feeble as Retinoff filled her with
despair.
Retinoff saw her discomfiture. He
could not resist one final taunt before he started on
her. Reaching into his pile of
clothes he picked something out of his jacket
pocket. Kneeling before her he
opened his hand only a few inches from her
face. In his palm was a blazing
stone. It was the
Dragon’s
Eye!
“I’ll bet you would like to have this wouldn’t you?”
the diminutive madman leered.
“It is an amazing phenomenon.
How does it give you such power?
And why did it almost kill Brick?
When I am finished with you here, I am going to take you back to my
laboratory and perform some experiments that will tell me what I want to
know.”
Natassia realized that she had only one last
chance. Retinoff had underestimated
her determination. Drawing her
body together, she lashed out with her last reserve of
strength. It was all she had
left. If she failed, Retinoff
would be able to do with her as he
wished.
He hands were bound, but her feet were
free. Arcing her right foot back,
she caught the underside of Retinoff’s
hand. The kick was too feeble
to do any damage, but it was strong enough to pop the stone straight up into
the air. Retinoff grabbed for
the falling gem, but he was too uncoordinated and it dropped between his
outstretched fingers and right into Natassia’s
mouth!
With her hands bound, her mouth was the only way she had to catch the spinning
gem. She had played her last
card and she had won!
“You little viper!” screamed
Retinoff. Leaping to his feet
he aimed a vicious kick at Natassia’s
head.
The kick never made contact. An
incredible transformation came over the defeated
heroine. Her pale skin regained
its color. Her muscles rippled,
and her amazing gray eyes flashed.
With an audible pop the shoelaces binding her wrists snapped and her
hands flew forward and seized Retinoff’s
ankle. She was free, and Retinoff
was finished.
The gnome-like scientist scrambled to
escape. The last thing he wanted
was a confrontation with someone who could fight, but he was too
late. Natassia leapt to her feet
and seized the little man by the throat.
“You little rat,” she growled, “I think I’ll ring
your cowardly little
neck.”
“No!”
screamed Retinoff in pure
terror. I meant no
harm. I was just testing
you. I’m a scientist, not
a criminal.”
“You are also a disgusting liar.
You devised traps and torture instruments to aid Brick Henson, and
for that you should be punished.
Death would be too good for
you.”
“Please don’t hurt me,” begged Retinoff, bursting into
tears. “I’ll never
do anything bad again.”
Natassia was already moving toward the door, carrying the whimpering scientist
by his collar. “I’ll
deal with you later,” she said, “I have some friends who may need
help.” With a flick of her
wrist she bounced the cowardly madman off the wall, leaving him in a crumpled
heap on the floor.
Natassia rummaged in the pocket of Retinoff’s coat and found the pendant
and clasp that had held the
Dragon’s Eye.
She replaced the stone and hung the ornament about her
neck. Then she removed the bar
from the door and jerked it open.
She strode into the room, ready for
action. To her amazement, except
for a number of bodies littering the floor of the room, none of Brick’s
men were anywhere in sight. In
the center of the room stood the three heroines she had come to
rescue. They seemed to have dealt
with the problem by themselves.
As the door clanged open the three women turned their heads as one toward
Natassia. The Jade Dragon was
the first to speak.
“Incredible!” she
exclaimed.
“She’s healed!” Suzi said, her voice echoing Sun Lin’s
disbelief.
“It’s the gem,’ said Kyla, “she has it
back.”
Natassia glanced at her body. As
she watched, the last of the ugly wounds Brick had inflicted faded away,
leaving not a trace on her perfect skin.
In her excitement at having escaped she had not realized the
transformation that was taking place.
The power of the
Dragon’s
Eye was truly amazing.
Natassia’s eyes swept the room.
The Jade Dragon stepped toward
her.
“Brick’s not here,” she
said. “If he was we would
have dealt with him. He must
have crept away during the fighting, but we will find him, even if it means
searching this place room by room.”
Natassia saw that none of the women facing her was in any condition to go
chasing after the criminals that had
escaped. All of them were covered
in blood and grime and it was plain that all of them were on the verge of
collapse. They had been in the
hands of Brick Henson much longer than she had and had clearly suffered
considerably. Their recent battle
had used up their last reserves of
strength. Even now, Kyla was
swaying unsteadily and looked ready to
collapse.
Natassia stepped toward the Jade Dragon.
“I am Nova,” she said.
“I came to join you.”
Sun Lin extended her hand.
“Welcome Nova, I am the Jade
Dragon.”
“Welcome Nova,” echoed Suzi, stepping forward with her hand
outstretched.
Kyla took a step toward her, and then staggered, about to
collapse.
Instantly Nova moved past the other two women and caught the Blue Avenger
as her knees buckled. Lifting
her like a baby, she carried her over to one of the tables in the center
of the room.
“Oh my,” Natassia exclaimed, “that
scum!”
Kyla’s nipples were still pierced by the two
fishhooks. In the excitement
of the escape she had forgotten about them, but now she was overcome by a
wave of nausea as the pain of her injuries caught up with
her.
Natassia’s took one of the fishhooks in her fingers and straightened
the end of the hook. Then she
pulled the barbed object from Kyla’s
breast. Immediately a tiny spurt
of blood flowed from the wound.
Ignoring the bleeding for the moment, Natassia repeated the operation
on Kyla’s other breast.
Between Natassia’s high breasts the
Dragon’s Eye flickered brightly, throwing a ghostly
light about the room.
“Aaah!” Kyla gave a
little gasp of pleasure. She
felt as if a mild electric current was flowing through her
body.
Behind her, Natassia heard both the Jade Dragon and the Scarlet Falcon
gasp.
“She’s healing,” said Suzi,
amazed. “You’re healing
her.”
Natassia watched astonished as Kyla’s wounds began to
heal. She could feel the energy
draining from her and the
Dragon’s Eye blazed, flooding the room with
light. Kyla’s body was covered
with bruises and contusions, but as she stared in disbelief, the wounds closed
and the bruises disappeared.
Kyla arched her body. It felt
as if a jolt of electricity was flowing through
her. But strangely there was
no pain, just an incredible sense of
exhilaration. And then the sensation
was gone, replaced by one of astonishing
well-being.
Sun Lin moved over to Kyla, who was already sitting
up. All marks of the abuse she
had suffered had disappeared from her
body.
Natassia, herself, was astounded.
She had no idea that the
Dragon’s Eye could heal others the way that it had healed
her. Dumbfounded, she stood there
with her mouth agape.
“In your hands that stone has great power,” said the Jade
Dragon. “You are truly
blessed.”
Kyla climbed off the table and took Natassia’s hands in
hers. Gently she guided her toward
Sun Lin and then lifted her hands so that they rested on the Jade Dragon’s
shoulders.
Sun Lin gasped. A powerful surge
of energy coursed through her body as the healing power of the
Dragon’s Eye
manifested itself. Within
seconds the pain and weakness of her ordeal had left
her.
Now it was Suzi’s turn. This
time Natassia took the initiative herself, taking the statuesque blonde’s
hands in hers. Within seconds,
Suzi too was restored to full health.
The four women formed a circle each holding the hands of the one next to
her. The Jade Dragon reached
up and removed her mask.
“Nova, I am Sun Lin, also known as the Jade
Dragon. You are one of
us.”
Suzi repeated the gesture, giving her real name and intoning the ritual
welcome. Kyla completed the formal
greeting.
Nova stood looking upon the unmasked faces of the heroines she had sought
for the last few months. She
removed her mask. “I am
Natassia Green, also known as Nova, and I am honored to join
you.”
Sun Lin smiled. “Now let’s
find our costumes and see if we can see where Brick Henson crawled off to.”
PREVIOUS
CHAPTER
WIZARD'S LAIR
MAIN PAGE
L'ESPION'S
STORY PAGE
NEXT
CHAPTER