Warning: This is a work of bondage deathtrap fiction. If you are disturbed by\ndepictions of courageous women facing sadistic villains and finding themselves\nin intricate inescapable bondage deathtraps, then DO NOT READ THIS STORY. Though\nbased on familiar comic book themes, this story is NOT intended for children.
\nAlexa liked almost everything about being a superheroine. She loved the sense of\nhigh adventure and the adrenaline rush that always came when she knew she was\ndashing into harms way. She loved the challenge of pitting her talent, skills,\nand courage against bizarre and dangerous criminals, knowing full well that one\nslip could spell disaster. She loved the feel of her tight high-tech costume,\nthe heightened sense of vulnerability she felt while wearing it, and the erotic\npower she could wield against friend and foe alike. She even loved the media\ncoverage -- the tabloid headlines that accompanied each defeated super criminal,\nthe grainy pictures of her snapped at a distance, and the banter in the gossip\ncolumn about who she really was. She was a defender, a celebrity, and a sex\nkitten all at the same time. It was a wonderful life.
\nExcept, of course, for all the people trying to kill her.
\nSeize her ladies! Quickly!
\nA murmur rippled through the crowd of over 2000 people as two women clad in\nblack bustiers and fishnet stockings took hold of the stunned heroine and pulled\nher to her knees. The trio stood in the midst of the main stage of the Ansonia\nMetropolitan Theater, with props, curtains, and unconscious bodies littered all\nabout them. The set had been originally intended to resemble an Egyptian throne\nroom complete with massive standing columns, palm trees, slave girls waving\ngiant fans, and a backdrop matte showing the great Pyramids rising over darkened\nsand dunes. But now the stage actors had all fled, the lightweight prop columns\nhad been scattered like bowling pins, and the podium used by the master of\nceremonies had been hurled into the front row. A banner reading, Welcome to the\n20th Annual MASTERS OF MAGIC Awards! still hung over the now-jumbled stage. The\nartificial suspense of the obscure awards show had been suddenly interrupted by\nthe very real suspense of violent crime.
\nA dramatic entrance, Nightvision. But once again, I steal the show.
\nLooming over the trio of ladies stood a tall, dashingly handsome man dressed in\na stylish tuxedo and carrying a black lacquered cane. He was somewhere past\nmiddle age but his icy blue eyes, cleft chin, and chiseled features were\ntimeless. His calm demeanor and winning smile betrayed him as a man who had\ngrown up on the stage, a man who was used to receiving the praise and admiration\nof others. His name was a household word -- Mandrake the Magnificent -- perhaps\nthe greatest stage illusionist who had ever lived. Unfortunately pride, greed,\nand fading popularity had finally driven him to a life of crime. The once\nbeloved name of Mandrake the Magnificent was now synonymous with larceny,\nblackmail, and murder. Mandrakes huge black panther, Laertes, paced slowly\nbeside his master, barring his teeth and snarling at the crowd.---
\nI was hoping my latest caper would draw the attention of Ansonias most\ncelebrated lady of the evening. Though I must say, I was expecting someone\nsomewhat more imposing.
\nIndeed, in many ways Alexa looked more like a cheerleader than a daredevil\nvigilante. She stood no more than 5 6, with a classic hourglass figure, firm\nathletic breasts, and toned muscles from years of physical conditioning.--- Her\nhazel-green eyes, pouting lips, and lush dark hair gave her the look of Teen\nBeat cover girl. The sleek rubber eye mask, violet eye makeup, and pompadour\nbangs only served to reinforce her youthful vulnerability. Her costume consisted\nof a violet-black halter top body suit of rubberized Lycra, with matching\nthigh-high boots, opera gloves and cape. A black silk sash was tied tightly\naround her narrow waist and a black leather weapons belt traversed her pelvis\nfrom right hip to the slim holster strapped to her left thigh. Given her Barbie\ndoll appearance, sultry costume, and her reputation as a powerful psychic, it\nwas easy to see why Nightvision was a preoccupation of both the press and the\ncriminal underworld alike.
\nWhat what did you do with Hemelman?
\nJeff Hemelman had just walked onto the stage to accept his award for Best Stage\nMagician when Mandrake struck, appearing in a puff of smoke even as his female\nassistants applied a strange glue to the auditorium doors, sealing them shut\nfrom outside. Fortunately, Alexa had been in the balcony with her date when\nMandrake made his appearance. While he made a production out of stuffing\nHemelman into a magic cabinet and making him disappear, Alexa had done a\ndisappearing act of her own, just long enough to change into her Nightvision\ncostume and swoop down on Mandrake as he was taking his final bows. She made\nquick work of Mandrakes female assistants but even as she turned to deal with\nMandrakes feline body guard the magician himself had sprayed her with some sort\nof drug from the fangs of his snakehead cane. The next thing she knew she was\nMandrakes captive.
\nImagine the nerve of the Magicians Guild, awarding him best magician over me.\nI've spirited him away of course, to teach him a lesson. But at the moment I'd\nbe more concerned with what Im about to do with you.
\nMandrakes upright cabinet was about the size of a squat coffin, broad at the top\nand rapidly tapering to a narrow floor. Its black lacquered surface was adorned\nwith swirling Oriental dragons in silver filigree. He tipped the box over\nbackward until it settled horizontally onto a concealed wheel carriage that held\nthe cabinet at waist level like a hospital gurney. He opened the black lid and\nmotioned to his assistants.
\nMy nightshade venom is powerful but its effects are mercifully temporary. Put\nher inside and ensure she is securely shackled.
\nNightvision tried to resist, but the venom from Mandrakes cane had drained her\nstrength. She felt thick and sluggish as if she were drunk -- the overhead stage\nlights were blinding and Mandrakes words sounded distant and indistinct. The\ndarling heroine could only struggle weakly as the two assistants lifted her by\nthe ankles and armpits and lowered her into the coffin. Her feet and hands were\nforced through round holes in the walls and floor of the cabinet, then secured\nwith steel cuffs on the outside to ensure that she could not draw them back\ninside. After securing the cuffs with pad locks to eye bolts set in the outer\nwalls of the cabinet, they repeated the process on the teenage dynamos head,\nsecuring a steel collar to her throat then sliding it into wide slot at the top\nof the box. The cob webs were rapidly clearing from Nightvisions normally\nquick-thinking mind, but it was too late for any purpose other than to better\nappreciate her current predicament. The assistants secured the collar to the\ncabinet in a manner similar to the cuffs, padlocking it to additional eye bolts\nat the top of the coffin. Nightvision pulled futilely at her restraints as the\nassistants backed away and Mandrake tilted the coffin back to vertical to give\nthe audience a closer look.
\nLadies and gentlemen! Im saddened to announce that Jeff Hemelman will be unable\nto perform for you tonight. But in his absence, I've arranged for a much more\nspectacular substitute. Ansonias own psychic superheroine, Nightvision!
\nA few in the audience actually clapped, uncertain if this could possibly be part\nof the act.
\nTonight, for your entertainment, the lovely Nightvision will face torture,\nhumiliation, and slow death as she confronts the most harrowing escape ever\nattempted on any stage. I call it simply the Kiss of Steel.
\nThe crowd murmured again as Mandrakes assistants wheeled out an insidious device\na circular masonry saw equipped with a blade a full three feet in diameter,\nmounted on a long hydraulic arm. The arm was at the moment vertical but once\nactivated could be lowered down toward a steel cutting surface that formed the\nwheeled base of the machine.
\nI've borrowed Madeline Marvels lovely stage saw for this feat. Its an authentic\nindustrial saw, though I've taken the liberty of adding an industrial tungsten\nblade and I've removed the governer that prevents the saw from reaching actual\ncutting speed. I've also removed the mirrors Miss Marvel uses to make it appear\nas though she is chained beneath the descending blade, and will replace it with\nthis cabinet of my own design.
\nThe demented magician stepped dramatically to where the now-alert Nightvision\nstruggled within the box; feet suspended a foot above the stage with her full\nweight supported by the collar. The bright stage lights danced across the\nsurface of her tightly-clad body as she labored for breath.
\nI can assure you that Nightvision is every bit as helpless as she appears. The\nbox itself is solid oak with steel reinforcements throughout. The shackles you\nsee on her wrists and ankles are solid steel, and the collar is squeezed\npainfully around her throat. The box is virtually inescapable, though alas it\nwill provide precious little protection against the force of the descending\nblade.
\nMandrake, this is old hat, Nightvision interjected. Surely you can think of\nsomething more original than than the old Saw the Lady in Half trick. Let\nHemelman go, and Ill go with you willingly.
\nMandrake turned and gave her a chilling smile. Your self-sacrifice is most\nnoble. However, I can assure you, my dear, this trick has a new and most clever\ntwist. Behold.
\nNightvisions eyes opened wide as Mandrake waved one empty hand over the other\nand produced a long black rod with a second smaller device attached to the base\nby a short wire. With a gasp the dark-eyed vigilante saw what it was: a dildo.
\nYou fiend! Nightvision spat as she twisted in her bonds. It didnt take much\nimagination to guess what he intended to do with that. He held it up for the\ncrowd to see.
\nIndeed ladies and gentlemen, not only will the lovely Nightvision soon be\npositioned in harms way beneath the arc of the saw, she will be controlling its\ndescent with her own lovely body. This device will not only provide relentless\nstimulation to her most sensitive regions, it will also measure her level of\narousal. The closer she gets to climax, the closer the blade will drop and the\nfaster it will spin. For the youngsters in the crowd I will spare you the sight\nof my inserting this device into Nightvisions womanhood. Suffice it so say,\nladies, that you should not try this at home.
\nThe crowd watched in stunned horror as Mandrake once again lowered the cabinet\nto horizontal. One of his assistants pulled the crotch of Nightvisions body suit\naside and opened the discrete seam in her high-gloss hose to reveal her neatly\ntrimmed pussy.
\nAhh, I see your costume is well designed for erotic peril, Mandrake smiled. Must\nbe part of the job, ehh Nightslut? Allow me.
\nAlexa twisted her pelvis in a futile attempt to keep Mandrake from finding his\ntarget, but of course it was futile. She let out an almost girlish gasp as the\ndildo parted her nether lips and gasped as Mandrake drove the vibrator deeply\ninto her. She yelped as Mandrake attached the secondary vibrator to her swollen\nclit, but then it was done. The assistant neatly rearranged the rubbery crotch\nof Nightvisions costume and stepped away so that once more the trapped heroine\nwas in full view of the crowd.
\nOur brave heroine will need every ounce of her concentration to hold off the\nkiss blade, ladies and gentlemen, but Im afraid it wont be that simple. She will\nalso have some other kisses to contend with as well.
\nOne moment Mandrakes hands were empty, but with and twist of his cane he\nproduced a jar full of scorpions. The crowd gasped anew. Desert scorpions, small\nbut each with a sting capable of paralyzing a horse. Nightvision will share her\ntomb with a colony of the deadly insects.
\nMandrake, this is insane! Alexa gasped as own body tingled in submissive\narousal. Her fascination for danger and strict bondage washed over like a drug,\nbut the site of the deadly insects added a new dimension of horror.
\nIndeed, and since the bites of the scorpion invariably causes agonizing muscular\npain, I've brought along a little something to help you cope.
\nMandrake produced a rubber ball gag, equipped with both a chin and head strap,\nthoughtfully color-coordinated with Nightvisions costume. Now, open wide.
\nNightvisions body was already soaked with sweat beneath the withering lights,\nand she could feel the even hotter weight of thousands of pairs of eyes riveted\non her, both from the audience and from the eye of the television cameras\npositioned near the foot of the stage. She didnt want it to appear that she was\nin any way cooperating with Mandrake, but the humiliation of having her mouth\npried open before an audience of thousands was more than she could bear. With a\nheavy sigh she opened her mouth.
\nGood girl, Mandrake patronized as he pulled the gag firmly in place and secured\nthe straps. Then he turned to the crowd. Shes all set ladies and gentlemen, so\nlet the show begin!
\nMandrake reached in a flipped a switch on the base of the concealed dildo,\nbringing it to sudden life. Even as Nightvision shuddered from the sudden\nstimulation, Mandrake upended the jar and showered deadly brownish 2-inch\nscorpions all over her body. Several women in the audience screamed, but then\nthe lid was closed and three more padlocks were added before the cabinet was\nwheeled beneath the saw and clamped into place. Mandrake flipped a switch on the\nsaw and the device promptly roared into action, descending half way to the\ncabinet before halting and wavering back and forth.
\nAnd now I must be leaving you, Mandrake saluted the crowd, But I insist you stay\nand enjoy the show. I will leave Laertes here as master of ceremonies, just in\ncase any of you entertain thoughts of attempting to rescue our damsel in\ndistress.
\nMandrake removed his hat and blew a kiss to the audience. Then his hat dropped\nto the ground, and in a puff of smoke, Mandrake was gone.
\nFor a minute all was quite -- the crowd watched obediently as the saw wavered\nunsteadily over the gleaming surface of Mandrakes box and its youthful prisoner.\nThe silken-haired vigilante looked up almost calmly at the giant blade, fighting\ndesperately to master her emotions as her only defense against both blade and\nsting. Yet the inexorable descent of blade and its ever-increasing speed was\nproof that Nightvision was locked in a battle she could not win. Still, the\ncrowd seemed content to remain in their seats while the drama played out to its\ngrisly conclusion. That is, until Laertes strode up the edge of the stage and\ngave off a fierce roar.
\nThat panther! Its loose! Run!
\nThe crowd quickly degenerated in to a mob, as everyone all at once made a break\nfor the doors. The leaders of the crowd found the doors still bonded shut, of\ncourse, and they were crushed violently against the unyielding aluminum as the\nmass of humanity continued surging toward the exits. None even considered\nrescuing Nightvision from Mandrakes sinister trap. Despite her repeated services\nto the city of Ansonia, she was already written off as the first victim of the\nmagicians madness.
\n<ALEXA ALEXA IM HERE. IM COMING TO HELP YOU.>
\nThe voice ran through Alexas mind like a daydream, discernable to her alone. It\nwas a voice she had known all her life; possibly even before. The voice itself\nwas as soothing as its offer of aid, perhaps her only hope of escaping from\nMandrakes trap. Still, the master criminal had a head start and with every\npassing second it was more and more likely that he would get away with his\nkidnapped magician. Despite the dangers she couldnt live with herself if she\ntraded Jeff Hemelmans life for her own. In a matter of seconds she made her\nfateful decision.
\n<MANDRAKES GETTING AWAY.> Alexa mentally replied, though the force of her own\nthoughts were so diluted that she wasnt sure if she could actually be heard. HAS\nHEMELMAN. WILL KILL HIM.
\n<NO. I CANT LEAVE YOU TO DIE,> Came the reply.
\n<SAVE HEMELMAN.> She thought back weakly. <MY CHOICE.>
\nHer thoughts were met with only silence. For a moment she thought that her mind\nwas too jumbled to form coherent thoughts. Still she tried one more time.
\n<GO! NO TIME!>
\n<ILL BE BACK IN FIVE MINUTES,> the voice came back after a long pause. <JUST\nHOLD ON.>
\nAlexa attempted to reply but her concentration was finally shattered by a sudden\nlunge of the blade. The onslaught of the wet vibrator on her defenseless clit\nwas maddening, but even the slightest erotic thought caused the blade to plunge\nin response to her own arousal. She HAD to escape from beneath the blade, but\nthe manacles were fiendishly secure and her body was alive with the pricks of\nsixty pairs of skittering feet. If she made more than the most subtle attempt to\nfree herself she would die in agony from the venom of a dozen stings. As she\nstared up at the twinkling blade she was forced to grudgingly admire Mandrake\nfor his sadistic genius.
\nFive minutes suddenly seemed like an incredibly long time to wait.
\nSheer genius, Mandrake congratulated himself as he emerged through a freight\ndoorway at the rear of the theater. The audience is treated to the spectacle of\na lifetime, even while I make off with the star of the show!
\nBehind Mandrake came his four female assistants, escorting a tuxedo-clad Jeff\nHemelman, arms bound behind his back and head covered with a black silk hood.\nJust ahead of them waited a featureless white pack van, the perfect getaway car\nfor the normally flamboyant Master of Mayhem.
\nThough I must say, Nightvision is a most delectable adversary. Its a pity I only\nget to kill her once.
\nThen have I got a surprise for you, Mandrake!
\nNightvision! But thats impossible!
\nImpossible but true. Nightvision stood on the roof of the pack van, a shapely\nmasked shadow with long flowing hair. Both of her gloved hands were locked on\nher Nightstick, a three-foot fighting staff with metal tips that gave off an\neerie violet glow. The electrified staff was charged at the precise frequency of\nthe human nervous system, and each strike temporarily robbed its target of\nstrength and coordination.--- Nightvisions cape fluttered behind her as she\nflipped from the van and landed in the midst of her foes. The great magician\ncould only stare dumbfounded as the teenage avenger once again dropped his\nassistants with a blinding succession of crackling blows from her Nightsitck. In\nseconds it was over, Mandrake was once again alone against his shapely enemy,\nthis time without Laertes.
\nLets try this one more time, Nightvisions narrowed her eyes as she expertly spun\nher Nightstick in her hands. But this time drop the cane.
\nBut, it cant be! Mandrake was incredulous as he dropped his cane. I left you\nshackled on the stage beneath an industrial saw. Escape was IMPOSSIBLE!
\nYea well, you know magic, Nightvision quipped, If you know the secret it just\nisnt any fun. Now put your hands on the van. I'd like to avoid any more\nsurprises this evening.
\nThis cant be. It CANT be, Mandrake mumbled to himself as he turned away from his\nnemesis and put his hands on the van. His puzzled deliberations were only ended\nby a prolonged application of Nightvisions staff, which sent him hurling into\ndreamless oblivion.
\nSorry for the rough treatment, Mandrake Nightvision sighed as she retracted her\nstaff to its normal 14-inch length and holstered it at her left thigh. But you\nknow what they say, turn about is fair play. She produced a short knife from her\nboot and used it to cut the ropes securing Hemelmans wrists, then she removed\nhis hood.
\nAre you alright?
\nYea, the stunned magician replied, thanks to you. Thought I was dead.
\nWell, we couldnt let that happen. Im a sucker for that\nlady-floating-in-the-fountain-of-water trick, Nightvision said with a wry smile.\nThen she produced a series of black plastic zip cords. Know how to use these?
\nI think so. Just thread it through a pull it tight.
\nRight. Cuff these five with their arms interlocking, then get out of here. Even\nif they wake up they wont get far. The policed will be along presently.
\nIll try. But where are you going -- why risk letting them get away?
\nSorry, but if I dont get moving I just might be dead as well.
\nZZZZZZZZZZ!
\nThe whine of the saw had reached fever pitch and the blade now hung only\nfractions of an inch above the surface of the wooden cabinet in which\nNightvision was still inescapably trapped. The cabinet was already scarred by\nseveral brushes with the saw, and each contact had resulted in an explosion of\nsparks and wood shavings. The young vigilante was so hyper-aroused that her\nentire body seemed to pulse with erotic energy, her mind a sea of endorphins.\nShe hovered so close to orgasm that it seemed almost like a single prolonged\nclimax, and her love canal spasmed along the full length of the vibrating dildo.\nYet she dared not move more than absolutely necessary lest she draw the\nattention of the scorpions still skittering all along her body. The mental and\nphysical torture was exquisite, as Mandrake had clearly intended, and her very\nlife hung by the slimmest of margins.
\nHer best chance of survival was that someone would come to her rescue, but as\neach second passed that was becoming increasingly unlikely. The doors had\nfinally yielded to the surge of humanity, leaving Alexa virtually alone in the\ntheater except for those few too injured to even crawl out into the lobby. Her\nonly companion, unfortunately, was Laertes, who still prowled the stage snarling\nin agitation. Any would-be rescuer would first have to deal with the big cat\nbefore even being allowed to approach her deathtrap. It would likely be some\ntime before the police could mount some sort of rescue attempt and by then it\nwould be far too late. And in the meantime, she feared that at any moment the\ntheater owners might try to help her by shutting off the power to the main\ntheater. Killing the power to the theater would certainly shut down the saw, but\nthe blade would then descend to its resting place at the center of the cutting\nsurface, bisecting the box in the process. Almost any rescue would likely mean\ndeath for the young adventuress. Her only hope was to attempt to save herself,\nhowever long the odds.
\nShe had only one chance, and that was the saw itself. Though it was solid steel,\nas Mandrake had indicated, it was not nearly as sharp as an actual industrial\nsaw. It had always been intended as a stage prop and the cabinet had shaken\nviolently with each brush of the blade. It was a desperate gamble, but Alexa had\nno other choice.
\nNightvision allowed her mind to stray ever so slightly toward the sensation of\nthe vibrator lapping at her clit and the saw surged downward even as her body\nhurled toward climax. It was like throwing a fighter jet into a nose dive then\ntrying to pull out again before hitting the ground, as she fought to pull\nherself back from the onset of orgasm even as the blade laid into the cabinet.\nBut her innermost muscles gripped the dildo tighter and tighter even as she\nwilled them to relax, and the blade continued its descent. The flaxen-haired\ndynamo screamed into the ball gag as the saw continued to sink, heedless of her\ndesperate efforts to halt it. The air all around her exploded in a cloud of\nwood, dust, metal and flying scorpions, soon to be joined by the spray of her\nown blood and bone. Alexa dug desperately at the slippery slope of passion,\nhoping beyond hope to avoid the oblivion of death that awaited her.
\nAnd just for an instant, she stopped it. The blade halted its descent even as\nthe cabinet disintegrated all around her. Suddenly, her hands and feet were free\nand she used her precious moment of freedom to roll off the steel cutting\nsurface and onto the stage floor, chunks of wood still clamped around her wrists\nand ankles. Then the climax washed through her like a force of nature, wave\nafter wave of intense pleasure that blossomed to completely fill her world like\nmushroom cloud. Sparks swirled in sympathy all around her as the saw bit into\nthe steel cutting surface, shattering the blade in the process. Finally, the saw\nwent into auto shutdown; the deafening whine of the engine abated as the arm\nrose back to vertical carrying with it the twisted remains of the blade.
\nNightvision lay on her side, gasping for breath and clutching at her crotch with\nher still-manacled arms. The power of the dildo had somehow shut down with the\nsaw, so her first act of recovery was to undo the buckles holding the ball gag\nin her mouth. Then she cleaned the last remnants of wood from around her limbs\nand throat before rising slowly to her knees.
\nRRRRRR!
\nAlexa looked up startled to find herself face to face with Laertes. The\n300-pound cat was coiled and ready to pounce, teeth bared in fury. Her blood\nfroze in her veins as she realized that her victory was likely to be\nshort-lived. She had escaped the blade only to be torn to bloody shreds by the\ngreat cat. She closed her eyes, determined to meet death peacefully.
\nZAAAAACK!
\nHer eyes flew open again at the familiar sound of the Nightstick discharging its\nenergy. Laertes whimpered like a kitten and writhed on the ground, then went\nstill as the command of his nervous system abandoned him. Mandrakes fearsome pet\nhad joined his master in defeat.
\nAlexa, are you alright?
\nAlexa glanced up from the stage to look upon the sight that few had ever seen --\nthe SECOND Nightvision. Her twin sister Alicia was identical to Alexa in almost\nevery respect, right down to the color of their eyes, the arch of their brows,\nand their choice of dangerous lifestyle. They also shared the telepathic and\nprecognitive powers that had made their ancestral line one of the most revered\nand hated in all of Eastern Europe.
\nYea, thanks to you. Did you get him?
\nOf course, Alicia smiled slyly. The only trick Mandrake the Magnificent will be\nperforming from now on will be hide the pickle with other inmates in his cell\nblock. And that Jeff Hemelman hes a cute one. Perhaps he could make use of a\ngood assistant or two.
\nHes all yours, Alexa got unsteadily to her feet. But Im sure my date is worried\nsick trying to find me. Do you mind if?
\nAlicia knew where she was heading. They regularly changed places with each other\nwhen the need suited them, even fooling their closest friends. In fact, given\nthe demands of their crime fighting careers, it was often a practical necessity.
\nOf course. Your dress?
\nMezzanine ladies room, slung beneath the sinks. Come by the loft later?
\nIts a date. Ill let you know how Peter kisses.
\nAs Alexa limped for the shadows of the back stage, Alicia fired a drag line up\ninto the first balcony and prepared to climb up. She was only interrupted by the\nvoice in her head, soft and intimately comforting.
\n<AND ALICIA?>
\n<YES?>
\n<THANKS. FOR COMING SO FAST.>
\n<WHAT ARE SISTERS FOR?>
\nMarla Dietrich was a woman that knew what she wanted. Since taking control of\nKFUF Channel 62 from her father at the tender age of 25 she had worked\ntirelessly to turn the backwater television station around. She had fired all of\nher fathers worthless semi-retired friends, built a state-of-the-art news room,\nand hired the best marketing representatives away from the other local\naffiliates. She had dropped their long-standing independent status and aligned\nher station with an up-and-coming network, and even hired a traffic copter to\nmonitor the local rush hour, replacing the canned updates purchased from other\nstations. She had sunk her entire fortune into putting KFUF on the map, but her\nefforts had gone large unnoticed and unappreciated. Despite the face lift, her\nstation was awash in a sea of red ink. As more and more viewers were migrating\nto cable and the Internet for entertainment, it seemed likely that she would\nlose everything.
\nBut now she knew the secret to save her empire. She had to kill Nightvision.
\nBZZZT!
\nMarla had been waiting in the featureless visitation room for almost 30 minutes\nbefore the activation of the security door beyond the clear bulletproof\npartition heralded the arrival of her guest. She unconsciously smoothed the\nskirt of her expensive wool suit, as she always did before meetings with\nimportant clients. All things considered it was an odd place for business\nnegotiations. The windows were barred, the chairs cheap plastic, and her client\nan inmate in maximum security prison. Still, the consequences of their\nnegotiations couldnt be more critical to her future or the future of her\ntelevision station.
\nThe security door swung open to reveal Mandrake the Magician, flanked on either\nside by a beefy prison guard. His stylish tuxedo had been replaced by a bright\norange jump suit and his expensive jewelry was replaced by wrist and ankle\nmanacles. His normally immaculate hair had been shaved close and he looked pale\nunder the harsh light of the overhead fluorescent tubes. But as they met gazes\nshe could tell that his icy blue eyes were still twinkling with cunning and\nmadness. He was still Mandrake the Magician, one of the greatest arch criminals\nin the world. Marla was counting on it.
\nTen minutes, One of the guards announced, as he removed the transit cuffs from\nMandrakes wrists and ankles. Try to keep it in your pants.
\nThen the door closed, leaving Marla Dietrich alone with the Master of Mayhem. He\nwalked slowly toward the chair on the high security side of the visitation room,\nnever taking his unreadable gaze off the woman on the other side of the 2-inch\nPlexiglas. His smile was cold and humorless, but when he spoke his British\naccent was steady and refined.
\nForgive me, but I dont believe weve met.
\nNo, we havent. My name is Marla Dietrich, Im the owner of KFUF Channel 62.
\nMandrake made no move to sit down. Yes, well youll forgive me Ms Dietrich, but I\nmust inform you that I dont watch much television. I find the media vacuous.
\nI understand, but Im not here to ask you for an interview. Im here to discuss a\nbusiness proposition. I want you to kill Nightvision.
\nMandrake stared at her a moment longer then slowly sat down in the chair. Go on
\nMy station televised the Masters of Magic Awards show last month. I've been\nstruggling for years to get local rebroadcast rights to key civic events, but so\nfar I've been relegated to strictly second class events. No offense.
\nNone taken, Mandrakes expression was unreadable.
\nHowever, my broadcast rights for the Masters of Magic gave me exclusive\nbroadcast rights to the battle between you and Nightvision. I've licensed the\nfootage to the major networks for over a million dollars. Youre quite a star.
\nYou are too kind, but I believe Nightvision is the star of that particular\nperformance. As you can see, I am now behind bars.
\nAn impediment that could be remedied, under the appropriate circumstances. There\nis a significant amount of paperwork clogging the penal system at the moment.\nPrisoners are transferred, mistakes are made
\nOn the condition that you get broadcast rights to the rematch.
\nNow it was Marlas turn to smile coldly. Precisely. I assume you could arrange\nfor an appropriately dramatic demise for Ansonias darling crime fighter, given\nproper time and resources.
\nI might have a few ideas.
\nYou get your freedom, your revenge on the woman that put you in jail, and the\ndistinction of being the criminal who killed Nightvision. I get the\ninternational broadcast rights, the national exposure, and my revenge on the\ncity that shits on me each and every day.
\nAnd what is my percentage?
\nNow Marla smiled with a stare every bit as icy as Mandrake himself. The only\nfuture you have at the moment, Mandrake, is an 8 by 8 foot cell on death row.\nAnd you are far from the only criminal in Ansonia interested in killing\nNightvision. Just the most photogenic. My offer is more than fair.
\nI see. Mandrake blinked first and leaned back in his chair with a chuckle. I\nhave performed enough card tricks to know when the deck is marked. Very well, if\nyou see to my release and bankroll my preparations I will arrange for\nNightvisions spectacular exit.
\nJust what I had in mind.
\nBZZZ! The door buzzed open again, signaling the end of their interview. Mandrake\ngot to his feet and pressed his hand to his lips, blowing his trademark kiss to\nhis new benefactor.
\nAdo, Ms Dietrich. I look forward to our next meeting.
\nAnd with that Mandrake the Magnificent was gone, swallowed back into the depths\nof Ansonias maximum security prison. But already his great mind was whirling\nwith thoughts of revenge, betrayal, and murder.
\nCome on Alicia, whats taking you so long?
\nAlexa Topolov stood in the midst of the expansive workout loft over her\napartment, tapping her foot anxiously. She was dressed in the costume of a\nmodern circus performer -- white sequined bikini with thong trunks, translucent\nhose and ballet slippers. She stretched out with expert precision on the ballet\nbar lining one wall of the loft, but her exotic costume indicated that she had\nother things on her mind than plies and pirouettes.
\nI am coming, sister, Alicia emerged from the dressing room clad in an identical\nwhite costume, and wearing an identical expression of irritation. Her Eastern\nEuropean accent was faint but unmistakable. Are you certain that the glitter is\nabsolutely necessary?
\nBoth girls had dusted their hair with silver glitter to accent their costumes,\nas was their practice in their former lives as circus performers.
\n<ALL THE WORLDS A STAGE>, Alexa telepathically reminded her twin. <AND YOU\nNEVER KNOW WHO IS WATCHING.>
\n<HMMPH>, Alicia snorted as she walked over to a concealed wall safe and began\nworking the combination. The two had accumulated an impressive array of toys,\ngadgets, and outfits during their two years as superheroines, mostly mementos of\ntheir time spent as guests of their enemies. The majority they turned over to\nthe police or local universities for study, but a few they kept because of their\nmore enduring appeal.
\nAfter five twists of the dial Alicia opened the safe and drew out two belts\nlined with delicately blinking electronic components. They were Shrinking Belts,\ndeveloped by the Doll Master as part of his plan to enslave an entire harem of\nwomen, all shrunk down to the size of 4-inches. He had developed elaborate play\nsets for his dolls, including a medieval dungeon, a sultans harem, and a western\nrodeo coral, all complete with miniaturized furniture, props, and actors. When\nNightvision had been captured by the Doll Master, however, Alexa had been\nsubjected to the shrinking process and then introduced into a somewhat harsher\nenvironment the terrarium of his pet boa constrictor! Alicia managed to\ninfiltrate the Doll Makers lair and rescue Alexa from a very tight squeeze, but\nthey kept the shrinking bands to help them with their war on crime. They also\nmade off with the Doll Masters latest play set, a miniature circus.
\nThe big top play set had been given a permanent home on a broad tabletop at one\nend of the loft. Though intended to accommodate 4-in human dolls, the tent was\nstill over 3 feet long and two feet high at its peak. The fabric, rigging, and\nlandscape had all been reproduced with painstaking detail. The equipment inside\nincluded two trapezes, a tightrope, a fully functional human cannon, a high\ndive, miniature bleachers, and even a lions cage (though they had donated the\nminiature lions, horses, and elephants to the Ansonia Zoo). Alexa flipped a\nswitch, turning on the festive lights that dotted the eerily lifelike model. The\nmerry notes of a tiny steam organ emanated from somewhere inside.
\nSHALL WE? Alicia offered a Shrinking Belt to her sister and they both slipped\nthem on. The ambient field generated by the belt tingled all around them as they\nmanipulated the controls that would shrink them down to doll size. Time for\ntheir evening workout.
\nAlexa and Alicia had grown up with the circus, first serving as assistants and\nlater as performers in their father Vladimirs circus act the Flying Topolovs.\nLike the rest of the family, they had proved to be natural aerialists and had\nmastered both the tight rope and the trapeze by the time they were 14. They\nloved the circus life -- traveling the country, signing autographs amid throngs\nof young fans, caring for the circus animals, the danger and romance of their\nact it was everything two adventurous young girls could hope for. But that was\nbefore they found out about The Gift.
\nThough they never knew it, the Topolovs were virtually a royal lineage among the\nshadowy Gypsy clans of Eastern Europe, a family renown for their influential\nleaders, great wealth, and above all their formidable witches. A powerful\npsychic ability The Gift as it was known -- traveled through the female line of\nthe Topolovs, allowing them to read minds, sense emotions, and in some cases\neven move objects with the force of their will. It was handed down to only a\nsingle woman in each generation and it was dangerously fickle, sometimes\nawesomely powerful, sometimes reduced to mere intuition, sometimes disappearing\naltogether for entire generations. As went the power of The Gift so went the\nfortunes of the Topolovs, and the 19th century found The Gift as weak as it had\never been. In the 20th Century it disappeared altogether, and the Topolovs were\nforced to flee Europe or be destroyed by their enemies. But all the Gypsies --\nTopolov friend and enemy alike -- watched each successive generation of women\nclosely for any sign of The Gifts return.
\nWhen Alicia and Alexa were born as twins, their father Vladimir had been\nimmensely relieved. Twins had never before inherited The Gift and this almost\ncertainly meant that his daughters would be spared the danger, treachery and\nbloodshed that would inevitably accompany the return of the Topolov witches.\nAlexa and Alicia had even undergone the grueling Witch Tests administered by the\ncrones from the Old Country and had shown no signs of supernatural power, much\nto their Fathers delight. But when the girls reached puberty they began\nundergoing strange changes, first in their ability to wordlessly communicate\nwith each other, then in a heightened sense of empathy -- the ability to read\nthoughts and emotions of others. Vladimir did his best to hide his daughters\nblooming talents and forbade them from using their powers under any\ncircumstances. But when Alexa began manifesting weak telekinetic powers, it was\nclear that even the most casual Gypsy observer would see the girls for what they\nwere powerful twin witches. He had to do something.
\nShortly after Alicia and Alexas 17th birthday, Vladimir decided that their only\nhope of leading normal lives was to leave the circus, so he sent them both away\nto school in Ansonia. Alexa attended the Metropolitan School of Dance downtown,\nwhile her sister lived in the suburbs and attended the Ansonia Art Institute\nwhere she studied the violin. For the first six months of their schooling, it\nappeared that Vladimirs plan would work perfectly. This girls settled into their\nnew cosmopolitan lives and only met in secret, concealing their relationship\nfrom even their closest new friends. As their powers grew steadily stronger, the\ngirls could clearly see the wisdom of their Fathers decision to keep them hidden\nfrom the ambitions of the Gypsy clans. Still, they missed the gaudy pleasures of\ntheir former circus life, and the miniature circus setup had proven a marvelous\nsubstitute for the real thing.---
\nBut even as Alicia and Alexa prepared to activate the shrinking belts, the\nsilence was broken by a high tech buzzing.
\n<DAMN.> Alexa turned around. It was the shortwave phone that the Ansonia Police\nused to contact Nightvision. <CHIEF RYAN SURE HAS LOUSY TIMING.>
\n<SUCH IS THE LIFE OF A CIVIL SERVANT.> Alicia thought back.
\n<AT LEAST CIVIL SERVANTS WITH PSYCHIC POWERS. BETTER SEE WHAT HE WANTS.> Alicia\nstrode to the RF base station and lifted the receiver. The device was old and\nunwieldy but had the advantages of being extremely difficult to trace and almost\nimpossible to jam.
\n<YES CHIEF? I MEAN > Yes Chief?
\nNightvision, Im afraid we have a queer situation down at Harmon Killibrew Field.\nThe Nightowls have disappeared.
\nDisappeared? The Nightowls were Ansonias beloved AAA baseball team and were\nscheduled to host Game 1 of the Pennant series against the Trenton Titans that\nsame night. Im not sure I understand.
\nAccording to the pitching coach, the team took batting practice an hour ago then\nheaded into the locker room for a team meeting. No one has seen any of them\nsince.
\nCould it be some sort of publicity stunt?
\nOur thought as well. But then my men found this note near the dugout: Strike one\nthey vanish, strike two you doubt, and when the clock reads zero, strike three\ntheyre out. What do you think?
\nI think the Nightowls could be in trouble. Ill be right down.
\nAlexa hung up the phone and turned to her sister.
\n<IT APPEARS THAT SOMEONE HAS ABDUCTED THE NIGHTOWLS.>
\n<BLACKMAIL?>
\n<PERHAPS, THE PERPITRATOR LEFT BEHIND A NOTE. A DEATH THREAT.>
\n<IT SEEMS OUR WORKOUT WILL HAVE TO WAIT. YOUD BETTER GO CHECK IT OUT.>
\n<RIGHT. >
\nAlexa handed her shrink belt back to Alicia and strode to the closet that served\nas the secret entrance to the dressing room where they stored their Nightvision\ncostumes and equipment. She felt the familiar tingle of excitement as she ran\nher finger down the line of costumes arrayed on the hanging bar, stopping on her\nfavorite: a French cut halter-top body suit with a mock turtle neck and a\nconcealed zipper up the back. It was a daring costume for a young vigilante\nfighting crime in one of Americas most corrupt and dangerous cities, but to\ncircus performer with a fetish for adventure and danger, it was the perfect\nchoice.
\nAlexa had first resolved to become a masked crime fighter six months after\narriving in Ansonia, in order the help save the city from the reign of terror of\nParallax, a mad scientist who had developed a quantum device to stop time.\nParallax committed crime after crime then held the entire city for ransom, and\nsince he committed all his crimes while the rest of the world was frozen in\ntime, the authorities were powerless to stop him. Only Alexa and Alicia, with\ntheir empathic ability to feel an individuals intent BEFORE they committed a\ncrime, had any chance of saving the city. But Alexa had promised her father that\nshe would not use her powers publicly, so Alicia fashioned her a circus-style\ncostume with a mask to conceal her identity, a violet-black color to allow her\nto prowl the city unseen, and a tight sexy cut to highlight Alexas daredevil\nstyle.--- The police, not surprisingly, were skeptical about her offer of aid\nand so she was forced to take on Parallax alone.
\nHer first confrontation with a super criminal very nearly turned out to be her\nlast as she faced grisly death three times while the fate of the city hung in\nthe balance. First came Parallaxs dilatation trap where she aged over 80 years\nin 25 minutes. Only the shriveling of her own musculature as she reached the age\nof 80 allowed her to escape her bonds and flee the trap. Next she fell victim to\nhis time bomb which hurled her back 290 years to the time of the Ansonia witch\ntrials where she was the guest of honor. She endured dunkings, stonings, and was\nin the process of being burned at the stake when Alicia finally managed to\nsummon her back to modern time. Finally, she was captured in Parallaxs lair,\nwhere she was violated and tortured before being strictly bound and sealed in\nParallaxs Time Capsule where she would remain entombed, fully alert and\nhelpless, for thousands of years. Each trial had been more terrifying and\ninescapable than the last, but Alexa managed to overcome each deathtrap and beat\nParallax at his own game, reducing him to a living statue now doing consecutive\nlife sentences in maximum security.
\nThe costume Alexa drew out of the closet looked very much like the original\nAlicia had designed for her battle with Parallax. The body suit was made of a\nsilky smooth rubberized Lycra that was molded at the bodice to precisely hug and\nsupport Alexas breasts. Both girls had received silicone implants early in their\ncircus careers, so the molded cups in their uniform were all the additional\nchest support they required. The high-heeled boots and long slinky gloves were\nmade of the same glossy material as the body suit, but featured integrated\nrubber soles and non-slip palms for traction. The mask was sleek and stylish,\nand served more to accentuate her huge hazel-green eyes rather than to conceal\nher identity. The cut of the halter top body suit and the seam through the\ncrotch of the tights gave any potential captor ready access to her erogenous\nregions, partially as a message of defiance and partially out of practicality.\nGiven the extreme perversion of the criminal mind, it saved her a fortune in\nshredded costumes.
\n<SO WHO DO YOU THINK IS BEHIND THIS?> Alicia asked as she lifted the concealed\nzipper at the rear of Alexas body suit and clasped the mock turtleneck snug\naround her throat. Given Alexs rigorous physical training and greater passion\nfor danger, she usually served as the first responder for Nightvision\nassignments. <COULD IT BE A TEMPORAL EDDY FROM PARALLEXS TIME BOMB?> The after\neffects of Parallaxs time bending blast had been responsible for a number of odd\nevents in Ansonias recent past, but Alexa shook her head.
\n<NO. SOMEONE LEFT BEHIND THAT NOTE TO DRAW THE POLICE. SOMEONE WHOS NOT AFRAID\nTO DRAW ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES.> Alexa stepped into her high-heeled boots, then\nsecured the black silk sash around her waist.
\n<SNATCHING A BASEBALL TEAM AN HOUR BEFORE THE GAME ITS ALMOST LIKE THEY WANTED\nTHE CROWD TO BE THERE.> Alicia opened their weapons cabinet and drew out one of\ntheir Nightsticks. The weapons were a gift from the professors at Ansonia State\nwhen Nightvision saved the city from a mind control transmitter built by one of\ntheir colleagues gone mad. <SOUNDS LIKE THE WORK OF A TWISTED SHOWMAN LIKE\nMANDRAKE.>
\n<FORTUNATELY,> Alexa took the Nightstick from her sister and slipped it into\nthe black holster belted to her left thigh. <MANDRAKE IS SAFELY IN JAIL. BUT\nILL TAKE THIS ALONG JUST IN CASE.>
\nFor a moment Alexas mind drifted to her ordeal at the hands of Mandrake. Like\neveryone in the city -- she had watched the video tape of her battle with\nMandrakes assistants, and her defeat at the hands of the magicians poisonous\ncane. She had watched with a mix of horror and arousal as her own body was\nsecurely bound, discretely impaled, then sealed in the box with a swarm of\nwrithing scorpions. The crowd moaned and screamed as she was placed beneath the\nhuge saw, mouth securely gagged, eyes wide with terror. The television cameraman\ntaped perhaps another two minutes of her ordeal before being chased off by a\nsnarling Laertes, with the time divided between close ups of her masked face and\nthe inexorably descending blade. Fortunately, the cameraman missed her ultimate\nescape from the cabinet and the arrival of Alicia, but as a closet submissive\nwith a fetish for danger, the tape never failed to get Alexa excited.
\n<BETTER KEEP YOUR MIND ON THE MYSTERY AT HAND,> Alicia reminded her sister as\nshe clasped the long supple cape around Alexs shoulders. <AFTER ALL, WHAT COULD\nHAPPEN TO YOU AT A BASEBALL STADIUM?>
\nWhat indeed? As Alexa slipped on her mask, the question loomed large in her\nmind.
\nThe crowds continued to flock to Harmon Killibrew stadium as the first pitch of\nthe AAA baseball Pennant series drew closer. With the Nightowls disappearing so\nclose to game time, the general manager had opted not to cancel the game\noutright but rather to trust in the Ansonia police to locate the runaway team\nbefore game time. The eager baseball fans ignored the police cars in the parking\nlot and took little notice of the additional uniformed officers down on the\nfield. But when the caped form of Nightvision joined the officers near the\ndugout they burst out in a scattered applause. Little did they suspect that a\ndeadly game of cat and mouse was playing out before their eyes, a game that\nNightvision was destined to loose.
\nSo you found the note right here? Nightvision knelt down on the dirt warning\ntrack just outside the dugout, cape pooling around her feet like molten plastic.\nShe held the note itself in her gloved hand.
\nThats right, the pitching coach said, fiddling with his hat. Alexa knew that,\nlike most men, the coach was having a bit of trouble concentrating while\naddressing her. Her exotic costume, stunning beauty, and supernatural reputation\nmade her a daunting presence. It was right on the edge of the grass.
\nNightvision put the paper to her nose and closed her eyes. Myrrh a burial spice.\nShe stood up and surveyed the area. There are footprints everywhere. Does the\nteam use the dugout for batting practice?
\nAt least to get out on the field from the locker room. Somell hit the water jug\nor swing the weights for a bit.
\nChief Ryan, standing next to Nightvision with his hands thrust into the pockets\nof his expensive British trench coat, cut in. Its only 20 minutes to game time.\nShould we evacuate the crowd?
\nNot quite yet, the young daredevil said with her soft Slavic accent. If the\ncrowd gets alarmed we could wind up with a mob scene.
\nNightvision stepped into the dugout. So you say they all passed through the\ndugout on their way to the field?
\nYea, its the quickest route to the locker room. Nightvision ran her hand down\nthe line of bats, all hanging on a plastic rack fixed to one wall.
\nExcuse me, maam, the pitching coach interrupted, but arent you psychic? Cant you\njust feel them or something.
\nThem and 16,000 screaming fans. Alexa answered almost absently. A man in the\nthird row of section one is seriously contemplating killing his wife, half a\ndozen are contemplating suicide, and youre extremely worried about meeting me,\nbecause you have a guilty secret you dont want public. Then Alexa looked up with\na gentle smile that took the sting out of her words. But dont worry, Mr\nFalbough, almost EVERYBODY has a secret that they dont want made public. I read\nemotions, not thoughts.
\nHello Nightvision knelt down on the floor near the water cooler.
\nWhat is it? Chief Ryan asked. What do you see?
\nTheres no water on the floor beneath the water cooler. No tobacco juice on the\nfloor either.
\nSo? Maybe we just have healthy players that dont spill their water.
\nPerhaps, Nightvision looked thoughtfully. Or perhaps She took the bat from the\nrack nearest the field and then stepped back out onto the field. Then she\nbalanced herself on the very edge of the outer dugout wall and gently hung the\nbat back on the rack.
\nThe entire floor of the dugout spun smoothly on a central axis. The long bench\ntilted over backwards and disappeared into the darkness, only to be replaced by\nan identical bench secured to the other side of the floor. In less than a second\nit was over --- the floor had completely flipped over and locked back into\nplace, but it looked like nothing had happened.
\nMy god! Chief Ryan gasped. Amazing.
\nNightvision didnt answer. Instead the masked dynamo took two bats out of the\nrack, then hung one back up. When the floor started to rotate she used the\nsecond bat to wedge it open. The crowd gathered around the dugout was greeted by\na wave of stale air and they could hear muffled moans from the darkness beyond.\nThe officers flanking Chief Ryan shined their flashlights into the darkness to\nreveal a group of struggling baseball players, each bound and gagged and very\nangry.
\nThe Nightowls! the pitching coach exclaimed. They were under the dugout the\nentire time! But how?
\nThe concrete conduit under the dugout is used to draw water away from the field\nwhen it rains, Nightvision explained. Someone rigged the floor of the dugout to\nflip over each time a player hung his bat on the rack, then tied them up one by\none as they fell into the conduit.
\nBut who would do such a thing? And why?
\nI dont know. If I didnt know better I'd say this was the work of ---
\nBravo, Nightvision! Bravo!
\nNightvision whirled around, then gasped in surprise. Standing atop the pitching\nmound was none other than Mandrake the Magician, dressed in his typical\nfashionable tuxedo and bow tie, with the addition of a Nightowls baseball cap.
\nMandrake the Magician! Alexa finished her sentence. I should have known.
\nIndeed you should have. No one puts Mandrake away for long. And now its time\nwith a flick of his wrist he produced a baseball to throw out the first pitch!
\nWithout warning, Mandrake hurled the baseball toward the dugout. The whizzing\nball exploded on impact, enveloping the entire group in a cloud of thick smoke.\nNightvision alone leapt clear of the cloud, rolling across her back and then\nback up to her feet. The chief and policemen were a step slower they slumped\nunconscious onto the dirt-lined warning track.
\nExcellent reflexes, my dear, Mandrake produced a second baseball almost as\nquickly as he threw the first. Im afraid youre going to need them.
\nHe threw a second gas ball at Nightvisions feet, and then a third, but each time\nthe masked dynamo sprang away from the point of impact, holding her breath until\nshe was well clear. Unfortunately, by focusing her attention on Mandrake she was\nsurprised at the leap of his panther, Laertes. The great cat pounced from\nbehind, descending on her with all his weight.
\nOhhh, that had to hurt, Mandrake said in mock sympathy as the petite heroine\nlanded hard beneath the weight of the much larger beast. Laertes, kill.
\nLaertes roared then snapped downward at Nightvisions throat. She managed to\nseize his head between her hands and halt his advance a fraction of an inch\nbefore his snapping teeth dug into her flesh.--- Mandrake stepped down from the\nmound as the slim daredevil desperately pitted her strength against that of the\n300-pound beast. Finally, she worked her legs up between them and toppled the\ncat off. Laertes sank down on his haunches preparing to pounce again as\nNightvision regained her feet. But now the slim vigilante held her Nightstick.\nThe fighting staff shot out to its full 4-foot length and its metal tips came\nalive with electricity.
\nLaertes, heel, Mandrake ordered. Laertes roared at his would-be prey, ears laid\nclose against the back of his head, but he complied with his masters demand.
\nI dont know what kind of trick youre playing, Mandrake, Nightvision commanded,\nbut this stunt ends now!
\nOn the contrary, Nightslut, Mandrake took of his hat, as if to show her there\nwas nothing inside. The show is just beginning. I knew my little disappearing\nact would lure you to the Stadium. And since youve proved such a capable escape\nartist, I thought you might enjoy daring my latest and most deadly challenge.
\nSorry Mandrake, my stage career is over. And so is yours
\nOhh, but I insist!
\nA ball of tightly wound steel mesh shot out from his hat, exploding into an\nexpanding net that enveloped Nightvision like a cocoon. The net was instantly\nelectrified by the current at the ends of Nightvisions own staff. The closed\ncircuit shorted out the Nightstick, but only after delivering a punishing shock\nto the teenage daredevil. She dropped to all fours struggling for consciousness.
\nMagnificent, Mandrake beamed, The net worked even better than I had hoped.\nScarlet, prepare the weather balloon. The rest of you, lets get Nightvision\ndressed in her new flight suit!
\nDespite the jolt to her nervous system Nightvision still managed to gasp in\nhorror at the site of the costume Mandrake had in mind for her final escape. It\nwas a straight jacket of black vinyl, with a broad integrated slave collar, a\npadlocking waist cinch belt, a contoured crotch strap, and long sleeves equipped\nwith multiple hobbling straps. It was a punishment style jacket with the arms\ndrawn across the back rather than the front as with a conventional humane\nstraight jacket. The jacket also included a matching vinyl bondage hood,\nmouthless and equipped with a removable blindfold. Whatever twisted escape\nchallenge Mandrake had in mind, he certainly had no intention of her escaping.
\nLooks cozy, Nightvision managed to retort. And just my size.
\nIndeed, Mandrake laughed with glee. Im sure youre just dying to try it on.
\nNightvision was powerless to resist as four assistants freed her from the net\nand quickly forced her arms into the sleeves of the jacket, zipping it closed\nfrom behind and pulling the waist belt snug. They then pulled Nightvisions arms\nslowly but firmly across her back until her fingers stretched to the opposite\narmpit, securing the strap at the end of each mitten-like sleeve to the buckles\njust beneath the vinyl cups stretched tightly over her breasts. So distracted\nwas Alexa watching over either shoulder at the progress of the assistants\nsecuring the straight jacket, she didnt even notice the approach of a third\nassistant holding the ball gag before her.
\nOpen wide Nightslut. Youre going to really enjoy this.
\nIsnt it a bit early for the gag? I havent even begged for mercy yet.
\nThats a pleasant thought, Mandrake agreed as he pulled out a large pistol, But\ntonight well have to settle for your pretty moans of agony. It would be a shame\nto just have to shoot you if we were interrupted by the authorities.
\nI agree. Alexa opened her mouth and allowed the assistant to shove the oily ball\nbetween her teeth until her jaws were wedged painfully open. As soon as the\nassistant secured the strap that would hold the gag securely in place, a second\nassistant followed with the hood, covering her entire head in a sheath of tight\nvinyl. After aligning the eye and nostril openings over Alexs face, the bottom\nof the hood was slipped beneath the collar of the straightjacket and the collar\nitself was strapped tightly around her throat.
\nAlexas strength reluctantly flowed back into her limbs as the assistants\ncontinued their work, pulling the waist belt tighter around her waist and then\nattaching the crotch strap until the vinyl was stretched tightly across every\ncontour of her body. She moaned into her gag as her arms were drawn ever tighter\nbehind her back, forcing her breasts prominently forward. Only when it seemed\nthat her shoulders were about be wrenched from their sockets did the assistants\nstop pulling, strapping her arms together at multiple points to hold her arms in\npainful tension. Nightvision shuddered at her own sense of helplessness as the\nassistants added small padlocks to her belt, collar, wrists, and crotch strap.\nThen the assistants lifted Nightvision lightly to her feet.
\nIt looks even more fiendishly inescapable than I had hopped, Mandrake preened as\nhe ran his finger across Nightvisions rubber clad cheek. Makes me feel almost\nfeel guilty for what Im going to do to you next!
\nHe turned her face toward the pitchers mound where she gasped at the sight of\nher grisly fate. It was a weather balloon, a huge orb of white latex draped with\na nylon net to give it extra strength. Mandrakes sexy assistants were almost\ndone filling the bag with hydrogen gas from two wheeled cylinders, as the\nballoon strained skyward against three electric winches. The nylon net was\ngathered at the bottom of the balloon to an aluminum platform, and hanging down\nfrom the platform were two short chains ending at locking O rings. With dismay\nshe noted that an enterprising cameraman had stolen to the edge of the field and\nwas broadcasting the details of her ordeal on the Jumbotron television screen\nbeside the scoreboard. The 15-foot image of herself in strict bondage only\nserved to increase her sense of humiliation, helplessness, and submissive\narousal.
\nI suppose you can guess a bit of what I have in mind for your final performance.\nThat weather balloon is designed to fly to an altitude of over 60,000 feet then\nrupture, dropping its instrumented payload like a dart through the atmosphere\ninto the ocean miles below. Unfortunately, its only payload tonight will be you.
\nMhhhhhgh! Nightvision tried to retort, but her reply was lost behind the ball\ngag and the fabric of the hood.
\nWell put, Mandrake could barely contain his glee. Ladies, take her to the\nballoon!
\nLadies and gentlemen! Mandrake addressed the crowd over the PA system. Im afraid\nthe Nightowls have been delayed by a pre-game kidnapping attempt, so instead of\na baseball game you will instead get the opportunity to witness a one of a kind\nevent: the death of Nightvision!
\nA sporadic cheer ran through the crowd, much like the confused response at the\ntheater.
\nFor your entertainment, Nightvision will be attempting a version of the\nsuspended straightjacket escape performed by magicians for many years. But\ninstead of a conventional hospital straight jacket, I have secured her in a\ndevice of my own design, with padlocks reinforcing every point of possible\nweakness.
\nNightvision completed the short trip to the balloon where she was greeted by\nmore bondage. While one assistant ran her hands down Nightvisions hips and\nmassaged her thighs a second secured heavy steel manacles around her ankles and\nconnected them together with a heavy O ring. The assistant then secured bondage\nstraps around her thighs and calves, pulling them painfully tight, and secured\nthe straps with small padlocks like her other bondage. Then she was forced to\nthe ground on her back and hoisted up by her feet so that her ankle manacles\ncould be secured to the chains hanging from the small platform of the weather\nballoon.
\nNow painfully and inescapably bound, our brave heroine will be suspended beneath\na hydrogen-filled weather balloon. The balloon will whisk her to a deadly\naltitude of over 60,000 feet at which point it will explode, sending Nightvision\non a final deadly plunge into the ocean miles below!
\nNightvisions ankle manacles were secured to the chains with screw-locking O\nrings, then the balloon was allowed to ascend until the doomed heroine swung\nfreely beneath its looming bulk. The Jumbotron gave the entire stadium an\nup-close view of her inverted body as she struggled hopelessly against her\nbondage, breasts thrust forward with nipples straining at the shiny material of\nthe straight jacket.
\nAnd to make sure you miss none of the drama, I've equipped the balloon with two\ncameras borrowed from the television crew covering tonights game. You can watch\nevery moment of Nightvisions excruciating demise from the comfort of your own\nseats!
\nThe crowd cheered again, this time with surprising enthusiasm, as the Jumbotron\ndisplayed the view from a camera looking directly down on Nightvisions inverted\nbody. The leg chains securing the teenage avengers legs were actually mounted on\na central axel, allowing her to spin freely beneath the balloon. Her head was\nlargely lost beneath the twin swells of breasts, though she frequently piked so\nas if to better inspect her leg bondage.
\nLooks like shes ready to go, Ladies and Gentlemen, The crowd cheered again, Just\none final touch.
\nLights out, Nightslut, said an assistant as she produced the matching vinyl\nblindfold for the bondage hood.
\nMhhhgh! MHHHGH! Nightvision pleaded as she shook her head from side to side. But\nher pleas were pointless, and one assistant held her head while the other\npositioned the mask over her eyes and secured it at the back of the hood with\nthe integrated buckles. The assistants then backed away, leaving Nightvision to\nstruggle delightfully against the straps. Her chest heaved beneath the\nskin-tight fabric of the straightjacket as she labored for breath. The straps\nbit deeply into her legs, and arms, and the heavy bondage belt drew tight around\nher narrow waist like a medieval corset.
\nPolice sirens were converging on the stadium from every point of the compass, so\nMandrake cut short any further melodrama.
\nNow, please join me for the final countdown. Five! Four! Three! Two! One!\nLiftoff!
\nThe crowd let out a loud roar as Mandrakes assistants finally cut the ropes\nholding the weather balloon earthbound. Police in riot gear began rushing onto\nthe field even as the hydrogen filled bag lurched eagerly skyward, carrying its\nsexy passenger aloft on what would almost certainly be a lethal voyage. Help had\narrived only too late. Within seconds, the balloon rose above the level of the\nlights and into the twilight sky over Ansonia.
\nWith Nightvision steadily fading in the distance the Jumbotron switched over to\nthe onboard camera, showing the doomed young heroine as she twisted beneath the\nballoon, marvelously illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. A small counter\nlabeled Alt-omatic appeared at the bottom of the screen to chart her perilous\nascent into the upper regions of the atmosphere. The digits spun like the\ndisplay at a gas pump within the first minute of her flight she was already 2000\nfeet in the air.
\nThe police finally retook the field, but Mandrake had disappeared as usual and\nthe entire assemblage could only watch in horrified fascination as the Jumbotron\nrecorded Nightvisions desperate battle. For the first several minutes, she\nstruggled vigorously, occasionally looking up the length of her body as if\ngauging her progress. But her efforts accomplished nothing against Mandrakes\nintricate harness, and as the Alto-matic topped 20,000 feet her struggles became\nless coordinated, driven more and more by panic, her mouth frozen in a silent\nscream by the ball gag.
\nAboard the weather balloon, Nightvisions world was darkness, pain, and\ndesperation. She knew that her only hope was to get her arms free and raise\nherself to the level of the balloon, then somehow improvise a controlled descent\nback to earth. And she had to act quickly. The temperature was dropping rapidly\nand within minutes the oxygen content of the atmosphere would drop to the point\nwhere she would lose consciousness. In all likelihood, she would freeze or\nasphyxiate long before the balloon reached its terminal altitude of 60,000 feet.\nHer only hope was to escape from the straight jacket and soon, but given\nMandrakes genius at bondage and his painstaking attention to detail, that was\nnot likely. Her arms were completely immobilized and straps at here calves,\nthighs, waist, and throat were so tight that that they were constricting her\ncirculation. Her vinyl sheathed head was already swimming from the combined\neffects of bondage, inversion, altitude, cold and mortal fear.
\nThe crowd watched in hushed tension as the balloon continued its harrowing\nclimb, and Nightvisions struggles slowed. As the Alto-matic passed 35,000 feet\nfrost was forming on the glossy black surface of the teenage avengers slim body.\nThe overhead camera revealed that the ground far below had been replaced by the\nsea as she drifted eastward, a broad expanse of deep blue beyond the twin peaks\nof her frosty breasts. Only an occasional shudder and the slightest wisp of\nsteam from her nostrils indicated that she was even still alive. But clearly,\nshe wouldnt be for much longer. Ansonias sexy dare doll was dying before their\neyes.
\nShouldnt we call in a helicopter or something? one of the officers asked from\nthe field.
\nIt wouldnt make any difference. Nothing can save her now.
\nThe Alto-matic continued to climb --- 38,000 --- 39,000 --- 40,000 41,000 and\nthe camera continued to focus its unblinking eye on the stark, grisly fate of\nNightvision. Any thoughts that this was perhaps a AAA baseball publicity stunt\nwere now dispelled as Nightvision spun gently in the icy, oxygen-depleted air\nlike an outlaw beneath the hanging rope. When the balloon reached 42,000 feet,\nhowever, there was a shudder and the camera began lurching wildly. The\nAlto-matic suddenly reversed itself, now counting down at an ever-accelerating\nrate.
\nThe weather balloon had burst prematurely, but it was little comfort to the\nteenage daredevil, who now began her final plummet in the icy sea far below. The\nlone camera documented Nightvisions lurching spinning course for another 45\nseconds before it was torn from the weather balloon and the Jumbotron finally\nwent dark. The superheroine known as Nightvision was left alone at last to her\nwatery grave.
\nShe cant be dead. She just cant be.
\nAlicia Topolov stood alone in the living room of her brownstone apartment,\nplaying her violin with stunning passion and beauty. But the melancholy\narpeggios of Brahms 5th Concerto were all but lost on the young artist, as her\nmind feverishly reviewed the details of her sisters terrifying ordeal.
\nAlicia had watched with half the city as Nightvision opened the secret chamber\nbeneath the dugout, and rescued the kidnapped Nightowls. And she watched\nunbelieving as Mandrake the Magnificent made his startling appearance in a burst\nof smoke, overcoming the police, and finally defeating Nightvision with the help\nof his great panther Laertes. Even as additional police units rushed to the\nstadium, the television cameras followed the action as Nightvision was bound in\nan erotic straightjacket, gagged, hooded, collared, and suspended beneath a\nhigh-altitude weather balloon. The police arrived just in time to see the\nballoon disappearing beyond the rim of the stadium. The full fifteen minutes of\nher ascent was captured by Mandrakes onboard camera and cleverly displayed on\nthe Jumbotron to the hushed crowd. The city moaned as one when the balloon\nfinally ruptured, dropping Nightvisions now-lifeless body earthward. The last\nhaunting image showed her lifeless body tumbling wildly as she plummeted toward\nthe sea far below.
\nTo the rest of the world Nightvision was unequivocally dead, her final moments\nwitnessed by thousands of viewers. The only person who had any doubts about the\nmatter was the one that nobody else knew existed -- her twin sister. Though\ntheir ability to telepathically communicate was limited to a few miles, the\nTopolov sisters shared a subconscious bond that ran far deeper. Alicia could\ntell the moment she woke up just what mood her sister was in, and any sickness\nor depression that struck one of them immediately overtook them both. If Alexa\nhad died, Alicia was sure she would have felt the trauma almost as acutely as\nher sister. However improbable, the fact that Alicia still felt her usual sense\nof inner calm provided tacit proof that Alexa was still alive. The problem was\nfiguring out how or where.
\nSuddenly Alicia stopped her mad playing, panting as if she had just run a mile.\nThe apartment went deathly silent as the final notes of Alicias virtuoso\nperformance faded to nothing. Despite its musical brilliance, the haunting\nrequiem was a pale reflection of the battle raging within her own feverish mind.
\nIm the only one that thinks Alexa is still alive. If I dont find her, no one\nwill.
\nBut easier said than done. At first, Alicia was confident that Alexa must have\nsomehow escaped the ordeal, as she had a dozen others before it. It was possible\nthat Alexa had been responsible for the premature rupture of the weather balloon\nwhich likely spared her from death by asphyxiation or exposure. To the casual\nobserver Mandrakes bondage straightjacket seemed escape proof, but as a master\nescape artist Alexa was trained in creating and exploiting even the smallest\namount of slack in her restraints. The balloon itself would have served to slow\nher fall and the water would have cushioned her final impact. But when the Coast\nGuard scoured the waters off the coast of Ansonia, they found no trace of\nNightvision or the weather balloon. It was as if she had simply vanished.
\nThat left the possibility that Mandrake himself had rigged the escape stunt. As\na master magician Mandrake was certainly capable of such a ploy, and as a madman\nbent on revenge he might well have the motivation to fake Nightvisions death. If\nhe could convince the rest of the world that Nightvision was dead then he would\nbe free to use or dispose of her at his leisure. But he had already tried to\nkill Nightvision once and he seemed to go to great lengths to plan an encore\nfollowing his inadvertent release from prison. Why bother with delayed\ngratification?
\nThen suddenly it hit her.
\nWait a minute television. Thats it!
\nAlicia didnt own a TV herself but she quickly logged onto the internet and\nchecked the local television listings.
\nJust as I suspected. The Nightowls game and the Master of Magic awards show were\nboth covered by the same television station, KFUF Channel 62!
\nHer preternatural sense of intuition immediately told her she was onto\nsomething. The initial broadcast of Nightvisions battle with Mandrake had been\nworth millions and put KFUF briefly in the spotlight. Mandrakes second attack\nhad been even more spectacular and the Mad Magician had even taken pains to\nensure that the camera could cover the event as long as possible. But once the\ncameras stopped rolling, perhaps Mandrake seized the opportunity to put his own\nplans into action
\nAlicia strode urgently back into her bedroom and activated the secret panel\nhiding her own Nightvision dressing room.
\nI think its time I paid KFUF a little visit. As Nightvision.---
\nAs Alexa Topolov slowly regained consciousness, at first she was grateful just\nto be alive. Then she wasnt so sure.
\nWelcome to the land of the living, Nightvision. Mandrake greeted her. For a\nwhile anyway.
\nThe teenage avenger found herself once again on stage, surrounded on all sides\nby bright lights. This time, though, she was chained hand and foot, suspended\nupside down with her ankles secured in metal stocks. Her body was tightly\nwrapped in coils of heavy chain, criss-crossing across her chest and threading\nbetween her legs in a tight bondage harness. Two coils of chain formed a choking\ncollar around her slim throat and her wrists were locked in steel manacles\nconnected by O rings to the chains around her waist. Steel padlocks held the web\nof chains snug and she could feel the links tighten at her throat and crotch as\nshe lifted her head to survey her body. She was still dressed in her Nightvision\ncostume though her cape and holster had been removed and her silk sash was all\nbut lost beneath coils of chain at her waist. At least Mandrakes horrible flight\nsuit was gone, but at the moment it seemed like precious little comfort.
\nMandrake stood before her, grinning wickedly.
\nWhy .. why am I still alive?
\nBelieve me, its merely a temporary condition, and one I intend to remedy soon\nenough. Nightvision followed his finger toward center stage then gasped in\nrenewed horror. It was a version of the Chinese Water torture chamber made\npopular by Houdini in the 1920s, a steel-reinforced Plexiglas chamber with a\nlighted interior completely filled with water. But unlike the original, this\ntank had several unique features to make the conditions inside especially\nuncomfortable for the unfortunate occupant, such as interior cage lined with\nsteel spikes and a large propane burner situated directly beneath the main\nchamber. The steel plate enclosing her feet was actually the roof of the\nchamber, held aloft by an electric winch high overhead. The holes lining the\nedges of the plate aligned with heavy steel bolts jutting from the top of the\ntorture chamber. Once lowered into position, the roof would form a water tight\nseal against a rubber gasket lining the steel-reinforced walls.
\nYou went to all the trouble of saving me from your last deathtrap just to drown\nme here?
\nI didnt bring you here simply to drown you, Mandrake turned his back to\nNightvision and stepped to the Chinese water torture chamber. though that is a\nrather pleasurable fringe benefit. I've brought you here to answer a question.\nWith a tap of his cane the burner beneath the water torture cell hissed to life,\nspouting hot blue flame.
\nSorry, I dont know much about cooking.
\nMandrake turned to her and smiled. Still got spirit, I see. This may be more\nentertaining than I thought.
\nHe reached out with his cane and ran the silver tip up Nightvisions inner thigh,\nover her chained abdomen and to her breasts. Your escape, back at the theater. I\nwant to know how you did it.
\nFor a moment Nightvision locked gazed with the handsome, but utterly deranged\nmaster magician and it dawned on her that she might have some bargaining power\nafter all, if she proceeded carefully. Mandrake was a magical snob, and couldnt\nstand the thought that someone could perform a trick he didnt understand. It\nwasnt much of an edge, but it was her only hope.
\nOkay, Ill tell you. But you have to answer one question for me first.
\nMandrake chuckled. Your courage is admirable, but I must point out that youre in\nno position to negotiate.
\nMaybe, but you went to a lot of trouble to set up this side show, when you could\nhave just let me freeze in the stratosphere or drown in the ocean. Quid pro quo.
\nMandrakes smile slowly faded. Impetuous girl. At the push of a button he\nactivated the overhead winch, lifting Nightvision from eye level high into the\nair. The sexy crime fighter twisting weakly in her heavy chains as he shifted\nher laterally until the lid was precisely positioned over the tank. Nightvision\ncraned her head upward to survey the mouth of the tank below her. The spikes\nlining the interior cage looked like successive jaws of razor-sharp teeth and\nthe water was already churning from the intense heat of the gas burner against\nthe floor.
\n<ALICIA!> She hollered with all of her feeble mental energy. <ALICIA!>
\nNothing. Her sister was either too far to hear or Alexa was just too weak\nprobably both. A shudder shot through her body as her mind raced for some way to\nstall Mandrake.
\nI thought you wanted me to suffer, Mandrake? Nightvision said, unable to conceal\nthe unsteadiness in her voice. Isnt this a bit final?
\nOn the contrary, your inverted position is perfect for clearing the water from\nyour lungs, though Im afraid each drowning will cause a bit more brain damage\nthan the last. Fortunately, youll probably boil alive long before the brain\ndamage becomes life threatening. Of course, you could spare yourself a lot of\nsuffering if you just answer my question.
\nPart of Alexs mind screamed to tell Mandrake what he wanted to know, that it was\nher twin sister that had captured him in the parking lot beneath Ansonia\nMunicipal Auditorium. Anything to delay the horror of being sealed chained and\nhelpless into the torture cell to drown. But if she talked, she would\nundoubtedly seal her own fate, and perhaps Alicias as well. She had to hold out\nas long as she could. Go to hell.
\nAs I hoped. I was looking forward to torturing you anyway.
\nMandrake pushed the button. With a sigh the electric winch started down,\nlowering the masked avenger into the water. Icy fingers crept up Nightvisions\nspine as she fought down her mounting panic, breathing as deeply as the tight\nchains would allow before her head plunged into the water. Bar by bar she\ndescended in the cage, now surrounded on all sides by slim, razor-sharp steel\nspikes. Then there was a clank, followed by a final lurch as the lid settled\nonto the overhead bolts and against the rubber gasket, sealing the interior\nair-tight. The hostile, airless, and fully visible interior of the chamber was\nten times more hellish than she had feared it would be, and it was all she could\ndo to moderate her panic to avoid impaling herself on the spikes that pressed in\nor her from every direction.
\nGo ahead, resist me as long as you like. Not even my assistants are unaware of\nthis place, and since the rest of the world thinks youre dead already, we have\nall the time in the world.
\nALICIA?! ALICIA, PLEASE! The chains severely impeded her breathing and already\nher lungs were burning for air. After her punishment beneath the weather\nballoon, the horror of her current ordeal was almost more than she could take.\nShe could only comfort herself with the thought that as long as Mandrake was in\nthe dark about her escape from the saw trap, he was not likely to let her die.\nBut how long could she hold out against nonstop torture with no real hope of\nrescue? If Alicia didnt find her soon, then all was lost. Assuming, of course,\nthat Alicia was looking for her at all.
\nNightvision managed to hold her breath for almost a full three minutes until,\nnearly unconscious, she took in her first breath of tepid water. The effect was\nspectacular, drawing her immediately out of her deepening stupor as her lungs\ninstinctively heaved in a vain attempt to expel the fluid. Her weakening\nstruggles now turned to desperate convulsions as her oxygen-starved body plunged\ndeeper toward death. Yet even as her vision closed in around her she could still\nsee Mandrake, just beyond the glass of the cage, smiling cruelly as he smoked a\nTurkish cigarette. Then the word went gray, sinking into inky gloom
\nIt was almost like waking up from a peaceful dream when her world exploded once\nagain with light, sound and pain. The sound was her own violent coughs, as her\ndiaphragm convulsed to force more water out of her lungs. So primal were her\ncoughs that it was a challenge just to pause long enough take long enough to\ndraw in the life sustaining oxygen she desperately needed. Mandrake waited\npatiently while his shapely prisoner struggled to compose herself.
\nYou had me frightened there. For a moment, it seemed like you might have managed\nto drown yourself after all.
\nSorry COUGH COUGH to disappoint COUGH you.
\nNot to worry, Ill just adjust my timing a bit. Ready for another go?
\nAlexa glanced up the length of her body, noting with grim certainly that her\nchains were still firmly in place, locks dangling from her waist, throat, and\nagainst her breasts. The terror rose up again in her almost immediately, pushing\naside the dazed oblivion of profound oxygen deprivation. The thought of another\ndrowning was almost unbearable, but after closing her eyes for a moment she\nfound the strength to resist.
\nQuid pro quo, she answered. You answer my questions, then Ill answer yours.
\nExcellent, Mandrake reached up with the control. Youll find the water much\nwarmer this time
\nPlease. No, she found herself whimpering as she was lowered once again into the\nChinese water torture cell. This time it WAS much warmer, like a hot bath. Given\nher lungs limited ability to draw in oxygen, the burning sensation of drowning\nset in almost immediately, even more powerfully this time than her first\nsubmersion.
\nMandrake just smiled wolfishly as the young adventuress writhed in her chains,\nadmiring the lines of her muscular body beneath her skin-tight costume. Her long\nchestnut hair floated behind her like a halo in the water, weaving amidst the\nfloor spikes that jutted within an inch of her head. The violet-black eye mask\nand distortion of the water served to make her already expressive hazel eyes\nseem huge, like a Japanese comic book heroine. He certainly hoped she could hold\nout for a few more plunges before succumbing to death or human weakness. Despite\nhis sensibilities, jaded by a thousand sexual misadventures, he found her\ndisplay of athletic beauty and courage in the face of certain death both\nstimulating and delightfully arousing.
\nAnd Mandrake wasnt disappointed. He timed his second ascent more conservatively,\nraising Nightvision from the tank as soon as her muscular convulsions began\ndying down, and was rewarded with a much faster recovery time by his darling\nprisoner. Thin rivulets of blood now mixed with the water draining off the\nteenage avengers body as Mandrake asked once again for her secret and, after\nconsiderable internal anguish, she again refused. A third time he plunged her\ninto the chamber, and then a fourth. Steam rose from the water as the lid\nsettled down for her fifth drowning and Mandrake could tell that the oppressive\nheat was dramatically increasing her suffering in the narrow confines of the\nchamber.
\nIt was astounding how clearly he could follow every phase of her emotional\nrollercoaster just by watching her eyes. First reluctant defiance as she refused\nhis questions, then mortal fear as she was lowered into the tank, then mounting\ndesperation as her oxygen ran out. Desperation led to agony as the sensations of\ndrowning, lethal confinement, and slow cooking finally overwhelmed her\nprecarious resolve. Agony led to a gradual defocusing of her mind as oxygen\ndeprivation and mounting blood loss finally granted her the mercy of advancing\nunconsciousness, and at the critical juncture where she at last seemed to give\nup hope, he would whisk her from the blood-tainted tank to begin the process\nagain. And with each dunking her resolve seemed to weaken, her courage erode,\nand her fear of the tank amplify.
\nAn hour, has it really been that long? Mandrake checked his pocket watch, while\nNightvision hung over the chamber after her fifth submersion, chest heaving,\neyes haunted. Thats five near-death experiences in one evening, Nightvision. A\nnew record.
\nNightvision shuddered and coughed as she struggled to breathe through her\nwater-logged lungs. Streaks of blood now oozed liberally down her body from the\nmyriad of puncture wounds inflicted by the spikes, and her milky flesh was\nturning bright read from the scalding heat of the water. Mandrake placed his\nbare hand on the wall of the Chinese water torture chamber and pulled it back\nquickly as if from a hot burner.
\nOh my, Im afraid from here on out you start cooking in earnest. Still, I've\nfound your display of resolve most moving.
\nHe activated the electric wench once again, but instead of lowering her in the\nhellish chamber, the winch surged laterally, then slowly lowered the\nhalf-conscious heroine toward the stage floor. He halted Nightvisions descent\nwhen they stood face to face.
\nThis might be our last chance, Mandrake produced a ring gag and held it before\nher eyes. To comfort each other.
\nNo no .ahghhh, Nightvision protested weakly as Mandrake forced the gag into her\nmouth just behind her top and bottom teeth, then bucked it tightly behind her\nhead. Her mouth was now held open wide, and it didnt take much imagination to\nguess what Mandrake had in mind for her. Still, it was infinitely more desirable\nthan a sixth plunge in the torture cell. She pulled weakly at her chains as\nMandrake lowered her head to the level of his waist.
\nThey say, youre a mind reader, Nightslut, Mandrake unbuckled his belt and\nunzipped his pants, revealing his stiff member. Do you know what Im thinking\nnow?
\nMandrake took Alexas head between his hands and guided his dick through the\ncenter of the ring gag and into her mouth. Nightvision moaned as his hot rod\nfilled her mouth and threatened to make her wretch as it reached the back of her\nthroat. Slowly and rhythmically Mandrake forced himself deeply in and out of the\nmasked dynamos mouth, savoring not only his own erotic stimulation but also the\nfeeling of complete and utter victory over his cute young enemy. Alexa herself\nwas at once both horrified and mesmerized by the recent addition to her ordeal.\nHer punishment at the hands of the handsome magician had not been without its\nown dark fascination. Her own body was already amazingly aroused by her own\nfeelings of complete vulnerability and erotic pain, and the forced oral sex at\nlast provided a sexual outlet for her arousal. The knowledge that she was still\nin deadly peril added fuel to her sexual tension, and with some shame she could\nfeel her own body responding to her captors advances.
\n<KEEP HIM OCCUPIED. ALMOST IN POSITION.>
\nAlexas eyes flew open wide. For a moment she thought she had imagined it, but\nthen she knew that it had been real. She could feel her sister Alicia somewhere\nclose by, could feel the familiar cadence of her breathing and the beating of\nher heart. Somehow she had found Mandrakes secret hideout, and just in the nick\nof time. All Alicia needed was a little distraction.
\nAlexa threw herself into her task, cooing with pleasure and teasing Mandrakes\nshaft with her tongue. When Mandrake realized that Nightvision was moving her\nmouth up and down his dick of her own accord, he removed his hands from her head\nand instead seized her upper thighs, breathing his hot breath on her rubber-clad\npussy.
\nThats right, he panted, Hmmmmm. We should get to know each other better.
\nThe two chains threaded through Nightvisions crotch made it difficult for\nMandrake to expose her sex, so he satisfied himself with stimulating her clit\nthrough the thin fabric of her costume. She gratified him by slowly gyrating her\npelvis and when he finally climaxed in her mouth she deftly swallowed his seed\nand continued stimulating his rod.
\nMy, but youre a hot little mix. He continued to savor Nightvisions ministrations\neven as he massaged her clit. But youre a fool if you think it will save you. I\nlearned long ago not to let my
\nZZZZT!
\nAlicias Nightstick came down full force across the back of Mandrakes neck, and\nhe collapsed at her feet, his dick slipping from Alexas mouth in the process.\nAlicia gave him a second blast of her Nightstick as he lay in the heap, just to\nmake sure he stayed down. Then she knelt down to help her sister.
\nOhh, Alexa my angel, Alicia removed the gag from her sisters mouth. Let me get\nyou down.
\nAlicia found the winch and lowered Alexa to the ground. Now horizontal for the\nfirst time in hours, Alexa gave out a moan of pleasure and pain.
\nAlicia, perfect timing, Alexa managed to quip. Mandrake and I were just becoming\nbetter acquainted. How did you find us?
\nIt wasnt that difficult, really, Alicia searched through Mandrakes jacket until\nshe found a set of keys for the padlocks. This whole thing was set up by the\ntelevision station that covered the Masters of Magic awards show. Once I\nrealized that, I just tracked down their general manger and applied a little\ngentle persuasion. This is their original sound studio.
\nA television station!? What in the hell for?
\nRatings. Alicia opened the locks one by one, drawing an even greater sigh of\nrelief from her sister. They captured the entire thing on video tape and were\nplanning to sell it to all the major networks for a fortune.
\nIsnt it ironic -- the very people we try to protect are willing to pay top\ndollar to watch Nightvision die.
\nDont blame them. Its the same people that came to the circus night after night,\nhoping to see us slip and break our necks. The police are on the way can you\nmove?
\nYea, I think so.
\nAlexa sat up slowly, then after several minutes, Alicia helped her to her feet.
\nDid you tell him anything? About us?
\nNo, Alexa shook her sopping head. Once you know the secret it kind of spoils the\nact.
\nFunny. Thats exactly what I told Mandrake back at the theater.
\nI know, Alexa smiled. Now lets get out of here.
\nThe sirens were growing louder in the distance as the two sisters the two\nNightvisions stepped out of the run-down Aztec Theater and into their waiting\nDodge Viper. It had been another close call, but neither girl thought for a\nmoment that it would be their last. Their father had sent them to Ansonia to\nfind a new life exciting life for themselves.
","frontmatter":{"text":"Nightvision - Death in the Spotlight","tags":["Nightvision","Torture","humiliation","Bondage","f/f","Bdsm","vulnerability"],"date":"9/17/2022","part":null},"excerpt":"Warning: This is a work of bondage deathtrap fiction. If you are disturbed by\ndepictions of courageous women facing sadistic villains and…","timeToRead":60,"fields":{"slug":"/stories/thecliffhanger_nightvisiondeathinthespotlight/"},"author":{"authorName":"The Cliffhanger","authorEmail":"thecliffhanger@geocities.com","authorSite":null},"series":null,"storyStats":{"visits":1631},"summary":"Nightvision, a superheroine captured by Mandrake's trap during his magic show, faces escalating torture and humiliation as he uses various devices to control and dominate her, from electric shocks and scorpions to a water chamber designed for drowning and an underwater torture chamber. The sexual tension between them builds to extreme levels as she is subjected to near-death experiences, Chinese water torture, and finally oral sex while chained and gagged, showcasing her gradual subjugation by Mandrake's sadistic tactics.","similarStories":[{"author":{"authorName":"Dr. Dominator","url":"/authors/dr--dominator/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Wonder Woman and the Superheroine Serial Killer - Part 2"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/drdominator_wwvssuperheroineserialkiller/part2/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Kooster","url":"/authors/kooster/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Wonder Woman: Dark Nights Part 27"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/koosterwonderwomandarknights/part27/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Dr. Dominator","url":"/authors/dr--dominator/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Wonder Woman and the Superheroine Serial Killer - Part 1"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/drdominator_wwvssuperheroineserialkiller/part1/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Lespion","url":"/authors/lespion/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Chapter 1 - Kara"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/lespion_adventuresofsupergirlepisode2/part1/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Rubicon Cross","url":"/authors/rubicon-cross/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Heroine Transformations - Chapter 5"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/heroinetransformations_by_rk/part5/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Dr. Dominator","url":"/authors/dr--dominator/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Supergirl Captured by the Mob 54"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/drdominator_danvers54/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"SGWriter","url":"/authors/sgwriter/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Blackmail"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/sgwriter_blackmail/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Dangerguy","url":"/authors/dangerguy/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"The Domination of Night Strike and Heat Wave"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/dangerguy_thedominationofnightstrikeandheatwave/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Orb","url":"/authors/orb/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Ultra Woman vs. Her Greatest Foe"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/orb_ultrawomanvshergreatestfoe/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Snakeman","url":"/authors/snakeman/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"The night of terror"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/snakeman_thenightofterror/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Lady Tania","url":"/authors/lady-tania/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Darkbrood"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/ladytania_darkbrood/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"SGWriter","url":"/authors/sgwriter/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Supergirl: Darklight"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/sgwriter_supergirldarklight/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Pug Markov","url":"/authors/pug-markov/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Power Girl: Rape Patrol Revenge"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/pugmarkov_powergirlrapepatrolrevenge/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Kooster","url":"/authors/kooster/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Wonder Woman: Dark Nights Part 7"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/koosterwonderwomandarknights/part7/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Kooster","url":"/authors/kooster/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Wonder Woman: Dark Nights Part 3"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/koosterwonderwomandarknights/part3/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"The Cliffhanger","url":"/authors/the-cliffhanger/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Raven Files #1: The Lords of Death"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/thecliffhanger_ravenfiles1thelordsofdeath/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Knyght","url":"/authors/knyght/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Star Girl: The Dark Side of the Moon"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/knyght_stargirlthedarksideofthemoon/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"GW","url":"/authors/gw/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Marcia Escapes"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/gw_marciaescapes/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"Stealthy Texan","url":"/authors/stealthy-texan/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"Tales from the Super Villain Club - Part 3: Iron Woman"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/stealthytexan_talesfromthesupervillainclub/part3/"}},{"author":{"authorName":"The Cliffhanger","url":"/authors/the-cliffhanger/"},"frontmatter":{"text":"City Lights"},"fields":{"slug":"/stories/thecliffhanger_citylights/"}}]}},"pageContext":{"nextInSeries":null,"slug":"/stories/thecliffhanger_nightvisiondeathinthespotlight/","templatePath":"./src/templates/stories-post.js"}},"staticQueryHashes":["4139622702","641652024","942210989"],"slicesMap":{}}