Birds in a Gilded Cage
by Baltimore Rogers
Editor’s Note:
Hey! Who let this bum in?
Part 1 — Cuckoo Birds
Patty was waiting nervously in the outer office. The doctor’s receptionist—Melissa?—had tried to reassure her, but to no avail. This was the fifth referral, and she totally expected it to come out just like the last several: “I can’t help her, but I have a colleague...”
Bah, it’s hopeless, she thought. Master’s torture has probably ruined Angie for life.
It must have been horrible and wonderful, over eighty straight hours of an endless, relentless cycle: arousal right to the very point of induced orgasm, and then denial. Arouse, edge, deny. Over and over. Around the clock. Never a pause. Never a break, except the kind of break Angie soon would have given anything to avoid.
She was all alone. No one to talk to. No one to distract her. No one even to beg for mercy. Of course it drove her mad. And it’s all my fault! thought Patty, punishing herself yet again, Master left his ‘Blackfinger’ calling card in the mail on the very first day of her capture, but I didn’t even check the mail until days later. By then it was too late.
Three days and more Angie suffered, feeling nothing but an endless cycle of unfulfilled yearning. There wasn’t even pain to distract her. Master’s restraints immobilized her completely, but comfortably. And then there was the vibrator. Well, yes, it was moving in her most of the time. Certainly no normal human woman could have taken that amount of continual friction without damage—and pain—in such sensitive tissue.
But Angie is no ordinary woman. Angie, like Patty, is a Tearbearer, an ordinary woman given incredible powers by one of the two magical gemstones, the Tears of the Valkyrie. Because she bears the Tear, she has been gifted with, among other things, the power of rapid healing. But in the case of Master’s diabolical torture, the healing power was more curse than gift. Without the near instant healing of the damage done by the humming, rubbing invader, Angie could never have withstood Master’s torture for even a day, much less three.
Yes, throughout the ordeal, Angie’s body continued to heal. But there was nothing to heal her mind. And over the course of those three-plus days, her mind... was broken.
So now? Now Angie was... distracted... all the time.
Patty, the Junior Tearbearer, had to carry the leadership load years before her time. Patty had to direct the Angels’ nightly patrols. Patty had to talk with the cops when the Angels apprehended criminals. Patty had to coordinate with the rescue workers when the Angels helped with emergencies. It was a strain, but Angie—the old Angie—had taught Patty well. Patty handled her new duties efficiently, though not gladly.
So Patty was doing well enough... but Angie? Angie was for all intents and purposes a junkie. Most days they couldn’t get through an entire patrol without Angie requiring her pleasure fix. They’d find an empty rooftop, and Patty would rub her and tease her and please her until she came. Angie couldn’t help it. She just needed it. Patty was suddenly protector, caretaker, and mother to the woman who had been like a mother to her. The loss, the responsibility, the role reversal, it all wounded Patty deeply.
The down time between patrols was even worse. Patty was at River City U most of the day, whether or not she had classes. It was impossible to study in Grimalde Tower with Angie around. Of course Patty would have sacrificed her studies—would have sacrificed anything!—to help her needy partner. It would have been the least she could do. But Master required excellence from Patty in all things. She had to make the grades. She lived to make Master proud. So she stayed on campus and worried about Angie from afar.
Thus, most days Angie was left to her own devices. That meant begging for sex. From Master if she could get to him, from Delores failing that. Or, failing even that, she would retreat to her room and take matters into her own hands. For hours and hours every day.
Gone was her old day job, biochemist at Braxton Industries. Gone were the fun outings and the witty banter with old friends. Gone was the scientist’s sharp deductive mind. Gone were all of her old passions: Science fiction, philanthropy, boating, bird watching. The new Angie only had one passion: feeding the insatiable monster between her legs.
It had taken months for Patty to convince Master to get help—medical help—for Angie. But finally he consented.
“Just be careful, Patricia,” he had told her. “We all have a lot to lose if Angela does something to out us.”
Having finally secured Master’s cautious blessing, there followed a long frustrating trail of doctors—GP after Psychiatrist after Neurologist after GP—culminating in the latest recommendation, the one that had brought them here. “This Dr. Snow is actually pretty amazing,” Dr. Davis had said. “She’s gotten results in situations I honestly would have given up on. I can’t guarantee anything, of course, but you really ought to give her a try.”
And so here they were. Dr. Evangeline Snow seemed nice enough, and was very gentle with Angie, although the doctor looked a bit shocked at first. Shock was not an unusual reaction to “the new Angie”, so Patty thought nothing of it. Dr. Snow wanted to interview Angie alone first, which seemed a bit odd. But she assured Patty that she would be allowed to watch video of the whole session later if she wished.
Dr. Snow looked a bit... familiar, a strikingly beautiful platinum blonde woman, fortyish, but still with a great figure. Patty couldn’t place her, though she didn’t worry too much about it. The doctor’s office was just off campus. It was right across the street from the University Library, where Patty spent most of her out-of-class time. I’ve probably just seen her on the street, she thought.
Suddenly, Patty felt a chill of unease. Her mystical connection with her fellow Tearbearer was telling her that Angie was nervous and confused. Maybe Dr. Snow is really getting through to her then! Patty thought. Patty had become used to getting no emotion across the connection except hungry lust, so she welcomed the change.
But the unease continued to grow. Soon Angie was in a full-blown panic! It was as if Patty’s partner were in a life-or-death struggle... and losing! Realizing this was something she just couldn’t ignore, Patty rose from her seat and walked briskly toward the back office.
Melissa stood from her desk, running to block Patty’s path. “Ms. Sellars, you can’t go back there.”
Patty answered with her Tear-given strength, backhanding Melissa into the wall, not even breaking her stride. Patty was ready to rip the door of its hinges if she had to, but luckily the door was not locked. So she opened it gently. Before her she saw Angie, eyes wide with horror, seated in a plush chair but trying to escape the desperate grasp of the blonde doctor. Angie had blood on her face from some sort of cut, but it was already healing, of course.
Dr. Snow was clearly the aggressor here, even though she was on her knees facing away from the door. The Doctor’s arms were wrapped around Angie’s waist, her head buried in Angie’s midsection.
“Angie!” shouted the doctor, “Stop fighting me! You have to let me help you! You have to let me break his control!”
The doctor clearly hadn’t even noticed that Patty was there. So Patty took advantage of the confusion to end the confusion. Demonstrating Tear-given strength and Angie-trained control, she bashed Dr. Snow on the head, just hard enough to knock her out in one blow, but not hard enough to do any permanent damage.
Angie was still panicked, incoherent. Even if Patty had not felt this from the connection, the wide, wild eyes and the thrashing would have clued her in. Patty knew she had to be calm for both of them. She had to get this disaster under control.
Looking around, she saw a video camcorder, mounted on a tripod, pointed straight at Angie, still recording. Well, she thought, I can certainly do something about that!
She turned off the bulky camcorder and ejected the VHS tape, thanking her lucky stars that Snow was not a high-tech video enthusiast. If Master were recording something, the cameras would have been hidden, and the storage would have been on computer disk, off-site, out of reach. Too bad, for you, Dr. Snow.
Pulling Angie into a tight hug, she finally spoke to her friend. “I need you to pull yourself together, honey. I need you to be with me now. We need to get out of here. And I’d rather you fly out under your own power, okay?
Patty was willing waves of calm confidence across her connection, hoping against hope that Angie would pick up on it.
“Uh, okay. I can do that, Patty, uh, Patricia,” she said. Then one of her wild moments of lucidity struck. It was like the old Angie was suddenly transported forward in time to the here-and-now. Her bearing changed; she stood tall and confident. Her facial expression changed; she now looked more concerned for her young partner than for herself. Even her voice changed; the whiny, needy tone was gone, replaced with the calm confidence of a seasoned superheroine.
“That was good work, honey,” she said.
“Thanks Angela,” said Patty. “But why didn’t you clobber her yourself? She wasn’t that tough.”
“She was freezing me in place, Patricia, or trying to. She’s a fucking psychic, a pretty powerful one too. By the way, did you get the tape?“
Patty smiled and held it up for her friend to see.
“Good. Nigel’s gonna need that. If I’m... if I’m not really there, tell him we know who she is and we should get a sealed restraining order.”
“A what?” said Patty.
“Dr. Snow is Whitewash,” said Angie, “a badged super. Eagle Woman and I worked with her once before. I just didn’t recognize her in my... state, and I never knew her secret identity before today anyway. Patricia, she scanned me pretty thoroughly. She knows everything! We have to move quickly.”
Angie started pacing while she talked. Patty was excited. She hadn’t seen this much of the “old Angie” since before they served Master!
Angie continued, “Nigel will know what to do with the tape. We need to get a restraining order against Eva Snow, with a sealed addendum showing that Eva Snow is Whitewash. Breaking a restraining order is not a big deal, first offense is like, a fine or something, but the poison pill here is that violating the order will force the courts to reveal her civilian identity.”
“That’s... that’s brilliant, Angi—, er, Angela. Oh God I’ve missed you so much!”
“Don’t get used to it, kid. I can already feel myself slipping. I... Pat... Patricia... I know you want me to fly back on my own power.” Her voice cracked. Her confidence seemed to falter. And, somewhat incongruously, her nipples popped erect, making tiny tent poles in her blouse. “And... and I will.” Now she sounded like a small child. “But, could you hold my hand?”
“Sure, honey,” said Patty, striving to keep her voice calm and even, hugging her erstwhile mentor tight so she wouldn’t see the tears. “I’d love to hold your hand. Let’s open the window and get the hell outta here.”
Part 2 — Legal Eagles
Dressed as civilians, Angie and Patty didn’t have the radio gear that Nigel made them carry, so they stopped along the way at a nearby pay phone. Patty knew they couldn’t just swoop into Master’s office in the middle of the work day. He might have guests or a meeting or something. If they interrupted his business without warning, there would be... consequences.
She shivered at the thought. The last time Patty had interrupted his business day unexpectedly, she had paid for it. The stripes he had whipped onto her ass and thighs were gone by morning, but his disapproval, his disappointment had lingered with her for days. She never wanted to feel like that again. So, despite the urgency, she stopped, she called, she wasted those precious minutes to make sure Master wasn’t surprised.
She dialed his office line, while outside the booth Angie twitched nervously and whined quietly.
“Mister Grimalde’s office, Delores speaking.”
“Hi, Dee—, ah, Delores. Patricia here. Big snafu at the doctor, full exposure likely. We have to talk to Mas—, Mr. Grimalde ASAP!”
Outside the booth, Angie had moved on from whining to seducing, opening her blouse and rubbing her tits against the glass. Eyeing Patty hungrily.
“How soon can you get here?” asked Deedee.
“Shit. Angela’s not gonna make it all the way home. I’ll have to stop to, ah, take care of her. Thirty minutes?”
“That’s fine, hon,” said Deedee, “It’ll be easier for me to clear his calendar for the rest of the day with a thirty minute head start. Just the three of you then?”
“Um. No, we’ll need his legal team there, the, ah, other legal team.”
“Done. See you soon, Patricia.”
Emerging from the booth, Patty pointed to the Bloxham Building, the tallest structure in sight. “See that building, Angie?”
“Uh-huuuh?”
“I’ll race you to the roof!”
“Oh GAWD, YES!”
Twenty minutes later, flushed, sticky, more than a little disheveled, they launched off from the roof, making a beeline for Grimalde Tower.
By the time the Angels lit down on Nigel’s office balcony, Nigel and the lawyers were already there and waiting.
Patty wasted no time bringing them all up to speed, describing in complete detail what she saw in Dr. Snow’s office: Angie’s cut forehead, her wild-eyed fear, Snow wrestling with her—psychically and physically—to stop her from fleeing, her own role in knocking Dr. Snow unconscious. As she finished up she had an epiphany. She suddenly knew where she had seen Dr. Snow before. “Oh SHIT! Evangeline Snow. EVA Snow. She’s Parker Albinn’s ‘Aunt Eva’. Fuck. He probably already knows!“
“Okay,” said Nigel, looking at his team, “we’ve got to nip this in the bud. Any ideas?”
The lawyers were silent.
Nigel was livid. “What? Am I gonna have to kill someone to keep this from getting out? If Albinn knows about it tonight, you can be damned sure that Eugene fucking Fraiser and his Omega-bitch wife are gonna know about it by morning. I. NEED. OPTIONS... NOW!“
“A restraining order?” said Patty, in a quavering voice.
Grimalde just looked at her. Softly, quietly, he said, “Go on, Patricia.”
“It was Angie’s idea.”
“Angie’s?” He looked over at her, fidgeting in her seat, barely able to keep her hands out of her own lap.
“She had one of her moments. She’s still in there Master!”
“Okay, okay. Then she probably had a plan. Did she tell you about it?”
“Yes, sir. She said that the video would be enough to get a restraining order, that you would know ‘what to do with it’. And she said that it should have an, um, addendum?” the lawyers nodded. “A sealed addendum that says that Eva Snow is Whitewash. Angie called it a poison pill. She said that if Snow ever violated the restraining order the courts would out her, reveal her secret identity!“
The lawyers were nodding and whispering excitedly among themselves. Emerging from the huddle, the senior attorney said, “We can do it. Judge Weederman is, ah, friendly. We can get this done before nightfall. That’s assuming the tape will provide the evidence we need.”
Out of nowhere, Angie said, “It will. B-b-but you’ll have to wipe the aaaaaw-dio. Arrrgh!” She started pulling at her pants trying to undress herself.
Nigel hit the intercom. “Delores, come get Angela. Now!”
She was there in a flash, holding Angie’s arm, helping her to stand. “Come on, Angela. Let’s get you to bed.”
Angie looked at her former mentor with pleading eyes. “H-h-help me Dee, um, Delores. I hafta come. It won’t let me come.” she whispered weakly, glancing at Nigel.
Nigel nodded. It was a flashback. A bad one. “Help her, Delores.”
“Yes. Yes, of course, Master. Just walk with me Angela, just to the apartment. You can make it.”
Angie moaned, but followed.
As they walked away Nigel continued, “I can handle the audio myself. I’ll make it sound like the mic is malfunctioning. You’ll have the tape to play for Weederman within the hour.”
They spent another few minutes asking questions, hashing out the details, dividing up the work. And then they left, off to protect Master’s secrets. As the lawyers filed out, Nigel looked around to see his junior slave with an expression of awe splashed across her face.
“What is it, Patricia?”
She smiled. “Master, I finally know what I want to be when I grow up. It’s perfect! As a lawyer I can help you... serve you... protect you, in both my civilian and hero identities. It’s... it’s perfect, Master.”
“Is this what you really want?“
“Oh yes, Master. Yes. Yes! It makes me hot just to imagine it!”
Master and slave shared a knowing grin.
“I’ll be in to see you when I’m done with this tape.”
“YES, Master. Thank you, Master. How do you want me?”
“Surprise me, Patricia. Surprise me.”
Part 3 — Night Owls
This was it.
Night had fallen. The rescue operation was on. Parker Albinn could hardly contain himself, he was practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. He still called himself “Super Sonic” in spite of severe limits of his powers. Those limited powers would see their greatest test tonight.
His partner, Veronica “Roni” Mitchell, the psychic ninja superheroine “Shinobi”, had persuaded him—barely—of the wisdom of waiting until nightfall. She had reasoned that their best chance for success was a stealth infiltration under the cover of darkness. Parker remained unconvinced. Maybe it was his almost overwhelming need to do something, other than sit around and wait, but it all seemed like a waste of time to him. Plan or no plan, nothing was going to hold him back. Nothing was going to keep him from rescuing Patty...um, and Angie too, of course.
Roni found herself wishing, for what felt like the millionth time, that her friend, her partner, would listen to reason. She knew that this was a fool’s errand, that with his powers nearly lost, and just the two of them, they’d be lucky to make it past the front door, let alone all the way up to the penthouse! But Parker was bound and determined to storm the castle and rescue the princess...err, princesses...no matter what. He believed that they could succeed against whatever defenses Blackfinger had through sheer determination and force of will.
“We’ll have the strength of twenty because our hearts are pure!” she snickered to herself, Yeah, right. Well...he’s my partner, for better or for worse. And I can’t let him do this alone. At least together, we have a fighting chance.
Parker clearly had too much going on in his head at once. Roni knew how desperately Parker needed to make things right with Patty. She knew how guilty he felt about all the awful things that had happened to her under Satore’s rule. And now, he could not stop himself from imagining even worse things happening to her now that she was the brainwashed sex slave of the notorious mobster Blackfinger.
I can see his point. And... I feel for the Angels too, I really do. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to have your brain twisted around someone’s little finger... to be helpless to resist, forced to endure whatever vile insidious torments they choose to inflict upon you. But still... you can’t just burst in on someone like Blackfinger unprepared! This whole thing... it’s a clusterfuck waiting to happen.
She’d talked herself blue in the face trying to convince Parker to wait, to let the tension die down, to probe Blackfinger’s defenses carefully and look for an opening, a crack, a weakness to exploit. He would have none of it. She cared about him, she really did, maybe as more than just a comrade in arms...and perhaps sometime in the future they could explore that further. But for now, they needed to get through tonight in one piece. Right now this whole thing looks pretty hopeless. It’s too late to even wish that he’d see reason. We’re way past that. She gritted her teeth, I only hope we both live long enough that I get to tell him “I told you so”.
“Okay. Let’s do this,” Parker said, pulling the mask down over his face. He was still a bit uncomfortable with the new costume, very much missing his trademark scarlet look from his “Super Sonic” days, but Roni had convinced him that, at least for tonight, black was more stealthy. Even he could see that they needed to remain unseen for as long as possible. And a bright red suit pretty much screamed ‘look at me, here I am’. It was one thing when I was in full control of some rather awesome speed- and sound-based superpowers. But now...I know my powers are still inside me, but I can’t control them. Most of the time I can’t access any power at all! So it’s best to listen to Roni and play it safe.
Shinobi paused, the gun and piton clutched tightly in her hand. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked quietly. “We still have time to change our minds. We could... I dunno, contact someone else in the hero community, get some backup—”
“Like who?” he asked angrily, fists clenched tightly. “It’s not as if we’re on a mailing list or anything! Omega Girl is out...she’s halfway around the world going through...some kind of identity crisis. And no one has seen Armor Man in months. None of us knows how to contact Ultra Girl, and frankly, I wouldn’t trust her even if I did! And Aunt Eva? She’s still recovering from the assault Patty launched on her. She was lucky Patty didn’t shatter her skull.”
“Yeah, and THAT’S the girl you’re so all fired up to save,” Veronica pointed out, “the one who nearly took off Whitewash’s head?”
Parker sighed. “Patty isn’t in her right mind. Eva doesn’t blame her for it, and neither do I. Blackfinger’s the one behind it. He tortured poor Angie to the point her mind broke! And who knows what kind of sick sadistic tortures he put Patty through! No... every moment we wait is another moment she’s being put through the ringer by that bastard... another moment she comes closer to ending up like Angie!“
Veronica nodded silently. Taking aim, she fired the piton at the building across from their current location. Securing the line, the two masked vigilantes slid across to Grimalde Tower, landing just outside the 27th floor. Drawing her sword, Shinobi slid it deftly in the crack between the window pane and the seal, cutting it free. A gentle tap on the glass later, and they were inside.
Part 4 — Sentry Birds
Nigel Grimalde frowned as he watched the two invaders making their way down the corridor, nimbly avoiding all the infrared scanners and alarm detectors with a skill bordering on the supernatural. As much as he hated to admit it, they were actually impressive, particularly the female ninja. Indeed, had he not known they were coming, and taken extra precautions, he might very well have been caught unaware.
Patricia’s assessment of this ‘Super Sonic’ character was spot on. Impulsive, cocksure, and determined...a force to be reckoned with if not for his immaturity. But I’m not so sure she was spot on about his motivations. She thought he would be coming here to avenge his aunt, and to polish his hero image by rescuing the “slaves”. But this doesn’t look like a guy who’s just in it for the headlines. I think he cares about Patricia much more than she realizes. Either way, he won’t find satisfaction here tonight.
He turned to his chief of security, a burly, crew-cut, ex-Navy-Seal, and told him to activate ‘lockdown’ mode, auto-locking all the doors and shutting down the elevators. Then he had the man alert the sentries on that floor to move in, to subdue the intruders with extreme prejudice...but not to use lethal force. At least, not yet, Nigel thought with a grin, taking a sip of tea from his cup. Let’s see if we can discourage the boy to give up while he’s ahead.
At the landing of the 29th floor, Super Sonic and Shinobi paused and looked at each other across the broad expanse leading to the opening of the main conference room. They’d made it through the previous floor with no problems, without even sighting another soul. All the while, however, Roni’s sense of foreboding was continuing to build. It was, as a fact, almost too easy. It was time to assess the “GO/NOGO” status. Roni was on the NOGO side, but that didn’t surprise either of them.
“We can’t do this, Parker,” she battle-signed, “I’m more convinced than ever that this is a trap. We haven’t seen any cameras in the hallways so far, and we haven’t seen or heard any people to avoid at all. And I just can’t believe that there was no surveillance on the outside of the building either! So, assuming they saw us, why haven’t they attacked?“
Parker rolled his eyes. He signed back, “Roni, you’re giving this thug too much credit. They didn’t see us because they’re not looking for us. You and I have avoided every alarm and sensor we’ve come across. If Grimalde expected us at all, he would have expected us to go straight in through the penthouse balcony. It’s like you said—there must be dozens of places here to set up killing floors—and that’s where all the security must be concentrated. So face it, your plan worked. We circumvented their whole damn security setup. We’re in the clear, and we’re going in. That’s final.“
Roni sighed and shook her head. “Clusterfuck,” she muttered under her breath. “Okay,” she signed back, “but I still say this is a trap. And remember the plan: when we reach your friends, we assume they are completely brainwashed and loyal to Blackfinger. We strike hard and fast. We incapacitate them. We carry them out as dead weight. Wakarimasu ka?“
“Fine. I understand.” Parker signed back, closing his eyes, extending his super sensitive hearing out as far as he could. I still think she’s just being paranoid. The man’s arrogance and sense of superiority knows no limits. If Grimalde knew we were inside his precious Tower, there’s no way he wouldn’t have sent his entire private security force after us the instant we stepped one foot inside. Opening his eyes, he gave the sign for ‘All clear’ and he and Shinobi opened the door, and slid seamlessly into the empty room.
Or, well, what SHOULD have been an empty room.
Shit! Parker thought furiously, staring down the barrels of about fifty particle weapons, each pointed at his head. What the hell?? Guards... but how? I was scanning the entire area for any sounds... talking, breathing, heartbeats! That son of a... this room must be completely soundproofed, and not just with foam. I’m talking state-of-the-art here! Shit... the one active power I had going for me and the bloody asshole neutralized it!
“Super Sonic. Shinobi,” one of the uniformed guards spoke. “You’re encroaching on private property. Surrender and leave peacefully, or we will use force!”
Shinobi turned to face her partner, close enough that her telepathy could reach him cleanly. «A goddamn clusterfuck. Well, far be it for me to say ‘I told you so’, but... I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO! So, fearless leader, what now? Outgunned and outnumbered. The smart thing to do would be to escape and come back later with another strategy.»
«No. I’m not leaving without her,» Parker thought back. «I ran once, took off like a coward and saved my own skin instead of facing the dragon in his cave. Not again. This time I’m not leaving without the fair princess!»
“Did you hear me? Surrender now! Get your hands up! You have ’til the count of three. One...”
«Yeah... I kind of figured you would say that. Fuck. I just KNEW it was going to turn out this way! I only hope you’re this determined the next time some madman kidnaps ME...»
“Two...”
«You already know I would. Please, Roni, can we NOT do this right now? We need to focus on the task at hand, and get ready to fight...»
Shinobi smirked. «That would be implying that I wasn’t ready the moment we entered the building!»
“Thr—aaaaahhhghh!”
With a flick of his wrist, Parker extended the small short metal baton in his hand into a full length bo staff, catching the sentry directly in front of him in the chest. Dropping into a crouch, he spun, taking the five closest guards off their feet. At the same time, Veronica struck, leaping from a standing position to land behind the armed sentries, tossing a smoke pellet into their midst with one had while she drew her katana with the other.
Within the space of a few seconds, chaos had erupted, the guards, trained to handle most situations finding themselves quickly outclassed. With Super Sonic in front of them and Shinobi behind, they found themselves in a pincer attack, struggling to keep track of their adversaries amidst the thick smoke and poor visibility. Worse, their numbers were being diminished more by their own men and ‘friendly fire’ than from the two ninja invaders.
Things were going well for the duo... but good fortune only lasts for so long. As the smoke began to clear, the remaining guards regrouped, coordinating their attacks, their training kicking in. Dropping to their knees, they lay down suppressing fire in a staggered pattern, strafing the entire room. Parker’s cry of pain sounded a moment before Veronica’s, each struck from behind.
Pain, followed by a trickling numbness that seemed to spread out from his chest to every part of him... that was Parker’s experience. His hands and feet tingled, and his vision was blurred and wavy. Everything around him seemed to be moving in slow motion, as if the air itself had turned to molasses. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it.
Ughn... felt this before... stun blast. Damn... don’t know whether to be happy they weren’t using lethal force... or pissed that they’re not taking us seriously! Uhhnn... doesn’t matter. Can’t let this... stop me! Reaching into his belt pouch, he drew a small throwing dagger... and jammed it hard into the palm of his hand. As the guards moved in to secure him, he suddenly leaped up lashing out, catching them off guard.
“Not so... useful having guns... in close combat,” he taunted, grabbing a guard by the arm, as he kicked a second guard in the side of the head. As the last sentry collapsed, he turned towards his partner, kneeling down to help her up. “You okay?”
“Damned clusterfuck,” she groaned, shaking her head. “And it’s only going to get worse.” She took a deep breath, glanced around. “How did you recover so fast?” Parker held up a bloody palm.
“I’ve been stunned more times that I care to admit. It depresses your reactions and muscles like being drugged. The fastest was to counter the effect is with a shot of adrenaline, so I gave myself a nice burst of pain to clear my head.” Kneeling down, he retrieved his bo staff. “C’mon. Let’s get moving before reinforcements show up.”
Nigel scowled deeply as he watched the two invaders make their way further into his building. He was rather disappointed by his “crack security teams” performance; even if the invaders were a pair of bona fide Supers, they were only two of them, one of them nearly powerless, if his Intel was correct. He would definitely need to make some changes once this night was over.
Checking the building schematic again, he paused, smirking as he saw their current location. That would be just perfect... and it shouldn’t take much trouble to push them in just the direction I need them to go. Rerouting his security forces, giving them very detailed instructions, he unlocked the door to Testing Lab Number Three.
All right. Let’s see how you deal with THIS little surprise.
“This is NOT turning out to be a fun date, Sonic,” Shinobi yelled, sprinting down the corridor, dodging the random gunfire from the sentries following right on their heels. Tossing a smoke bomb behind her, she skidded to a halt, pressing herself flat against the wall, allowing the guards to stumble past her, coughing and cursing in their wake. Slipping out behind them, she managed a quick three-pronged strike, taking out several before they realized she was there.
“Sorry...” he grunted, testing yet another side door, only to find it locked, “but you complained that you were bored at the movie we went to last night.“
“FUCK!” she yelled, ducking as a near miss singed a lock of her hair. In response, she launched a barrage of drug tipped throwing darts, taking out the remaining guards in a wave. “Cut the comedy, Sonic! This is serious! We’re boxed in, and these guys just keep coming! You need to find a way out of this rat maze, now!”
“Okay, okay, I’m working on it!” he growled, sending out an ultrasonic pulse, searching for an empty unoccupied room. Sprinting further down the hallway, he took a left, then a right, pausing at the third door on the right hand side. Testing the handle, he found it unlocked. “Looks like we have a winner. Shinobi, this way!” Once they were both inside, he quickly closed the door, just as booted footsteps swept through the corridor outside. Waiting for several minutes to see if anyone was following, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Okay... good. We can rest here for a second, catch our breath, and reassess the situation,” Super Sonic replied, leaning against the door.
“Reassess?” Shinobi replied bitterly, glancing at the burned edges of her hair with a scowl. “Here’s my assessment, partner. We are seriously FUCKED! Grimalde has a literal ARMY of sentries here. So far they’re using kid gloves, but it’s only a matter of time before they decide to get serious. Face it... we’re outmatched here. We need to withdraw and try again later with some heavy duty backup!“
“Dammit, Roni, we can’t!” Parker cried angrily. “I can’t just let this go!” He sighed deeply. “Look... I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I appreciate your help so far. There’s no way I would have made it as far as we have without you. But I can’t turn back. I can’t abandon her again. You can leave if you want...”
“As if I would leave you to face this all by yourself?” Veronica challenged him, just as angrily. “You damn rock-brained fool! I’m your partner, aren’t I? Aren’t I the one that stayed at your bedside while you recovered from surgery? Aren’t I the one that helped train you to fight when you refused to retired from hero work even without your powers? And haven’t I been at your side trough this entire clusterfuck of a rescue mission?”
“Can you stop saying ‘clusterfuck’ already?” Parker groaned. “Any more and it won’t even sound like a word anymore.” He sighed. “But... thank you. I mean it. I promise, when this is all over, I’ll make it up to you.”
“Brave words, considering your current situation.”
Parker glanced up suddenly, then shoved Veronica hard to the side as a blast of milky white fluid spewed forth from a series of small white tubes embedded in the walls to their side. “Ugh!” he grunted, finding himself coated in the slimy white fluid. “What the hell? Shinobi, are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just a little slimy, got hit with the backwash that soaked you, but no problems so far.”
“But of course you are,” Blackfinger’s voice came through the speakers embedded within the walls. “Welcome to Laboratory Three, the Materials Testing room. The substance you’ve been doused with is an experimental quick drying plastic polymer for our aerodynamics division. It’s a revolutionary design—lighter than aluminum, yet harder than steel—well, once it dries, which, by my count, should be any second now.”
“DAMMIT!” Parker yelled, feeling his limbs grow stiff, the fluid hardening around him like a cocoon. “You CHICKENSHIT, Blackfinger! Won’t come out and face us like a man, hiding behind your damned security and alarms and traps... and... and... SHIT!” he cried coughing, twisting up his face as a thin white gas began to issue forth from another series of holes in the walls.
“Eloquent as always, Mr. Sonic,” the digitized voice replied. “And here I’d hoped that some of the polymer might have splashed into your mouth and shut you up for good. But whichever way you put it, you’ve lost. You and your little friend have been caught, and the gas pouring in will send you both into a nice deep sleep. If you’re smart, you’ll shut your mouth and stay quiet while you drift off... and MAYBE you’ll wake up outside on the street instead of the bottom of the river!”
Parker growled furiously, struggling in vain against the cocoon. He was trapped, and starting to fade fast from the gas. The only part of him he could move were the fingers of his right hand, down at his waist, but there was nothing useful within reach... nothing except...
Ahh shit...even I’m not crazy enough to use high explosives in a confined area like this! I’ll just end up killing us both, and saving Grimalde the trouble. But... if it’s the only way...
“Shi... shinobi,” he gasped, pulling the small bomb free from his belt, “I’m gonna... gonna... try and... blast us.. out of this...”
“Crazy...” she managed to reply, shaking her head. “No chance... will work...”
“Sssliimmm channnccce,” he slurred back, balancing it on the tips of his fingers before tossing it across the room. All or nothing, Patty... he thought dimly, closing his eyes. Not much of a comfort to you... but if I die, at least I died trying...
“What the fuck?!?” Nigel Grimalde exclaimed as an explosion shook his building, causing several pictures and objects to fall from the walls and shelves. Fire alarms began screeching loudly. Bringing up his monitor, he stared in disbelief at the image of Testing Lab Three... or rather the remains of it. A large gaping hole had been blasted in the far wall, leading out into the rest of the city. Wires and a broken support beam hung down among the wreckage, and the automatic sprinklers pushed water over the area, quenching a small smoldering fire in the corner.
Incredibly enough, two familiar figures stood up from among the rubble, coughing and gasping, and more than a little singed, but both very much alive.
What the hell?!? The man is totally insane! Nigel realized, staring at the destruction in disbelief. He must have used C4 to create a blast like that! He’s lucky he didn’t hit a gas line and set the entire building ablaze! This has gotten out of hand. It’s only a matter of time before the police and fire department respond... and God help me if any other costumed goody-goodies happened to be flying over and saw the explosion. I need to end this right here and now!
Hitting his intercom, he called out. “Delores, this is Nigel. Inform the guards that they are now authorized to use lethal force. Send them all towards Lab Number Three on the twenty-ninth floor. I want these invaders out of my home right now, and I don’t care what you have to do to accomplish it!“
Sighing deeply, he sat for a moment, contemplating. Anyone crazy and determined enough to nearly kill himself to accomplish his goal won’t go down willingly. I might just need to drive the point home. Nodding to himself, he hit the intercom again. “Oh, and Delores, one more thing. Have Patricia and Angela brought to my office.“
Parker gasped for breath as he limped his way along the hallway leading to the elevator. He was relatively sure he had a bruised ribcage, and possibly a few cracked ones as well. Surprisingly enough, he had Blackfinger’s insidious little trap to thank for his and Roni’s survival. The polymer had deflected most of the force, protecting them like a shield from the worst of the blast. The explosion, in return, shattered a majority of the cocoon holding them, and cleared out the gas. Shinobi’s katana finished the process, cutting them free and slicing a passageway through the damaged ceiling.
“How’re you holding up?” he asked wearily, glancing over at the ninja as she slipped past him to the elevator’s double doors. Wordlessly, she attacked with a double-slash, then turned to face him as the heavy metal door twisted and fell apart, sliced into quarters.
“I’ll live,” she growled, placing her sword back in her sheath. “And so will you,” she added, drawing her grappling gun, firing a line up into the empty elevator shaft.“I’m going to make sure you and I survive this encounter so that I can beat you to within an inch of your life once it’s all over! I can’t believe you fucking used the C4!”
“It was for emergencies,” Super Sonic replied, slipping in behind her, grunting through his protesting sides as he climbed the cable slowly up to the next floor. “And I think what we just faced qualified.” He paused, stopping, signaling for Shinobi to freeze as well. Extending his hearing outwards, he growled. “Sentries. Waiting at the landing of the next two floors. I guess we should be glad Blackfinger didn’t think to soundproof the elevator shafts themselves.”
“So then, now what? What’s the game plan, hero man?”
Parker sighed heavily. “Now... we finish this. We do what we should have done in the beginning. Forget stealth. Forget being sneaky. We climb up to the penthouse floor, and take the fight directly to him! And if he has guards waiting on that floor as well... we go right through ’em.“
Nodding in agreement, Shinobi lead the way, climbing non-stop up the small shaft, alert for the slightest sign of trouble. She winced every time she pulled herself up with her left arm, trying to ignore the pain. She’s sprained it badly when she’d fallen during the explosion, but never one to dwell on things, she’d merely marshaled on. She wanted this fiasco to be over with as soon as possible. In their current states, they wouldn’t do well in an extended battle.
At last, they reached the top floor. Not wanting to take any chances, Super Sonic extended his hearing to its limits, and Shinobi, with her psychic senses, scanning for another ambush. “Top floor,” Parker whispered with a bit of his off-kilter humor, “antiques, housewares, megalomaniacal madmen, and brainwashed slave girls. Everybody out!”
Part 5 — Snipe Hunt
Stepping out, still wary of any sign of attack, the two heroes found themselves in the most expensively stylish and decadent foyer they’d ever seen. A huge hand knit Persian rug covered an exquisite redwood hardwood floor. A crystal chandelier hung from a huge vaulted ceiling. A massive portrait of Nigel Grimalde hung on the wall above the mantle, the villain caught in a moment of repose, somehow managing to look almost human. The finishing touch was soft sounds of Mozart playing gently in the background.
Oh my freaking God... Parker thought, if I didn’t already hate this guy, this would put me over the top!
Stalking quietly, carefully, they maintained silent visual lines of communication as they advanced. They continued trading off point as they worked their way through the spacious, luxurious apartment. Through the huge kitchen complex, large enough for most restaurants, then into the spacious dining room, And finally they arrived at the large, two-story-tall, dome-ceilinged, balcony-fringed living area. The doors were, strangely, opened wide, and center of the living area was sunken, and filled with throw-pillows and cushions of all shapes and sizes.
Parker was on point at the doorway between living and dining rooms, so he was the first to sense them. Two people, women, breathing deeply and steadily, lying on the cushions, apparently unconscious, or perhaps asleep. He signaled Roni, and she now took point, advancing carefully to the center of the room. After making a complete survey of the area, sensing no other presence, she signaled Parker forward.
Damn. He’s not going to like this. she thought grimly, as he made his way carefully to her position. I just hope he keeps his cool.
The two women were in fact Patty and Angie, the very ones they had risked so much to find, but Parker had to stifle a cry of shock when he saw them. Their backs, bottoms, legs and chests were covered with whiplash gashes. Their heads and chests were covered with something white and sticky. In short, they looked like someone had used and abused them both, long, deep, and hard, and simply left them there, on display.
GOD DAMNED FUCKING GRIMALDE! he thought, visibly shaking with rage, The fucker whipped them raw and used them until they passed out. Then he just... just LEFT them here like yesterday’s garbage! He KNEW I was coming for them... knew I’d eventually make it here. He fucking WANTED me to find them this way! That arrogant little shit!! I bet he’s probably watching us right now, on one of his goddamn video cameras, just waiting for me to lose it, to go charging into whatever trap he has planned, spoiling for a fight. And while I do intend to settle up with that bastard one day real soon, my priority is getting these girls out of here and somewhere safe!
«Remember the plan, Parker,» Veronica thought at him, drawing the small dart gun from her belt, shooting Angela with a dart to make sure she stayed asleep. Nodding, Parker followed suit, injecting Patty before kneeling down to secure her arms and legs with zip ties, unnecessary in his mind, but his partner had insisted on it.
When Roni finished with Angie, she looked over to see whether or not Parker was ready to go. Immediately he gave his ready sign. Groaning, both weary and worn from their battles, they both hefted their unconscious women over their shoulders. Then they stood up, getting ready to start their rapid egress. Just a few dozen feet to the large balcony, a zip line across to the building across the street, and a rapid rappel down to the streets below. Piece of cake. They let out a small sigh of relief. But just then, everything went to Hell.
Suddenly bright light was everywhere, blinding them as several armed sentries rushed into the room, cutting off their escape. Already disoriented and off guard, the ‘supposedly’ unconscious victims on their shoulders came alive and attacked. Roni turned to Parker just in time to see Patty elbow him in the temple, sending him to the ground in a heap. She, however, was fast enough to avoid a similar strike from Angie, just managing to twist away as Angie followed up with a kick to Roni’s chest, landing only a glancing blow.
OWWW! SHIT! Fuck! thought Roni, She just barely grazed me and that felt like a mule kicking me. These two aren’t pulling any punches. Well, if they aren’t going to hold back, then I sure as hell won’t! Reaching for her katana, however, she was swiftly reminded of her situation by the sound of fifty particle weapons powering up and taking aim and her and Parker.
Both the Angels were airborne now, still naked as the day they were born, zip ties broken through a show of sheer strength that again gave Roni pause. They were clearly in their element, flying a tight lazy circle above them in the hollow of the domed ceiling. “Tee hee hee,” Angela said in a high girlish voice. “Gotcha! In was so hard to just lay there like Master said. I thought I was gonna die! But we did it! Hee hee... we gotcha! We gotcha! Oh I am gonna have so much fun with you, Shinobi!” she called out, giggling nervously, somehow twitching even as she soared effortlessly overhead. Growling, Shinobi debated whether or not to reach for her sword anyway, if the price she paid for shutting the brain-damaged woman up would be worth it.
“I highly recommend that you stay down, Shinobi,” came a gruff voice over some loudspeaker, the voice seemingly coming from everywhere, “My men learned from their last encounter. Those pulse rifles are aimed in carefully-planned overlapping fields of fire. The idea is to fill the entire room with pulses. Not even your friend Super Sonic could dodge them, even at the peak of his powers, a peak which is clearly long past. You, my dear, certainly cannot dodge them.”
“What’s your move, Grimalde?” Roni shouted, “Are you gonna kill us in cold blood?”
“Well,” came the voice again, “considering the mess you’ve made of my home, I must admit that the idea is tempting. You invaded my domicile. You dealt an unprovoked attack on my security force. You destroyed one of my research labs. And you tried to kidnap two of my house guests. Not a court in the world would object to my use of lethal force against two costumed vigilantes who went rogue. Breaking and entering, home invasion, attempted kidnapping? Oh, yes... I could snuff you both out right now and walk away innocent as a lamb in the eyes of the law. But that’s not what I want.“
“Well?” said Roni, “Are you going to make me play ‘Twenty Questions’ or are you going to tell me?”
“Patience, Shinobi, patience. Notice now that my lovely Angels circling above you are holding two sets of four-point shackles. Drop them now, please, ladies.” The chain-and-cuff sets thudded loudly against the cushions they landed upon. “Without rising to your feet, please crawl over to one set and use them to restrain your partner in crime.”
“Really? ‘Restrain’ ourselves? Do I have the word ‘stupid’ written somewhere on my face? You probably gave those poor demented girls floating above my head right now the same choice, and I can see how well it worked out for them!” She crossed her arms. “No deal, Grimalde. If you want me bound and chained, you’re going to have to do it yourself! And I do mean YOURSELF... because I pity the poor soul that tries to slip those shackles around my w—uuuhhnnphh!” Shinobi landed on the floor with a soft thud, the brutal kick delivered by Patty from behind sending her down for the count...
Part 6 — Angry Birds
Parker was already awake, sulking quietly, when Veronica regained consciousness. “Sonic?” she groaned, shaking her head. “Wh... what happened? Where are we?” She tried to sit up, finding herself shackled as promised. “Goddammit,” she said wearily, without heat. “Well, congratulations, we made it to the captured damsels. Unfortunately, they turned out to be in league with the dragon. So I guess it’s just a matter of time before we end up as its next meal.” She shifted position slightly, wiggling, then cursed again. “Fuck... well, we can forget about trying to pick the locks. The damn things are broken, the locks jammed shut with shards of metal.”
“Very perceptive, Shinobi,” Blackfinger stated, walking into the room, the black skull shaped mask over his face distorting his voice. “You won’t be breaking free from those chains any time soon, they’ll have to be cut off of you.”
“You can cut the cheap theatrics, Grimalde,” Parker yelled angrily. “Mask or no mask, we know who you are. Aunt Eva saw clear enough when she looked in poor Angela’s mind. So play dress up all you like, you won’t be fooling us.”
Sighing dramatically, he nodded, removing the mask. “You candor is actually quite refreshing, Super Sonic,” he replied in his natural voice, “Or should I call you... Mr. Albinn?” Parker grimaced slightly at the reveal. “I don’t think we’re close enough for ‘Parker’, not that I ever see myself wanting to be on a first-name basis with you. Your lovely partner, Miss Veronica Mitchell, perhaps...” he replied, as Roni gasped in horror, looking away. “So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about what happens next, shall we?”
“Fine with me,” Parker growled, struggling in his bonds. “So now what? Are you going to give us your ‘special treatment’, Grimalde? Turn us into more of your brainwashed puppets?”
“Again,” said Nigel, “as tempting as that sounds... No. I’m going to let you both go... eventually. Think of it as a sort of catch-and-release thing. I’m nothing if not sporting.” Just then, the door opened, and Patty and Angie came back in, dressed for the occasion in their new ‘uniforms’. Glorified lingerie, really, showing definite signs of Nigel’s personal tastes.
Patricia carried a pair of large manila envelopes in her hands. As they came up to the two captured invaders, Patty looked them over, eyes lingering on Parker, scrunching up her face as if he were a bad smell. She motioned to Angie, who nodded, grabbing Parker up by his collar and set him up in a kneeling position similar to Roni’s.
“Thank you, Angela,” Nigel said with a nod. “Much better. So, isn’t this a cozy little gathering. Does anyone have any questions before we start?”
“Patty, please!” said Parker suddenly, “You can fight this! You can break loose! I know you’re stronger than this! Don’t let that slimeball win!”
Patty sighed, rolling her eyes. “Master, do we have to let him talk? Can’t we please shut him up?“
Nigel chuckled darkly at Parker’s expression. “An excellent idea, Patricia. I for one have heard enough from Mr. Albinn to last me a lifetime. Angela, would you please bring the duct tape?”
“Okie dokey, Master,” she said cheerfully, but her fidgety movements as she crossed the room revealed the damage to her psyche. Even so she was soon standing in front of Parker with a large roll of tape.
“NO! NO! Dammit, Angie, don’t do this! Please! Let me speak!” Parker continued his pleas while Angie peeled off a large strip of tape. “I can get through to herrrruuummmmpppphh!”
“Parker, you’ve just lost your speaking privileges for the rest of the evening,” Patty announced with undisguised glee, as the winged blonde had Parker’s mouth taped shut in short order. In fact, she went a bit beyond the call of duty. Parker had several strips of tape wrapped all the way around his head, including a couple of vertical wrappings holding his jaw shut. “Thank you, Angela. That’s much better.”
Angie giggled in response. “Sure thing, Master.” Then more tentatively, “Can... Can I go play with Veronica now?”
Nigel sighed softly to himself. “No. Not yet, baby. Be patient.”
Still lovely, beautiful, loyal and obedient, Angela Prentiss remained just as broken as she’d been the day he’d removed her from the slave maker. She continued to prove useful in some ways, and sexually, she was an unstoppable dynamo... but at the end of the day, she was still broken, still damaged goods. Until they found a way to repair the damage done to her mind, she remained a wasted resource. And if there was one thing Nigel Grimalde hated, it was waste.
But, against all reason he knew there was something more to it. He missed the sharp mind of the adversary who had harried and harassed him for years, until he had finally brought her low. No one would ever have called them friends. Quite the contrary. But he found the he missed many of the same traits that Patricia missed. Her ready wit. Her razor sharp mind. Her keen insight. They had to find a way to fix her. But now wasn’t the time.
“So, what about you, Veronica, dear?” he asked, turning his attention to her. “Anything you want to get off your chest? Any questions? Anything?”
Roni sighed. I might as well ask the obvious questions, then, she thought dourly, and keep him talking. The longer this goes on, the more time I have to figure a way out of this mess. Besides, it’s the only way I’ll find out exactly how we screwed the pooch.
“So,” she said, “You were expecting us?”
“Oh, absolutely. I questioned Patricia at length after the incident at Dr. Snow’s office. I learned all about you and your partner. Dear Patricia was even kind enough to provide me with what turned out to be a very accurate psyche profile on Mr. Albinn.” Parker let out s deep groan, hanging his head. “Frankly, I nearly though she was mistaken. From what she’d told me, I half expected the two of you to arrive in broad daylight, less than two hours after the incident. And climbing all the way up the side of the building as well.”
And we would have too, Roni noted wearily, if I hadn’t managed to convince him to wait until nightfall. “And the way we found your ‘house guests’ as you put it?” derision evident in her voice. Patty stepped forward, and Nigel nodded.
“Clever makeup and Elmer’s Glue,” she said proudly. “We would have happily used Master’s real jizz, but, sadly, there just wasn’t time. We took our positions about the time you cleared the 29th floor. Took you forever to get here, though, playing it ‘stealthy’. I think Angela was about to die of, ah, boredom, waiting for you.”
The blonde shook her head vigorously. “Nuh-uh, Pat- Patricia. I wasn’t bored; I was HORNY! And you were laying there so close, but you wouldn’t touch me. ‘We can’t move or they’ll see us,’ you said. ‘We can’t make any noise either,’ you said. ‘They’ve got to believe we’re out cold,’ you said.”
“And I was RIGHT, wasn’t I?” Patty snapped, having finally lost patience with Angie’s incessant whining.
“Now, now, ladies,” said Nigel, a glint in his eye. “Let’s not be testy. We shouldn’t fight in front of the guests.” Turning to Roni, he continued, “So is there anything else, Veronica?”
Roni nodded, “Yeah. What about the tranquilizer darts? You weren’t faking that part. Each injection should have had enough punch to knock out a Brahma Bull. How did you wake up?“
“Didn’t Parker brief you on our powers?” chided Patty, “Magical rapid healing, Veronica, dear!” she said with an obvious edge. “Although, to give him at least some credit, Parker probably didn’t realize that it extended to non-lethal toxins as well.“
“WAIT A MINUTE!” shouted Roni, “If you’re immune to toxins, how did Grimalde slip you a mind control drug?”
“Oh, good question!” said Patty, “It was really very clever. You see, the drug comes in two parts, each of which is harmless by itself, so they slip right past the magic. Then inside your system the two parts combine into the actual drug.”
“Well, they don’t actually combine,” offered Angela.
Great, thought Patty, She picks this moment to flash lucid again?
“By all means,” said Nigel, “continue, Dr. Prentiss.”
“Yes, sir, Master! Anyway, the catalyst facilitates a reaction that transforms the precursor agent into the actual mind control drug. The catalyst itself doesn’t change or combine. But it allows the reaction to take place at blood temperature in an aqueous solution, when it would normally need 200 degrees and an oxygen-free, dry environment.”
“She’s brain-damaged?” asked Roni, dumbfounded.
“It’s complicated,” said Patty. “Anyway, my point is that the reaction happens inside the body, so the magic interprets it as a normal bodily function. It doesn’t detect that anything is wrong until it’s too late! Anything else you want to know, Veronica?“
“That’s enough, Patricia,” Nigel said sharply, causing a wince from Patty at being reprimanded. “We don’t need to give away ALL our secrets, now, do we? Besides, I don’t have all night to play host to a couple of homewreckers...”
“Wait, wait” Shinobi protested, “Just one more thing. Patty... How could you do this? I mean... to Parker? He really cares about you. Couldn’t you at least let him have some dignity here?”
“Is that what Parker told you, Veronica? That he ‘cares about me’?“
“Well... No,” admitted Roni, turning to look at Parker. “He never said it in so many words, but I have eyes. I can see. If it hadn’t been for Satore, he would almost certainly be with you instead of me right now.”
“Well, then,” snapped Patricia, “I suppose I have something to thank her for after all. Parker never cared about me. I was just a convenient set of holes for him.”
At that Parker began to struggle and make muffled protests.
“Well, I’m glad I took care of that at the start,” she continued, pointing at Parker, “I really don’t have the stomach to listen to whatever line of bullshit you want to feed me.“
“That’s not true, Patty,” said Roni, “He really does—”
“SHUT UP!” shouted Patricia, “You don’t know SHIT!! There’s a whole hell of a lot about Parker and me that you obviously don’t know, Veronica. I got to know your dear beloved Parker VERY personally while he was Satore’s little errand boy. He taught me just about everything I know about sex...well, about rape, really, SINCE NO ONE EVER ASKED MY CONSENT!!“
Parker started making noises again, but Patty just talked over top of him.
“Oh, did you know? I got really good at getting Parker’s rocks off. Really good. In fact, Veronica, you know that spot on the underside of his cock? You know where I’m talking about, right? It’s off to the left...his left, our right when we’re sucking him off. You know what I mean. There’s this vein that pops up when he gets REALLY excited!” She laughed bitterly at the thought. “Oh, but you know all about that, don’t you, Veronica?”
“You stupid, naive, ignorant little bitch!” Roni yelled, struggling in her own restraints now. FUCK! I can’t believe THIS is the petulant little bitch he’s been pining over all this time! I told the truth... if things with Satore had turned out differently, he would have ended up with HER instead of me... I have real feelings for him, but all I really am is his ‘rebound girl’. And this... this... WOMAN is doesn’t even realize all the shit we’ve gone thru just for HER! I would KILL to have Parker look at me the way he is looking at her right now even with all the poison spilling out of her mouth!
“I’m ignorant? I’m naive?” Patty scowled. “Let me tell you something, you little WHORE. Parker is a fucking cold-hearted RAPIST! End of story! I was a FUCKING high school student! Just a kid, not that HE seemed to mind! I was his favorite, every FUCKING time he was there, I was called to serve him! EVERY GODDAMN TIME!”
Patty stopped and visibly called herself before she continued. “That’s the whole point I was making about Parker’s dick. I got to know It. Reeeeeeeally well. It got to the point in those little rape sessions that I could make that little vein of his pop in less than a minute. How long does it take YOU, Veronica?”
She laughed at Roni’s stricken expression. “Face it, slut... you couldn’t have cared less about ‘saving’ Angela and myself. You don’t know us. Probably never even heard of us. The ONLY reason you are here is because you’re so love-sick over that fucking piece of SHIT that you’d probably crawl naked through broken glass for him to stick it in your skanky ass hole! And the only reason HE’S here is because he can’t stand the thought of someone else tapping HIS little piece of ass!”
Roni’s mouth dropped open as if she’d been slapped. Until now she had nothing against Parker’s former crush. Now she felt an ice cold hatred of the bitch. Fuck her. Let her rot in Grimalde’s slave pit forever!
“So? Nothing else to say?” she asked, taunting the ninja. “Well, if there’s nothing else, let’s get down to business, shall we?” She held up the envelopes for them to see. “These envelopes contain copies of two requests for restraining orders, one against you and one against Parker. I will be delivering them to Judge Weederman’s office first thing in the morning, along with a very detailed video record of your little breaking and entering episode. I suggest you don’t fight it, because otherwise we will have to swear out a criminal complaint against you both that would, at a minimum, cause you to lose your status as badged supers.”
Patty tucked the envelopes into the straps on their chests, ignoring the wounded expression on Parker’s face and the cold hatred on Roni’s.
“And that,” Grimalde’s stated, walking back towards the door, “is that. Our guards will escort you back down to the street. Once there he will cut the wrist chains with bolt cutters, but, alas he will not cut the fetter chains. You’ll be a bit hobbled, but we really don’t want to deal with any sort of second attempt tonight. You’ll have to find someone else to cut off the wrist cuffs and the fetters. Oh, and if you’re smart, you won’t hang around. At last check, the police and fire department were sent out to respond to that little pyrotechnics show you put on. If you don’t want to answer a lot of uncomfortable questions to John Q. Law, I suggest you both make yourselves scarce.” Shrugging, he grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.
Parker, restrained, chained, physically beaten and abused, cut, burned, blasted, and shot, taunted and humiliated had reached his limit. He’d had enough. More than enough. Rage, fury, and flat-out refusal to accept defeat pushed him to the brink... and then over it. His sonic powers, lying dormant inside him since his accident, burst free, out of control, purely on instinct.
With a savage cry, he shattered the metal shackles binding him, metal shards splintering to the floor like broken glass. Pain lanced up and down his arm—his left hand broken, the bone shattered from the sonic feedback. It didn’t matter. Rising to his feet, his body literally vibrating with rage, he turned towards the source of all his troubles.
Nigel Grimalde.
“NO! Master look out!” Angela cried out, realizing in a moment of clarity what was happening before anyone else. As everyone else in the room turned in surprise, she leaped skyward, catching Parker midstride as he sprinted towards Nigel, murder in his eyes. Parker cried out from the impact, his bruised ribs protesting, as he found himself slammed down hard to the floor. Not to be deterred, however, Parker rolled with the fall as he’d been trained, lifting his legs, using her own momentum, propelling the hapless Angela into the nearby wall.
“ANGELA!” Patty cried, as her partner slumped to the floor, dazed. “BASTARD!” she screamed, charging at Parker as well, ready to rend him apart with her bare hands. At the last second, however, a fist, moving in a blur, connected with her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Gasping, she dropped to her knees, stunned, both by the blow and the fact that Parker had actually struck her. Then, suddenly dizzy, she glanced down at her stomach... only now noticing the three tranquilized darts he’d stabbed her with.
“Sorry about the sucker punch,” he murmured, ripping the tape away from his mouth, “but I only play fair when my opponent does. And since you mentioned your vaunted ‘magical healing ability’ I thought three darts would slow you down enough that I can finish my business with your ‘Lord and Master’ before you have time to recover!”
Nigel, eyes wide in shock, drew the plasma gun from his jacket, only to have it slapped away by Parker, who grabbed him by the collar, slamming him into the wall. “Oh, no you don’t,” Parker rasped, blood pooling lightly in his mouth, trailing down his lips. “You’re not getting away. This ends here and now, Grimalde!”
“Let go of me, you cretin!” Nigel yelled, struggling to break his grip. “If you so much as lay a finger on me I’ll ruin your life!”
“YOU ALREADY RUINED MY LIFE!” Parker roared back in fury. His free hand, the broken appendage, began to pulse. Gritting his teeth despite the searing pain, he managed to bend it into a fist. “Free them!” he growled, holding his hand aloft, the pulses from it whipping Nigel’s hair back like a fan. “They’ll obey anything you tell them. That’s how this shit works, right? So free them! Tell them they’re NOT your fucking slaves anymore! And bring back Patty’s memory! Let her remember the TRUTH about our time together, not those LIES you’ve filled her head with!”
Nigel, heart thudding in his chest in fear, stared his adversary down. “And if I don’t? What will you do, hero boy? Kill me? Punch my head clean off my shoulders? Well, I certainly can’t stop you, if that’s your plan... but it won’t get you what you want! Patricia and Angela will still be mine... and will only hate you more than they already do for taking me away from them! And you can kiss your days as a hero goodbye! You’ll be a bad guy, a villain, a murderer. You’ll lose EVERYTHING you hold dear!”
I already have, Parker thought morosely, closing his eyes. “So be it,” he said with grim conviction. “If pulling Patty and Angie out of your cold DEAD hands is the only way to free them, then fine! I’ll be the villain if that’s what it takes! But I’ll be damned if I’ll let you keep them!“
When the plasma discharge struck Parker square in the middle of the back, that ended it all. His dreams of heroism, rescue, vengeance, all vanished in a puff of smoke. Already pushed to his limit, reeling with pain, the energy blast crumpled him like a crushed aluminum can. Wide eyed, he stared up into the face of Patricia, the woman he’d risked everything to save, glaring down at him with a look of such intense hatred it chilled him to his core.
“I won’t let you hurt my Master,” she growled, holding the gun steady at his head. “I’ll DIE before I let you hurt the man I love! Get it through your thick skull, Parker! I’m not your little sextoy anymore! Nigel Grimalde didn’t ‘abduct’ me. I submitted to him of my OWN FREE WILL! I could have walked away at any time... but I chose to be here with him! He gave me a choice, Parker... which was something YOU NEVER DID! You wanted him to restore my memories about what happened to me? Newsflash, Parker, he didn’t do a damned thing! I remember everything Master has done to me from our first meeting up until now, the bad... and the good. And I assure you ‘the good’ is nothing short of AMAZING. And I remember everything YOU did to me until this very moment. With that in mind let me tell you this once and for all, even if all of the slave training in my mind were to somehow be erased, I would NEVER EVER be with you again, not if you were the last pitiful excuse for a man on Earth!“
A sob escaped her lips. “You’re through, Parker Albinn. You’ve hurt me enough. You’ve ruined my life enough. You’ll never, ever, hurt me again, or I swear before the Goddess that I will rip the spine from your body and flay you with it. Leave. Me. ALONE!”
Parker sighed softly, closing his eyes. It was too much to take. Too much. He’d failed... completely, miserably, and utterly. Patty Sellars was gone... the sweet adoring girl that had captured his heart had just crushed it beneath her heel. Worst of all... every single word she’d spoke rang true. He HAD abandoned her... left her to the devices of Satore’s henchmen. And he was the one that had placed her in that hell to begin with! Granted, he hadn’t known her true age when he’d turned her, hadn’t known she was a VIRGIN to boot... but afterwards, he’d known. He’d known, and he’s still used her, raped her, again, and again, and again. He’d told himself it was love, that he was protecting her from those much worse than himself... but perhaps he was simply deluding himself.
He’d taken away her innocence, and turned her into his whore. Is it any wonder she ended up with a man like Grimalde? As bad as he is... in her mind, he’s a saint compared to me. And maybe... she’s not wrong...
Opening his eyes, turning away from Patty, he stared up at Nigel, his nemesis. “Well... what are you waiting for, Grimalde?” he said in a flat empty voice. “You’ve won. You’ve beaten me. Tell your little slave girl to kill me and get it over with.” He closed his eyes. “Just do it... and put me out of my misery.”
Patty glanced at her Master, finger on the trigger, but he shook his head. “No, Albinn,” he replied, straightening his jacket collar, walking over to take the gun back from Patty. “I won, and I get to decide how things turn out. We’re going with my original plan. You and your ninja cohort will be escorted off the premises. You’ve been presented with copies of the restraining order. And your dear Aunt Eva should already have hers in hand by now. You see, Albinn... I am a gracious winner. I get to keep my two lovely Angels, and you? You get to keep your insignificant life.”
“Just like that” Veronica asked, dubiously, as a squad of uniformed guards entered. “After all of this, you’re just going to let us walk?”
“Of course,” he replied smoothly. “I’ve made my point. You and your friend have lost. All of your heroics, all of your trials, your sacrificing... it was all for naught. You never even had a chance at winning. And that is why I am letting you go... so that you will always remember this moment, this defeat, for the rest of your lives. And just in case you decide to get cute and try to expose my identity to the press, remember that I know your identities as well.” He shrugged. “At any rate, I bid you both a good night. I can’t say it’s been an enjoyable experience, but it was definitely entertaining.“
With that, he walked out, with Patty and Angela following in his wake.
Epilogue — Love Birds
It was a new day, and Angela faced a new challenge. Master had summoned her to his office, and there she stood by his desk looking down at the chessboard. “What’s this, Master?”
“Oh, come off it, Angela. You know a chess problem when you see one. Why don’t you wow me with your intellect and tell me the solution.”
Angie was trying her hardest to ignore the heat between her legs. Trying to fight the urge to shove her hand down her panties and give herself what she really wanted. But she knew that would only piss Master off. And even more than she wanted to please herself, she wanted to please Master. So why not do both?
“Who’s playing?” she asked, grinning at him coquettishly.
“It’s white’s move.”
“No, Master,” she said, giggling. “Which one is me and which one is you?”
“Angela, you know that doesn’t make a difference.”
“Oh, please tell me, Master,” she said, biting her lip, “It makes all the difference in the world to me!“
“Okay. We’ll play it your way. You’re white and I’m black.”
“And it’s white’s move?”
“Right.”
“Okay. Here’s my solution,” she said, picking up the white king and laying it on it’s side. “I resign, Master. I surrender. Black wins. Blackfinger wins.”
She walked around the desk and planted herself straddling Nigel’s lap.
“Do you like my solution, Master.”
Grinding her crotch into his, she was clearly making an excellent case for the value of her solution.
Arrgh! Eyes on the prize, Grimalde! the man said to himself.
“No Angela, I don’t like your solution. I don’t like it at all. If you were to try, really try, one of us would win, and one of us would lose, but both of us would learn something, right?”
“Um, if... if you say so, Master,” she replied, still grinding into him.
“But if you don’t try, if you just give up, neither of us learns anything. And, we both lose.”
“What, Master? You lose if I give up?”
“Yes Angela, when you give up, when you lose because you didn’t even try, then your Master loses too.”
“So you want...”
“I want you to succeed. I want you to live a full life. When you do that, you make me proud of you. You validate my love for you.”
“Your... love? You love me, Master?”
“I love all of you, Angela. And I want you to be happy and fulfilled, not just existing from one orgasm to the next.”
She stopped cold in his lap. She reached around his neck and hugged him tight, but—knowing her Tearbearer strength—gently.
“So, you don’t want me to be your fucktoy?” she whispered quietly in his ear.
“Sure, I do, Angela. When it’s time to fuck. But I need you to be more than just a toy, Angela. I need you to be a real girl.”
Angela laughed. Not a sex kitten laugh, not a little girl laugh, a real, grown-up laugh. Leaning back and looking him in the eyes, she regarded him quizzically.
“Pinocchio, Master?” she asked at last.
“Whatever works, baby.”
She stood up. She straightened her skirt. “I need some time, Master. I... I have to think about what you said.”
“Take all the time you need.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Angie stood to leave. As she passed by the desk she looked over at the chessboard again and paused.
“White has mate in five.”
Nigel was surprised. He really didn’t expect... believe... Well, he decided, I can’t stop now!
“I agree,” he countered, “but why don’t you walk me through it.”
“Okay,” she said, “Queen to B3.”
“A retreat?” he asked.
“A strategic redeployment,” she replied.
“Okay that leaves the rook open, but what if black doesn’t take it?”
“Then the queen and the rook pin the king in only three...”
In the outer office, Patty and Deedee looked up from the monitor in awe. They were actually there only to observe, to back up their Master, to come in and distract, or even remove Angie if something backfired. They didn’t expect what they were seeing. They didn’t believe what they were hearing.
“He said he loves us,” said Deedee, clearly shocked by the revelation.
“Yeah,” said Patty, just as amazed, “it really sounded like he meant it.”
“He meant it. N-no doubt about it.”
“Deedee... why are you crying?”
“Because... because...” Deedee stopped trying to speak and embraced her harem sister, her fellow slave, her true family of the heart. It was the only way she could think of to express all the love and joy she felt.