Origins - Part Two Echoes of the Past

July 1942

The night was cold, the rooming house I was watching from across the street was quiet. I’d been assigned to keep watch on a group of known Nazi sympathisers. We were using them to funnel out of date and bogus information to the Nazi’s, information we wanted them to have. We’d heard a rumour that the group was about to get a visit from some important Nazi agents and we wanted to see who it was, not to mention capture them if possible. I really wasn’t expecting any excitement from this case, I wasn’t even sure why I’d been assigned to this particular job, but I did as I was ordered. In the Military everyone did as they were ordered, we had a war to win.

The car that arrived at the boarding house was definitely noticeable. A yellow Plymouth is something that stands out, especially during a war. Three people got out of the car, two men and a woman. They went into the boarding house and the driver drove the car around the side of the building, to wait. It was time to move closer and find out what was going on. My enhanced senses allowed me to pinpoint the room they were using for their discussion, so I flew carefully over to it, hovering by the window to listen in.

"Gentlemen, we are pleased with your reports so far, but it has been decided that it is time for you to step up your activities." The voice was male, strong-sounding and had an unmistakable German accent. From the limited view I got, he appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties and quite handsome, if you like that kind of thing, with the typical Aryan look. It was difficult to make out his features from this angle, but I got an impression of someone used to being feared.

Beside him was an old man, definitely past his prime, with piercing dark eyes. There was no sign of the woman in the room, but my field of view wasn’t too good, she could have been there and I’d never have seen her.

"To that end," the first man continued, "we have a job for you to do that will help our cause. We want you to discredit Miss Victory. She has been a thorn in our side for far too long, but defeating her has proven very difficult. So, we have decided that it is time that evidence of her illegal activities be brought to the people’s attention."

"We understand, sir, but how do prove these charges?" one of the other men in the room asked.

"We will provide you with ample evidence of her activities, it will be your job to ensure it gets into the newspapers and on the radio."

"It sounds easy enough," another man said, "we have a few contacts with the press. I’m sure this won’t be a problem."

"Excellent," the man said. "Now, we have several stories here that will need to be released over the next several months…"

A tap on my shoulder made me look around.

"Don’t you know it is rude to listen to private conversations?" the woman was floating next to me, dressed in a skin-tight costume and she had a cruel smile on her face. Her fist hit my chin hard, there was a loud crash and the next thing I knew I was lying inside the room, rubbing my jaw.

I looked around the room, finding several men sitting at a table, looking across at me, most were surprised at my sudden appearance, though two looked as if they were expecting it. The window was shattered and lay around me, the woman was floating outside.

Her hair was blonde, a paler blonde than my own and much longer, worn in a thick braid. Her eyes were icy-blue and devoid of any real emotion. She wore a mask similar to the one I wore over the upper half of her face, but I could see her mouth was small, with a pout to it. Her body was good, with large breasts and trim waist. Her legs were trim and very long. Her costume was a single piece jump-suit style, stretched tightly over her curves. It was black, with a red swastika over her right breast and SS insignia on the left collar. Black gauntlets and boots finished her outfit. She looked threatening, I’ll give her that, and she was obviously strong, not to mention that she could fly. I had a very bad feeling about this.

"Ah, Miss Victory, we were just talking about you." I looked up at the man who said this. He was the older man, looked tall, slightly gaunt and there was definitely something evil about him. Something about him made my skin crawl, just by looking at him. "I am Karl Falkenhurst, Professor Falkenhurst, though eventually you will know me as your master." My vision swam and suddenly he was the handsomest man I’d ever seen. I wondered what was going on, what was happening to me.

"Over my dead body," I said, standing up, "I’ll never betray my country."

"If you insist," Falkenhurst said, though I thought I detected a slight confusion in his voice. "Though I doubt we will have to resort to killing you for our purposes. Blitzkrieg, change the young woman’s mind."

"Jah, Karl," she said, something about her tone setting my nerves on edge, it was almost mechanical and there was a catch in it that made me think she was a less than willing pawn, despite her expression.

The woman flew forward and caught me in a hug, forcing me through a wall. "You will surrender, Miss Victory, you cannot win." Her voice was flat, toneless, devoid of any kind of emotion. It was chilling and the look in her eyes scared me more than the fact that she was a strong as I was.

"I do hope you won’t mind if I resist," I said, kicking out at her and flipping her over. "By the way, do you know how much that costume leeches your colour?"

I watched for a reaction to my barb, but she simply absorbed my blow and looked at me. Her eyes were full of something indescribable, as if she’d seen the darkest pits of hell. Yet they were still emotionless, as if she didn’t dare feel anything. The look in her eyes was terrifying, as if her soul had been trapped in ice.

She aimed a punch at my jaw, but I dodged and got a chop in at her neck. She was strong and fast, but she didn’t have my combat training or agility. I circled, looking for an opening to put her down and get back to the real danger. She moved into me again and I dropped, flipping her over onto the floor and following it up with an elbow to the throat. This was normally a killing blow, though to her it was probably a mild inconvenience. Somehow I had a feeling I knew the extent of her powers and abilities, they were the same as my own. Though how she’d got these abilities I had no idea.

The woman choked, though she struggled to her feet and tried to stand. I hit her with all of my strength, watching her fall again and stood over her.

"Do yourself a favour and stay down," I said, "you’re no match for me, despite your strength."

"I must do as my master wishes," she snarled and I saw anger in her eyes, the first emotion she had exhibited in this fight. "I will not be defeated."

She tried to stand and I moved towards her to finish the fight, but she flew into my stomach and we ended up piling through the roof, high into the air. We separated in the air and I looked at her. She was tough, I’d give her that, but this fight was already decided. She had blood on her lips, her eye was blackening and her throat was bruised. I felt a little rough, my jaw hurt from her initial punch and when I wiped my mouth I saw blood on my glove.

"So, what now?" I asked, "do you buy them time to get away?"

She laughed, coldly. "You still do not understand, do you? This meeting, your presence, it was all planned," she said. "You are the target, we are here for you and we will have you."

This was a revelation and, if it was true, meant we had a mole in the department, someone high enough to affect mission assignments and cover their tracks.

She flew forward, aiming a punch at my face. I dodged, moving into a kick to the stomach and I rapidly re-appraised my initial opinions of her fighting capability. She wasn’t a martial artist, but she had some knowledge of roughhouse fighting, she was used to dirty tricks and low blows. My stomach hurt and I knew I’d have to be careful. For all her lack of experience, she was unpredictable, which made her all the more dangerous.

I feinted left, hitting her with a circle kick and following it up with a full power punch. The blow sent her flying backwards at speed and I followed, letting her recover was not a good idea. She dropped towards the ground, allowing her momentum to carry her, hooked her arm about a telegraph pole, swinging around it to catch me with a two-footed kick that knocked me to the ground. A groan accompanied the ripping up of the pole and I dived out of the way as she swung it like a club at me.

She was resourceful and had a dangerous inventiveness. I’d underestimated her and now I was going to pay for it. The real problem was that I’d dealt almost solely with human opponents, the other paranormals taking care of other threats. Since Flying Samurai, I’d faced no real challenges and it was going to cost me, dearly.

The pole caught me on the back swing and it was my turn to fly through the air, my flight arrested by my ploughing through a building. It hurt, a lot, but I wasn’t going to let her see that, I had to put her down, quickly. I flew towards the hole, only to meet the pole coming in the other direction. The blow dazed me and I wondered how this inexperienced girl was doing this? Her next punch almost knocked me out and did drive me to my knees. She was as strong as I was, obviously with the same level of invulnerability and she knew how to use her powers, if not as effectively as I did. The follow up kick put me on my back and I tried to resist as she lifted me over her head and threw me to the ground. The pain helped me focus, but I felt as weak as a puppy as I tried to stand.

"Do you wish to surrender?" Blitzkrieg said, standing over me, her bloody lip curled in a cruel smile.

"Go to hell," I gasped, feeling a tight sensation in my chest. For some reason my powers were waning, not noticeably against normal opponents, but against this woman I was losing power at an incredible rate. What was happening to me?

"I think you will be there first," Blitzkrieg said, lifting a car over head in preparation to dropping it on me.

"Enough!" Falkenhurst’s voice said. "I want her alive."

I felt his presence and looked up. "Forget it, I’m not done yet."

"I think you will find that you are wrong about that, my dear. Hans, if you please."

A hiss, the smell of something sweet and I felt the last shreds of consciousness slipping away. Gas! They’d gassed me and I had no strength to fight it. Blackness swallowed me and I wailed in despair as my mind went blank…

---

I think I started to wake up a couple of times, but each time the sweet smell sent me into oblivion. I must have been out for some time, I remember waking up and feeling incredibly hungry. There was the impression of a sea voyage, possibly a submarine, though I might be mistaken, I was well out of it at the time. The first thing I truly remember is waking up in a cold, dank room, surrounded by mildewed stonewalls and the feel of a sturdy chain around my ankle. I think I laughed at the idea of the chain, but when I pulled and it didn’t break, I began to realise that something was very, very wrong.

I looked around in the dim light that came from a small vent high up on one of the walls. It seemed incredible and entirely ludicrous to begin with, though as the realisation that I was powerless and alone sank in I began to see how terribly effective it was. I was in a dungeon, an old, medieval-style dungeon, with chains hanging from the wall, mouldy straw on the floors and a flight of steps leading up to an iron bound door about ten feet above the floor. It was like a movie set, except the chain around my ankle was very real. On the far side of the room a pair of eyes watched me, then the rat scuttled off to its hole, deciding I wasn’t food, yet.

I still wore my costume, which was good, but I had a terrible feeling that that situation could change very quickly. I was a long way from home, of that I was certain, though exactly where I was, was anybody’s guess. The air felt colder, though I couldn’t tell if that was just due to the cell or some other factor. There was nothing in the cell except a pitcher of water and a hole in the floor, which smelled of urine and excrement. There were stains on the stonework that I really didn’t want a closer look at and the whole room stank of fear and death.

I was scared, I don’t mind admitting it. I was alone, apparently powerless and locked in a dungeon. I hadn’t felt this helpless since the night I got my powers, so I think I can be forgiven a little fear. Unfortunately, I was to learn that fear is something that has distinct levels and I would experience them all before my ordeal was through.

The door opened and I stared up at the bright light. Three men entered the room, one of them I recognised from the meeting, the man who outlined their plan to discredit me. Their uniforms were instantly recognisable, SS insignia and Death’s-head pips. Himmler’s Elite troops. The one I recognised walked over to me, the others stood ready, hands on pistol grips. I noticed his officer’s pips on his shoulder, which made him my primary target.

"You will come with us, fräulein," he said in his accented English. "You will not try to resist or escape or we will be forced to restrain you." The look of anticipation in his eyes was sickening, as if he knew I would try to escape and would relish the resulting punishment. It would have been less disturbing if they’d announced I was about to be raped, but the look in his eyes told me that he had far worse in mind.

He unlocked my ankle chain and I tried to run. I got exactly four yards when one of the guards hit me with his pistol, the second kicked me in the ribs and I gasped. Not only was my strength gone, so was my invulnerability!

I tried to stand, but the officer grabbed my chin, pulled my gaze up to his, then backhanded me so hard I fell onto my back.

"Understand, fräulein, you are our prisoner, you will not be allowed to escape and you will not be allowed to do anything to harm any of us." His eyes were glazed, as if he enjoyed hitting me, the pain in my face and the suffering he intended to inflict on me. "If you try, you will be punished. If you fail to obey an order, you will be punished. If you do not obey quickly and exactly, you will be punished. You are our prisoner and you will not escape!" His voice was so flat, so emotionless I realised that, perhaps, being chained in a dungeon cell wasn’t so bad. "Now, on your feet, fräulein, do not try to run, do not say anything and do not make any further attempts at disobedience."

"No," I said, through my pain.

The kick in my stomach doubled me over, though later that pain would seem very insignificant. I cried out with the pain as he pulled me to my feet by my hair.

"You will walk, now!"

He pushed me towards the stairs and I fell again. The stone step bit into the arm trapped under me and I tried to hide the tears as the pain tore through me. I was pushed towards the top of the steps and tried to stand. Two hands grabbed me, pulling me up the stairs. I tried to find the strength to resist, but I was too shaken to react. This couldn’t be happening, not to me!

The room they took me to elevated my fear another notch. It was full of instruments of torture, some as archaic as the dungeon I awoke in, others terrifyingly modern. I tried to fight as they strapped me into something that looked like and ancient rack, but obviously had other uses as well. My bonds were tightened, straining my joints and I tried not to give in to the fear washing over me. Realising I was alone, far from rescue and totally at their mercy made that very hard. The officer appeared at my side, his eyes glittering in anticipation, his smile pitiless.

"Now, fräulein," the officer said, "we will ask you questions, you will answer them truthfully. If you lie, we will be forced to employ unpleasant methods to persuade you to share your knowledge. First, you will tell us all you know of the American military intelligence organisation, especially their spies in Germany."

"Go to hell, you bastard." I tried to sound sure of myself, but it’s very difficult to be brave when you’re alone and have no hope of rescue.

"As you wish, fräulein, though I think you will soon change your mind." He nodded and one of the men produced a wickedly barbed cat-o-nine-tails.

I wish I didn’t remember that period so clearly, but every blow, every stroke of the lash; every moment of searing agony is clearly etched in my mind. They used hot pokers to burn my skin, knives to cut away my costume and sections of my flesh. They did things to me that I’d never dreamed could be done to a person without killing them, but the one thing I expected them to do, they didn’t. None of them touched me sexually. I expected to be raped, but they never touched me, except to cause me pain. I think the anticipation, or rather dread of that possibility, was more effective than if they’d actually done it.

I screamed. I couldn’t help myself and they seemed to enjoy it, got pleasure from my agony. The look in the officer’s eyes was almost that of sexual pleasure and left me feeling sick. They tortured me not just for information, but because they enjoyed it. After several hours I was thrown into my cell, chained up again and left to my agony. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about that period was that my body still healed as fast as it always did. Of all the powers I usually had at my disposal, that was the one I wished I hadn’t kept. I watched as my wounds healed and realised that this would actually make this horrific experience worse. By tomorrow I would be completely healed and they would start all over again!

At some point food was brought in, left within my reach and I was left alone with my pain. I ate the food, I couldn’t stop myself. I was starving. Then I slept, all the time dreading the return of my tormentors. I tried to track the days by the light of the small window, but it was impossible. The pain that fogged my brain, the disorientation as I was taken from my cell at irregular intervals and the terror that lived inside me, left me unsure of anything.

Pain became my constant companion and each day it became harder to resist their demands. I wanted to tell them what they wanted to know, but I couldn’t, I didn’t know the answers. The tortures became more extreme, the implements used more horrific and the pain more intense. They used drugs to heighten the pain, hallucinogenic drugs to confuse me and I know that after a time I was hovering on the brink of insanity. One more session and I would lose what little was left of my mind. I think the thing that pushed me to the edge was when they crushed my hands!

Even though the damage they did would heal, eventually, I hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t that they would go too far and kill me. Yet they never did, they were skilled in their trade and they knew how to hurt me most, without killing me. I was surprised there were so few signs of the torture I was undergoing. I looked almost normal, except for the dark circles around my eyes and the terrified look on my face. Parts of my body showed healing scars, but they vanished almost daily, leaving me as physically whole as before they began. Inside, my spirit was close to breaking point, hope had died long ago.

When Karl Falkenhurst arrived, I expected more torture, worse handling. Instead he ordered them to take me out of the dungeon and had me placed in a room that was opulent to the point of decadence. The soft sheets, thick mattress and good food were an intense shock after the degradation and humiliation of the preceding time. I ate like an animal, expecting to have these luxuries snatched away from me, but no one came to disturb me, no jailer’s came to haul me off for more torture. After several hours of cowering in a corner, waiting for the inevitable horror, I slept, though my dreams were far from pleasant…

---

I woke up in the bed, alone, the soft sheets covering my body. Beside the bed was a set of clothes, simple, yet elegant and stylish. A bath was waiting for me, the water was steaming and terribly inviting. There was a soft scent of apple blossom in the room, coming from the tub. I looked around. I was frightened that the moment I moved I would be grabbed and hurled back into my cell. I wanted to use the bath, wanted so much to scrub myself clean, yet I was afraid that even that simple luxury would be snatched away from me at any moment.

I slipped from the bed, dashed to the bath and sank into the relaxing, hot water. It felt good to be able to wash myself, to be able to wash away the filth and sweat of so many days of pain and horror. I knew there would be some kind of catch to this, some terrible price to pay, but I was free of pain for the first time since I woke up here. I desperately needed to believe the horror was over, that this was real. I was like a frightened, trapped animal. I knew it, but I couldn’t help it. My mind was confused and I knew I was holding onto my sanity by the merest thread. One tiny thing would send me spiralling into madness, I cannot ever remember being so terrified.

My hands felt stiff, but they were healing, I could feel the bones knitting together. If only I could regain my strength and power, I could escape, get home and hide away from all of this horror. Of course I no idea how they had taken away my powers in the first place, I’d been looking for some way of regaining my humanity for years. Though I suppose I wasn’t totally powerless, some of my powers still worked, though I’m not sure that could be called a blessing, truly. Assuming this reprieve wasn’t some cruel torture, I would have to see what I could learn, though it was possible I’d traded one prison for another. I was incredibly tired, but I knew that, somehow, I had to escape from here.

I soaked myself until the water went cold, dried myself off, dressed in the clothes left for me and looked in more detail at the room I was in. It was obviously a part of the same castle as the dungeon, from its semi-circular shape, I thought it might be a tower room. It would make sense, especially as I couldn’t fly at present. Apart from the bed, there was a vanity table, which I made use of to cover the worst ravages the torture had left on my face. The large, oak wardrobe contained a selection of clothes, all my size, I noted, in varying styles from casual to extremely formal. A tallboy had underwear and other items of lingerie, again all my size. As a prison, it was very well appointed.

Four doors led from the room, one led to the toilet area, a lot better than the hole in the floor of my cell. The second led to a private library, mostly filled with books on biochemistry, along with my preferred kind of light reading material, romances and crime thrillers. The third door was actually a window leading to the parapet around my room, confirming I was at the top of a castle tower. The fourth led into a hallway and to a set of steep spiral steps. To my surprise this door wasn’t locked, though I wasn’t ready to explore the castle yet.

From the parapet I realised that I was deep in a range of mountains, though which mountain range I couldn’t say. Around the castle, snow-clad peaks soared and it appeared as if there was only one road in or out, which was guarded by German soldiers. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem, but as I was now…

The Castle itself looked old, centuries old, though in good repair. There were three towers, a huge courtyard, the central keep and two smaller keeps, not to mention the impressive gatehouse. The walls were over six feet thick and thirty feet tall; this place had been built to protect whoever lived here from hostile neighbours. The standard that flew from the top of the gatehouse was a black lightning bolt superimposed over the German swastika. That and the guards armed with machineguns kept me from the illusion of being swept back to the middle ages.

I heard the door of my room open and I spun round, full of terror and dread.

"There is nothing to fear," a soft voice said, a woman’s voice. The pale blonde hair and blue-white eyes told me this was Blitzkrieg, though out of costume. She looked so different in the light blue blouse and white skirt she wore. Her hair was still braided, but she was less reserved and aloof. There was compassion in her eyes, and sorrow, as she looked at me.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking around for something to use as a weapon.

"Karl would like you to join us for lunch," she said.

"Is that before they take me off to their torture chamber again?" I asked, ready to consider something I would never have believed myself capable of, until now. "I won’t let them hurt me again, I’ll jump before I’ll let them take me."

"I know," she says, her voice oddly resonant. "I know how you’re feeling, it was almost a year ago that I was perched on this same parapet, ready to end my life rather than let them hurt me again. I know what it feels like, the fear, the memory of the pain, the unreasoning dread."

I saw in her eyes this was true, but why would they do that to one of their own. "Why?" I asked, trying to see the trap. "Why did they hurt you?"

"They wanted to know about my links to the resistance," she said, sitting on the bed. "I was a German woman, working for the French Resistance in the Loire Valley, I was caught and they … they made me drink something, after running tests on me. Then they … they…"

"They raped you?" I said, beginning to see where this was going.

Her nod was all the proof I needed, though how they’d duplicated the formula and found out what happened to me I couldn’t guess.

"Then they took me to the cell, left me there for days. When they came back, they took me to their torture chamber." I could see the memory of the pain in her face, she’d endured all that I had, possibly more, it was hard to tell. "Karl stopped them, brought me here, protected me. Helped me discover my abilities and, to protect me from the SS, helped me become what I am."

"You fight for the Germans," I said and she nodded.

"The other choice is to go back into the hands of those animals, I can’t do that."

Oh God, the thought of going back to the pain, the horror! I curled around myself, burying my face in my hands, trying to control myself as the fear took over. How long I huddled there I don’t know, though I think I remember the woman taking me in her arms, talking to me, trying to help me. After a long time I looked up, her face was streaked with tears, just as mine was and I think I threw my arms around her, held onto her as if my life depended on it. Despite my total recall, memories of that time come and go.

"I’ll tell Karl you’re not ready," she said.

"Don’t go, please?" I begged, afraid of being alone.

"I won’t be gone long, then I’ll be back, I promise." I looked into her eyes and saw she meant it. She’d be back and I was glad, I didn’t want to be alone, ever again.

"What’s your name?" I asked, nervously and she smiled slightly.

"Marianna," she said.

"Laura," I said. Part of me knew this was a set-up, part of a larger plan, but at that moment I needed someone I could trust and wouldn’t try to trick me…

---

The Present

I wake up, covered in sweat and shaking with fear. I haven’t dreamt of that time for many years and I really don’t want to remember it now. Sometimes total recall is a horrendous curse. I get out of bed, shaking my hair loose and walk over to the window. Oh gods, I feel so alone.

There is something else preying on my mind. Two weeks ago I killed two men! I hunted them down and I killed them, without any trace of remorse. What worries me is what happens next time something like this occurs, the next time I have to face off against armed men? Will I be able to control myself or have I finally crossed the line and become what I fight?

I wish Julia was here, she’d find a way to answer my questions, make things right. Oh God, I miss her, why did they have to take her away from me? Why did you let them take her away from me Lord?

As if this crisis of conscience isn’t bad enough, to make matters worse Daltry’s girlfriend has told the police what happened, though they don’t seem to be in any hurry to arrest me. More unfortunately, a news network has picked up the story and their lead anchorperson, Robyn Marshall, seems to be on a personal crusade to have me prosecuted. Things could be worse, I suppose, though I’m not sure how at the moment!

It’s no good – I have to get out! I have to soar into the air, try and clear my head. I change into my costume, step onto the patio and fly up into the night.

It’s just after midnight, the moon is full and the stars are brilliant, once I get above the ever-present smog. I never get tired of the wonder of looking at the stars, wondering if there are other beings out there, if God created man to live alone in this vast universe. I’m so lost in my contemplations, that I don’t sense anything, until I get a tap on the shoulder.

I spin, coming face to face with a pale-blonde woman, with the palest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. She is flying beside me, watching me carefully and I find myself speechless at the sight of her. Her costume has changed over the years. The first time we met she wore a variation on the SS uniform of Himmler’s butchers, now she wears something that doesn’t instil such fear. The blue-white costume is similar in cut to mine, except that instead of a short skirt, she prefers leggings, and doesn’t have the wide V at the front that shows off my deep cleavage. It looks as if the skin-tight costume is a one-piece jump suit, with built-in gloves and boots. Her hair is as long as I remember and the braid is still there. A white image of forked lightning adorns her right breast. She grins.

"Catch me if you can!"

She dives towards the city and I follow, piling on the speed as she accelerates. She weaves in and out of the buildings, keeping her speed down to below the speed of sound; she doesn’t want to shatter every window in the city. Even at this slow speed, we have to be careful not to run into buildings, dodging in and out of the man-made canyons, accelerating down the wider boulevards, swerving into narrow alleys and pulling up sharply when some turn out to be dead ends.

She’s very good, though she ought to be, she’s had nearly as long to hone her skills as I have. We weave, dodge and swerve our way through the streets and alleys, her avoiding me as I try to catch her. Eventually I catch her foot with a slight touch, but it’s enough.

"Tag, you’re it!" I say, reversing sharply and heading for the river.

She’s after me as swiftly as I expect and I barely make it to my goal ahead of her. I swiftly fly under and over the various bridges, heading further up river, into the countryside beyond the city. Then I pile on the speed, using the forests, hills and other natural terrain to stay ahead of my pursuer. She catches me eventually, though it is a long chase and as she speeds away, I turn, smile and set off after her at full speed.

For hours we do this, swapping roles and chasing the other, stretching our muscles, though in the end we are pulled up by a couple of USAF fighter planes investigating our antics. Apologies made, we head back to my place at a far more sedate pace.

"So what brings White Lightning to New York?" I say, "I thought you were chasing Nazi paranormal war criminals in Ecuador?"

"I was," she says, her tone rather grim. "Rhinehardt is in New York."

I go cold, fear gripping my heart and the memories of my time in the torture chamber, the pain, the isolation and his pleasure filled face as he crushed my hands return with incredible vividness.

"Surely he’s dead, I saw him fall?" I say, my voice barely a whisper.

"So did I," Lightning says, "but I got a lead on someone killing people using extreme torture, so I investigated. I found his home, the bodies of the people he’d killed and something almost as bad."

"How can he still be alive?" I say, dropping to the patio.

"I’m not sure," Lightning says, "but he is and he doesn’t look any older than he did in nineteen-forty-three. Laura, I’m not sure I can stop him alone!"

The fear in my heart is mirrored in her eyes. We’ve both suffered at his hands, know first hand what he is capable of and it scares us.

"I’m going to take a shower," I say as we drop onto my patio.

"Good idea," Lightning say, "I could use one myself."

"Then we can talk, see if we can work out what to do about him!"

---

1942

I stayed in that room for two weeks, terrified that each time Marianna had to leave me, the SS would come to take me back to the torture chamber. I ate in my room, slept there, I used the time to read and get to know my companion.

Her full name was Marianna Krieger, she was a German Jew who had lived in the south of Germany, with her parents. She joined the French Underground when her family was taken by the Germans and shipped off to a camp. She escaped being taken because she was staying with a French Aunt at the time. She had been involved in several successful raids on German targets, but in the last raid, her group was sold out and she was captured.

For several weeks she was tested and kept in a special cell. She was given a serum to drink one night, and then her jailers took turns raping her. That night left her with incredible powers and terrible scars. Though the worst was still to come. She tried to use her newfound powers to escape, but someone used a gas on her that knocked her out for a long time, then she was hauled off to the torture chamber, for questioning.

Marianna had no idea how long she was tortured, only that she was hovering on the edge of madness, like I was, when a strange man came. He took her to a room with a bed and a bath, then left her to wash and to sleep. He came to her each day, helped her rebuild her sanity and, eventually, they became lovers.

"Karl has been good to me, he hasn’t hurt me, threatened me or said anything about my past. He’s accepted it all and helped me come to terms with who and what I am."

This sounded too good to be true, yet I could see how Marianna, alone and terrified could see what she wanted to see in him. I saw her as my Angel of light in this hell-hole. Without her, I’d be helplessly insane, or dead. I couldn’t even sleep if she wasn’t nearby.

"Karl told me one evening that I’d have to agree to help the SS with some jobs, or he wouldn’t be able to stop them hurting me again," Marianna said. "I lost it, shaking, cowering in a corner, but he helped me back, helped me realise that I could do what they wanted, without betraying my beliefs, after all, there’s no way they can win."

"You could smash whole armies, given time," I say, wondering if she realised how powerful she was.

"But I’m Jewish," Marianna said, "they would never let a Jew fight for them, it would make their victory tainted. They also won’t allow a woman to be better than their soldiers; it would be bad for morale. Instead I neutralise other paranormals, though I refused to kill anyone."

I knew this was a naïve view, but I couldn’t criticise her, she obviously made it work, somehow, though I recall her trying very hard to kill me, especially at the end of our fight. Still, I was beginning to realise just how much of that fight was staged, and how much was real. Obviously I was one of the paranormals she neutralised, though I did wonder if they tortured the others they captured and treated them like this?

"Marianna, why don’t you just fly away, or escape, they couldn’t stop you?"

"I love Karl, he’s given me everything and helped me come to terms with my powers. If I tried to leave the SS would hurt him, even kill him and I can’t let that happen."

I almost laughed in her face, seeing what they’d done, though I didn’t, because I realised that it wouldn’t take a great deal for me to go that exact same route. Even the merest thought of being back in the hands of those butchers left me a quivering wreck. I was as dependent on Karl Falkenhurst’s good opinion as Marianna, though as yet I had not met the man.

"I think it’s time I met my host," I said, shaking inside. "As long as you stay with me."

"I’ll tell him, he understands," Marianna said. "He’s really a wonderful man."

‘Yes,’ I thought, ‘he uses pain to make you malleable, then uses your fear to control you.’ Part of me wanted Karl Falkenhurst to be as good as Marianna said, but my paranoia knew this was all an elaborate set up. ‘The problem is, if he uses my fear against me, he’ll win,’ I thought to myself.

I sat in silent fear whilst Marianna went to fetch her Master, and that was what he was, for all her protestations. I was terrified that the SS would come whilst she was gone, I was always terrified when she left me. In many ways I was as dependent on her as she was on Falkenhurst, if not more so.

When the door opened, I flinched, I couldn’t help myself, but it was Marianna and Falkenhurst.

"I believe you wished to speak with me Dr Wayne," he said, sitting carefully opposite me. "May I say that I am sorry for what has been done to you, those animals should never have been allowed to lay their hands on you. I got you out of their hands as soon as I could."

‘I’m sure you did,’ I thought, knowing that he had gauged his interference perfectly, though part of me wanted to believe him and I nodded involuntarily.

"I can understand that you are suspicious of me," he continued, "that is why I sent Marianna to you. She has suffered at their hands and I protect her, just as I intend to protect you. I am also aware of your sexual preferences and thought that a woman would be less threatening."

That surprised me, someone had briefed this man very thoroughly on me, someone who knew me very well indeed. Only a few people knew of my previous involvement with Nicola, my family and a very few close friends. To think one of them could have betrayed me, given what I’d gone though, made me even more insecure.

"Are you going to lure me into your bed, too," I said sharply.

"Laura!" Marianna said and I instantly regretted the words.

"Is that what you want me to do?" Falkenhurst said. "I am no angel, believe me, I have done things in the name of science that I regret, but I have never forced anyone to do something they do not wish to do."

"Then I can leave," I said, trying to cover my fear.

"Unfortunately, no." He sighed and I smiled in triumph. "Dr Wayne, you are a prisoner of war, you are here because I personally took responsibility for you and have guaranteed your behaviour. You could walk out of this castle, Switzerland is not that far away, but the guards will shoot you, and then do the same to me and Marianna would be returned to the tender mercies of the SS!"

He knew how to punch the right buttons, I’ll give him that, and I saw the look on Marianna’s face as he said this. He had me right where he wanted me, under his control and I knew that, given time, he would make me exactly like Marianna, his willing slave.

"So what happens next?" I asked, knowing where this was going to lead, yet helpless to stop it.

"You can remain here, safe for the time being, there are some questions I’d like to ask you to help me perfect your serum, which will possibly allow me to get more freedom for you."

"No!" I said. "You can threaten me with torture, you can play your little mind games, but I will never help you give Germany a weapon that powerful."

"Do you truly wish other women to suffer as you have?" Falkenhurst said. "You do realise that it is the mixture of your formula and violent sex that triggers the latent abilities in those that take it, and that it is tied to the female gene. Any man taking your serum will die horribly, in a very short time."

I did know all of this, though I also sensed that Falkenhurst knew something else, something I wasn’t going to like and he wasn’t going to tell me, yet. Fighting saboteurs, along with other threats to my country had restricted my research time severely, but I had done some investigation. He had obviously spent a lot of time working on my discovery, though he’d obviously reached the same wall I had.

"The serum itself does not grant powers," he continued, "it changes the DNA in certain females, enhances their mental capabilities, giving them more control of their body and it’s functions. It takes away some things, but grants other advantages. The women who the serum affects become something other than human, they will live for an extremely long time, the rate of ageing is arrested at the peak of their physical development, around twenty-one, twenty-two. They regenerate from injuries that would kill any normal human, the body is augmented and strengthened, the musculature enhanced and they gain a control of their body’s density that allows them to fly. Their mental capacity is increased to it’s theoretical maximum, allowing them access to one-hundred percent of the brain’s power."

I stared at him, he’d uncovered all of the things I had, and more, though some of his discoveries did explain a great deal. My lack of success in reversing my condition was due to the fact that I was looking at the serum as the cause of my metamorphosis, which it was, but I was looking solely at the physical mutations, not the mental. It also gave me another insight, he’d been looking at what it did, whilst I had been looking for an agent to counteract it.

"The changes are permanent and irreversible, though some of the abilities are suppressible through the use of muscle relaxants and other drugs that dampen certain urges."

"Is that how you keep me from flying away, or destroying this castle?"

"Partly, there is another factor," he said. "The drugs allowed us to keep you quiescent until your powers faded. It is part of the agreement for keeping you safe that those powers remain dormant," He sighed as he looked around. "The other option was to let those butchers continue questioning you, they still want to know what you know."

My reaction to that idea was beyond all reason. I was cowering in the corner, Marianna holding me close. The concerned look in Karl’s eyes drew me in. I knew what he was doing, knew that this was all part of an elaborate plan to wear down my convictions, to make me dependent on him, but I couldn’t help myself. The bastard had won and we both knew it.

"I don’t know anything about overseas spies," I said, wanting to stop myself talking, but I couldn’t. "I was a field agent, I only know a little about the local offices I worked with, and even then only enough to make contact."

"I know," Karl said, softly, his voice full of concern. "I know, Laura, but they do not believe you and they will drive you mad if they take you back to that place. I need to give them something to make them go away, something that will satisfy them.

"I’ll help you," I whispered, realising that I was lost. There would be no rescue, no clever escapes. I was alone and helpless and totally in their power. "Keep them away and I’ll help you, I’ll do anything you want, just keep them away. Please…"

"I’ll protect you, Laura, I promise," Karl said.

When his arms surrounded me and Marianna it felt good to be there, to be protected, by both of them…

---

For several days we talked, working through my work on the serum, the changes I’d made to the formula and what my tests had revealed. I hated myself for giving in, but the spectre of Rhinehardt and his butchers was my constant companion.

"I think that if there is an answer, it is not in your original formula," he said with a sigh. "If we had the time, we could start from scratch, maybe build a whole new formula, but it could take years, possibly decades. It took your original team that long to get to this point and the formula refuses to mutate. Obviously there is something that we are missing, but I cannot see it."

"It would help if we knew exactly why violent sexual activity activates the serum," I said, "I still don’t know why it worked on me, or Marianna, and not on anyone else."

"My research shows that, for some reason, you and Marianna are incredibly similar, genetically speaking," Karl said. "Somewhere in your families histories, they were one family. You and she share many common DNA markers, but there is a divergence."

"Are we human," I asked and he sighed.

"That is a very good question and one I have no answer to," he said. "I would say yes, though a different breed of humanity. Possibly what we may become millennia from now, I don’t know."

I was silent for a long time, and then said. "What happens now?"

"This failure will not go well in Berlin," Karl said, "your willingness to help me has protected you, so far. Now we must find another reason for the SS to leave you alone."

The fear was back, it never really left me, but the research had allowed me to control it, now I realised that if the work was finished, so was any reason for me to be spared further torment.

I can’t remember anything for a while after that, except a flashback of pain, sadistic laughter and the feeling of intense helplessness. Faces, those terrible faces, all crowded in on me, the memory of those days was as fresh as it was before we started our research.

"Laura!" Karl was holding me, "Laura, block out the memories."

I tried, finding it very hard to do, though I managed it, after a time. I was sobbing, shaking with fear and I was putty in his hands.

"Don’t let them have me, Karl, please."

When I kissed him, I knew this was what he had been aiming for all along, but I wanted him to protect me and at that moment I would do anything to get that protection. It wasn’t him that made the first move, it was me. When I kissed him again, he didn’t stop me.

We made love in his room that night, he was my first male lover, the first I gave myself to willingly and I enjoyed it, he saw to that. Later, Marianna joined us later and the three of us shared delights I never knew were possible. Inside of me a small voice screamed out that I was being a fool, but I needed to make myself his, so that he’d protect me. I fell asleep with Karl’s arms around me and Marianna’s hand in mind as she slept on the other side of him.

---

The Present

I wake to the feel of Marianna beside me. We’ve been casual lovers since the 40’s, but neither of us takes it seriously. Necessity, that is our excuse, not that we really need one. She has a magnificent body, as perfect in it’s way as my own, and we’ve both undergone a devastating rape at the hands of men. We are two of a kind, born from the same terror, tempered in the same fire and so alike in so many ways. We are so alike it is frightening, yet there are differences too. One of the things we have in common, one that no one knows about or ever will, if we have anything to say about it, is Rhinehardt. He tortured us, took us to the point of madness and left us there so that Karl Falkenhurst could use his charm to trap us into doing things we would never have done normally. We were victims, yet we’d discovered a strength inside ourselves that gave us back our lives. Though both of us still remember that time in mind numbing detail.

Marianna stirs next to me and opens her eyes.

"Hi," I say, stroking her cheek.

She smiles and stretches, her arms above her head and the sheet slides from her upper body to reveal her breasts. When she kisses me I discover that the years haven’t cooled my desire for her, the touch of her body still sends shivers through me. Her breasts mould against mine, her body drives me wild, her skin feels incredible against my own. I gasp as she moved her mouth to my throat.

"We should meet up more often," she whispers, kissing my throat and moving downwards.

My hands find her breasts as her tongue toys with my nipple and I lose myself in her body again, the dream of the night before fading as I give in to lust. Her sex tastes sweet, her body is exquisite and we’re exhausted after bringing each other to the peak several times.

"You’ve been practising," I say as I lie in her arms, toying with her hair.

"A little," she says, "there was a woman in Brazil who showed me a few new moves and I did meet someone in San Francisco, but she was only interested in a quick fling with a superheroine. She was cute, but she didn’t really have the stamina to keep up with me."

"So you’ve not met anyone to commit to then?" I ask.

"No, I don’t think I ever will, not after Karl." Her voice is a little sad, though there is more to it than that.

"He is a hard act to follow," I admit, "he was very good and he knew the right buttons to punch. If only he hadn’t been such an utter bastard, using our weakness to get inside our heads. Do you regret what we did?"

"Regret, no, though I do miss him sometimes." Marianna looks into my eyes. "I heard about Julia, are you all right?"

"I’m better than I was," I say, feeling the knife twist in my gut.

"Does the news bother you?" she asks, "that reporter certainly has it in for you. I’d guessed the men you killed were the ones who killed Julia?"

"Yes," I say, "they were the ones, they deserved to pay for what they did, but a part of me regrets what I did, but not why. Julia was a young woman, a vital person who had her life cut short because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time." I feel a tear threading down my cheek. "I miss her. I hate to think someone is demeaning her death, even though it was pointless."

Marianna nods and tightens her grip on me slightly.

"So, what do we do about Rhinehardt?" she says.

"We find the bastard a rip his heart out!" I say, without hesitation.

"I can live with that." Marianna says. "This is your city, where would he hide do you think?"

"I don’t think he would hide, though he wouldn’t advertise his presence either." I think hard, not about him, because that would remind me what he and his men did to me, I think about the city and where I would hide if I were a sadistic monster with two very powerful people after me.

"He’d want to blend in, find a way to disappear and throw us off the track. First, he’d want a new identity, in case we already knew the one he was using, or he might even think about plastic surgery, though New York is the wrong city for that. If I’m right, we’ll need to check out a few underworld contacts I have, see if anyone is looking for a new ID. It may not be him, but it’s a start. Also, I think we’ll need to monitor the missing persons reports, from what you said, he’s still hooked on pain."

"Oh, he’s still that," Marianna says. "I found his trail in Brazil, he killed four people there. He moved to Mexico City, where he only managed two before I caught up with him. I lost him for a couple of days, he set up some false trails, but I eventually tracked him to San Francisco. Seven people died because I lost him there, they died slowly and in a lot of pain, but that wasn’t the worst."

I look at her and see that she is really worried.

"What is it, Mari? What’s got you so spooked?"

"He’s here for us, Laura," she says, "he had pictures of us in his apartment, pictures that show someone’s been watching us for some time, learning everything they can about us. He had an in depth file on you, the detail was incredible, and not just your Ms Victory identity either. There were photographs of you and Julia, some very intimate. There were notes on the possibility of using Julia to get to you, what he planned for her was…"

She doesn’t have to say anymore, I can imagine what she means and, for the first time, I’m glad she isn’t around.

"There was a similar file on me, after he’s captured you he intends to find me. He has no intention of killing us, either, he’s been hired to do what he did before … by Karl!"

"Karl’s dead!" I say, "I watched him die."

"No, he’s alive," Marianna says. "I don’t know where, but I know he’s alive, I found his letter in Rhinehardt’s apartment. There were extensive files on both of us from the war, along with reports from Karl’s own research. He wants us back, Laura…"

---

1942

"Very dashing," Karl said as I stood in the uniform he’d presented me with. It was similar to Marianna’s Blitzkrieg costume, though it followed the design of my Miss Victory costume, keeping the skirt, but not the low cut front. My legs were bare, except for the thigh boots, and there was no cape. The swastika was there, on the left breast, an obscenity, but I couldn’t resist anymore.

It felt wrong, but I couldn’t fight his will or the persuasions anymore. He was my master, my lover and the centre of my world, I would do anything to stay out of the hands of Rhinehardt and his thugs. Mariana stood next to me, in her costume and we looked the epitome of German womanhood. True Aryan Valkyrie.

"Blitzkrieg and Fräulein Sieg," he said proudly.

Lightning War and Miss Victory, his puppets and now we would work for the Germans, against our own people. I felt sick, but there was no fight left in me, I couldn’t see any way past this dilemma and he knew he’d won. He’d broken my will and I was his obedient puppet, just as he said I would be.

We’d been lovers for several days now, he was very skilled and with Marianna to help he soon had me begging him for a chance to prove myself to him. That was when he revealed something to me I’d often suspected, but never actually had the chance to research properly. My powers were sexually based, born of rape and maintained by sexual energy. My enforced celibacy, along with a strong suppressant that sapped my sex drive, had weakened me. Unfortunately some of my powers still worked at full power, my ability to heal, my heightened senses and my enhanced memory. The sex I’d indulged in over the last few days had restored some of my other powers and soon I’d be back to full strength, though I’d be using that strength for the Nazis. I felt as if I had betrayed everything I believed in, but I couldn’t fight his will or the fear inside. If I knew a way, I’d have killed myself, but something stopped me, something wouldn’t let me give in to true despair.

I’d spotted Rhinehardt one evening a few days ago in the courtyard. It had taken Marianna and Karl three hours to coax me from my closet. He scared me like no-one ever had, not even Dieter, the man who had raped me the night I was reborn. When Karl suggested I join Marianna in her role I accepted, desperate for anything that would keep me out of that monster’s hands. I knew it was a mistake, knew that I was betraying every principle I stood for, but I was a broken woman.

The uniform Karl gave me to wear made my skin crawl, but I put it on and now I stood proudly in the courtyard, waiting for orders.

"I have been asked by Berlin to handle a small problem in Italy," Karl said to us. "The Allies have made a landing there and one of their paranormals is helping them. I have been asked to neutralise him. You will go to a small town called Paliento, there is a small garrison of Allied troops there, and find this paranormal. Bring him back here after you’ve defeated him."

"Yes Karl," we said in unison. I knew this was wrong, that we ought to fly away and escape, but we wouldn’t. Karl held us in a thrall that we couldn’t break, didn’t want to break. Our wills were totally under his control.

"Go, my beauties, bring back your quarry."

We took to the air in one fluid motion and headed south, the rising sun beginning to touch the mountains. We were going to do it! God Forgive me, because I don’t think I ever will…

---

Paliento was a very small town. It wasn’t hard to spot the Allied troops or their camp site. They were British soldiers, part of the joint task force in Italy, though there were no more than a hundred men here. There were a couple of tanks, but apart from that it looked normal, the olive grove, a small vineyard, the church and the whitewashed houses, a typical town full of typical people.

"So, where do you think he is?" Marianna asked and I looked at her.

"He’s British, let’s try the nearest bar."

"Isn’t that a little cynical? Marianna said, grinning.

"Only if I’m wrong," I replied, grinning back.

As it turned out, I wasn’t wrong, though our appearance certainly caused a stir. Two beautiful women, dropping from the sky, wearing Nazi uniforms definitely makes an impression. The soldiers who saw us grabbed their guns and I noticed one of the tank crews scrambling into their vehicle. More soldiers ran out of the bar, along with a man who could only be our target.

He was short, looked a little seedy and had two days growth of beard on his chin. His face reminded me of a fox, cunning and untrustworthy and I definitely didn’t like the way his eyes ran up and down my body. His frame was wiry and thin, though the loose costume he wore hid some of it. His taste in costumes was execrable, red and yellow lightning bolts! He looked like an incredible wimp, but there was something about him that radiated power.

"Well, well, well," he said, "what ‘ave we ‘ere? You girls come to surrender?" His voice was full of innuendo and I got the impression he thought he looked dashing.

I stared at him, coldly, I felt Marianna stiffen at his derogatory tone.

"Tell you what, girls, you surrender and I’ll be real good to you." His voice was pitched in a tone of lascivious anticipation and I could see him mentally undressing both of us. Perhaps this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought it would be.

"I’d just as soon pound your face into the ground and make you beg for mercy," I said.

"Shame," he said, "to put bruises on a body like that."

Then he was gone, I didn’t see him move, but he obviously had. I felt a hand grab my butt and spun to find him right behind me.

"Cute arse, nice tits, shame about the attitude and that bloody awful outfit." He grinned and seemed to vanish as my fist passed through the space he had occupied.

Marianna yelped as he appeared beside her and pinched her ass. This guy was really pissing me off and I knew I’d enjoy beating him.

"Y’know, you two, a bottle of vino, a big bed and I’d be in heaven." He leered and vanished.

"That does it," Marianna said, glaring around. "This little bastard is going down hard. Karl said he wanted him alive, he didn’t say anything about broken bones."

"Go high," I said, looking around and getting ready for his next appearance.

Suddenly a length of rope wrapped around Marianna in an attempt to tie her up and I realised this particular man’s power was obviously incredible speed. Marianna flexed her muscles, snapping the rope and took to the air as I’d said. I watched the rope fall to the ground and then flew up to where Marianna waited.

"He’s fast," I said to her, "but that has its weaknesses. If we can lure him to where we want him, we can tangle him up and then he won’t be able to run."

At that particular moment a bolt of electricity leapt from a nearby rooftop and sent a shock through me. I felt every hair on my body stand up on end and a sharp pain ran through every nerve of my body.

"C’mon girls, it’s playtime." His cockney accent was getting on my nerves, as were his leering looks.

"That is it," I said in a low growl. "I bet my hair is ruined!"

Marianna hid a smile behind her hand. She’d learned about my vanity and twitted me about it a time or two. It might be my besetting sin, but when you’re as beautiful as I am, a little vanity isn’t surprising.

"Wassup, you don’t think I can pay for it, I got cartons of chocolate and nylons."

"I’m going to rip his balls off and make him eat them, along with his bloody chocolate, then hang him with his nylons." I was boiling over and I dived at him, crashing into the roof of the building, through it, and piling into the floor. Of course, he wasn’t there and I ended up on the ground floor of the house, with a couple of Italians staring at me.

"Seig! Are you all right?" Marianna called.

"I’m fine, Blitzkrieg," I called, nearly using her real name, but remembering in time.

"So, if she’s Blitzkrieg, who are you?" that annoying voice said beside me. "I reckon you ought to be called Fräulein Big Tits."

I lashed out, but he was gone and I stormed to my feet, lashing out at a wall as I erupted from the house.

I felt hands on my body, then fell to the ground as he discovered I was very ticklish. He continued to tickle me until Marianna swooped down and he had to disappear.

"I thought this would be an easy job," she said, "but he’s quite good."

"I know," I said, burying my antagonism and using my head. "But I think I know a way to stop him. Think you can lure him to the far side of town?"

I pushed Marianna aside as yellow lightning flashed through where we’d stood. Her nod told me she knew what I wanted her to do. She took off, flitting close to him and giving him an obvious target to focus on, whilst I looked around.

Bullets struck me and I looked up as the soldiers advanced. They couldn’t believe their shots were bouncing off me, though they weren’t any better pleased when I twisted their rifles into pretzels. I turned as the tank rumbled into the square and felt a little apprehension as the gun fired. Fire engulfed me as the shell exploded on impact, though I was unharmed, except from a minor ringing in my ears. I flew forward, tying the barrel into a knot and then looking around to make sure there were no other enemies to take care of.

A gust of wind warned me of his approach, I dropped, span on the ball of my foot and lifted my right leg in a classic circle kick. He ran straight into the spinning kick and somersaulted twice before landing on the ground. He was unconscious, but breathing and I had to throttle an urge to make sure he’d never make sexist comments about women again. I still couldn’t believe he ran straight into it, still he probably hadn’t run into someone trained in martial combat before, or expected a woman to be capable of it.

"How’d you do that?" Marianna asked.

"Karate training," I said, "something I’ll have to teach you when we get back. You’re good, but when I teach you Karate, you’ll be better."

I picked up the British hero, he moaned a little, so I tapped him lightly and ensured he wouldn’t wake up until we got back.

"You could have used the drug Karl gave us," Marianna said.

"I know, but now he’ll wake up with a large headache."

"Good point," Marianna said, with a giggle. She had a nice giggle and I smiled at her. Soon we’d be home again and safe. Home!

I looked down at the man we’d captured and noisily lost my breakfast. What the hell had I become…

---

Back at the castle I had time to think about what I’d done, what we’d done and that’s when I realised I was a traitor to my country and to everything I believed in. I’d fought against the people I should have been supporting, handed over one of my own to a sadistic butcher and betrayed every principle I claimed to follow.

I prayed for long hours, hoping for some answer, but in the end I knew there was only one. I had to overcome my fears, face the horror of what had been done to me and find a way to make it all right.

"Laura?" Marianna said, when she found me.

"I feel sick," I said. "I’ve betrayed my country, my faith and myself."

I knew what was happening, or rather would be happening, to the man we brought in, Rhinehardt would have a fresh victim for his chamber of horrors. I couldn’t see Karl being perverted enough to seduce him, but I wouldn’t put it past him to get one of us to use our charms on him. It was high time this came to an end, but I was terrified of what might happen if I tried to defy Karl. I didn’t have the strength to oppose his will, yet I had to, or end this some other way.

"We need to talk," I said, "somewhere private."

She nodded and followed me out onto the parapet.

"This can’t go on, Marianna, it has to stop and we’re the only one’s who can stop it." I could see the fear in her eyes, it was the same fear I felt in my gut.

"What about Rhinehardt?" Marianna asked.

"I don’t know," I admitted shaking visibly. "They’ve done a good job on us, but we can’t carry on doing this. What do you think they’re going to do with that man?"

Marianna paled and I knew she’d thought this out the same as I had. "What do you think we should do?"

"First, we’re going to have to rescue that guy," I said, swallowing hard. "I don’t want to go into that dungeon, but I don’t think we have much of a choice. And … And Karl has to go back with us, or we’ll have to kill him."

"I … I know," Marianna said. It was obvious she found this as hard as I did. "We can’t leave his research in the hands of the Nazis. I don’t want to hurt him, I love him, but what he’s doing is wrong."

"Tonight?" I asked, a part of me screaming this was madness.

She nodded and I sighed. Then I kissed her and felt her melt into my arms. The kiss led to me taking her to my bed and we made love, to drive away the fear, to keep thoughts of our plan away, because if we thought about it, we’d scare ourselves into paralysis. We slept for a while, waiting for dark…

---

I woke up as dusk fell, Marianna was already awake, staring at the ceiling.

"I can’t do it, Laura," she said, "I’m … I’m too scared."

"I know," I said, pulling her against me. "I want to curl up in the closet and stay there, but I can’t. If I’m ever going to be free, I need to do this, but I can’t do it alone and I won’t leave you here, alone."

"Laura, what if they catch us?" Marianna looked into my eyes and I could tell she was terrified.

"I don’t know, Mari," I said, stroking her hair. "We’ll just have to make sure they don’t catch us. I’ll make sure they can’t hurt you again, if it comes to that. I promise."

I looked deep into her eyes, looked for some sign that I was reaching past her fear. She wanted to be free, as much as I did, wanted to believe we could do it. It wasn’t much, but it was all either of us had. We were damaged, scarred deeply in our psyches and it would take decades to recover, if we ever did.

I kissed her gently, letting my tongue trace the shape of her mouth, before slipping inside. My hand slid over her thigh, stomach and up to her breast. She moaned as I found her nipple and tweaked it. Her hands moved over my body and I responded enthusiastically to her caresses. My mouth moved down to her incredible breasts, sucking a flesh-coloured nipple between my teeth and driving her wild. My other hand found its way between her legs, caressing her gently and making her gasp.

"Oh Laura," she sighed, and gasped as I found her most sensitive spot. It didn’t take too long before she shuddered to a climax, she was as dependent on sex as I was and she didn’t care.

She pushed me onto my back, her mouth tracing a path down my body and finally reaching my sex. Her tongue slid in and out of me rapidly, exciting me and I clung to the sheets as I came hard. I pulled her body around, burying my face in her sex, relishing the smell of her and plunged deep into her as she continued to lick at me. How many times we came I don’t know, but we needed the release before facing the true terror of what we intended to do.

I glanced out of the window, night had fallen and it was time.

"Come on, before we lose our nerve altogether," I said, "and Mari, no matter what, I don’t regret knowing you."

Her smile was worth the effort and we dressed carefully, knowing we wouldn’t have time to come back for anything. Dark clothing, trousers, not skirts, but loose fitting, there was no way I was going to ever wear that uniform again, I tore it to pieces before we left. We’d need every advantage we could get, and there wouldn’t be many, these bastards knew far too much about us.

---

We had the run of the castle, though we couldn’t leave the grounds without permission. The castle was perched on a high cliff, though there was an alpine meadow with a waterfall and pool behind the castle. I used to go there for peace and quiet, Mari sometimes accompanied me, she liked to swim in the pool. The rest of the castle was definitely a fortress. The dungeons were built into the mountains, into the very foundations of the castle. All of it was the work of one of Karl’s ancestors and Karl had inherited it, along with the family fortune, when his father died during World War I. There was at least a battalion of troops stationed at the castle. There was a rumour that they might be recalled for other duties in Italy.

Falkenhurst Castle was a place of terror when it was built, peasants were forced to carry the stone to the site, then work on its construction. Many died building the castle, others were killed to keep the castle’s secrets. The Falkenhurst family were monsters, taking what they wanted from the peasants, whether it was food, servants or lovers. Anyone who objected was taken to the dungeons, tortured and killed for the pleasure of the family. The castle’s very stones were soaked in innocent blood and it was long past time this edifice of horror was raised to the ground. Most of this I’d learned from books in Karl’s library, books he never suspected I’d read. I knew what he had in mind for me, eventually, Marianna too. From the family records I knew Karl had to be at least seventy, though he didn’t look it and I couldn’t figure out why.

The dungeons were guarded, but no one expected either Marianna or myself to want to enter them, willingly. The guard watched as we approached, staring at our breasts, until we stood before him. He looked from one to the other, then collapsed in a heap when I hit him. The door was locked, from the inside, though that was no obstacle, I was almost back to full strength and Marianna was at full strength.

Three more guards tried to stop us, but they failed, the fourth, who tried to sound the alarm, discovered the futility of it when Mari crushed the alarm switch, then his gun. A light tap put him to sleep.

All the time we were both scared stiff, terrified there was some trap that would capture us, for we knew what would happen then. Yet we kept on, clinging to the presence of the other as an anchor for our courage. We could feel the pain and terror that this place had seen and we both wanted to see it torn down.

He was in the same cell that had held me when I first woke up, chained to the wall this time so that he couldn’t move. He looked awful, as if Rhinehardt and his men had already begun work on him. There were livid bruises, open cuts and he was barely conscious.

"You come to gloat," he asked, his London accent almost making his words unintelligible.

"Something like that," I said, breaking his chains. "Though you make one sexist comment and I’ll put you back and let Rhinehardt and his thugs torture you some more."

"I can stand torture," he said, his ego showing again now he was free.

"No you can’t," I said harshly, pinning him to the wall by his throat. "You can’t stand what they’ll do to you, because they are very, very good and they won’t kill you, ever! You’ll wonder what day it is, whether or not you’ve had a chance to sleep, eventually you’ll beg them to kill you, just to stop the pain, but they won’t. When you’re hovering at the edge of insanity, they’ll stop, and that’s when you’ll become like us, their puppets, willing to do anything to stay out of the clutches of those sick animals. Worst of all, you’ll know they enjoyed making you suffer, making you whimper with fear and tremble at the very thought of them touching you again."

I was shouting at him now, everything being released in a flood of fear, terror and desperation. He had to understand, had to believe.

"Understand one thing," I said, letting him go, "these people enjoy hurting people, it’s as good as sex to them, perhaps it is a sexual experience to them. Rhinehardt loved hurting me, but he never touched me in any way that didn’t cause pain. Don’t think they can’t break you, they can and they will. If you aren’t afraid, you bloody well should be, because these bastards don’t know what pity and mercy are."

I could tell my tirade had set him thinking, he was quiet for a long time.

"So, what’s the drill? You here to rescue me?" His cockiness was gone, or at least subdued for now.

"We won’t let anyone else undergo what they did to us," I said, glancing at Marianna, who was watching the door. "Of course, if you’d prefer to stay here?"

"No bloody way," he said, "you lead, I’ll follow." I turned away, and walked over to Marianna. "And who wouldn’t follow two cute arses like those," he whispered.

I heard and grinned, as did Marianna, a compliment is a compliment, no matter what the source.

"I’m Jack Flash," he said, as I looked past Marianna into the corridor.

"I’m Miss Victory and this is Blitzkrieg."

"Mind if I ask why you captured me, then decided to rescue me?" He seemed a little confused.

"Like I said, if you stay here they’ll torture you for days, weeks, even months, I can’t even tell you how long I’ve been here. They’ll screw up your time sense, turn you inside out, get you questioning your own name, make you doubt everything you see, hear and feel. Then they’ll hit you with the velvet glove."

"They’ll take you out of this cell, put you in a comfortable room and let you rest." Marianna said, quietly. "You’ll be sent someone who will be sympathetic towards you, gaining your trust, probably Laura or myself."

"That doesn’t sound so bad," he said.

"Until they point out if you don’t help them, you’ll be given back to the SS for more torture." I shivered as I remembered that moment. "The very sight of the SS symbol will send you cowering into a corner and you’ll do whatever they ask, just to stay out of the hands of those butchers. Believe me, there is no good side to this situation, none!"

"They did that to you, both of you?" His voice was stunned, he looked utterly shocked.

We nodded and his expression hardened. "Then someone’s about to be killed, because we don’t treat women like that, even in a war. What do we do?"

"Marianna and you will get out of the castle, she’ll get you back to your troops. I’ve got a job to do, before I rip this place apart."

"We rip this place apart," Marianna said. "Both of us or no-one, Laura."

"And don’t leave me out," Jack said. "You may have captured me, but these buggers need to be taught a lesson in manners."

"Okay," I said, relieved that I wasn’t going to be alone. "I’m going to Karl’s lab, I need to destroy his research, so they can’t replicate it. Think you two can distract the guards?"

"Consider it done," Jack said, "ain’t that right, beautiful."

Marianna jumped and I sighed, he was incorrigible, but likeable.

"Okay, be careful." I flew up to the high ceiling of the corridor and headed back to the main hall. I knew how to reach the lab easily and it would be better if I got there unobserved.

I had to dodge a few guards, until the alarms went off, when they all vanished. Getting into the lab wasn’t too difficult, I knew where Karl kept his notes and samples. All I had to do was destroy everything and get out. At least that was the plan.

"I’m very disappointed in you, Laura," Karl said, stepping out of hiding. "I had hoped you’d be reasonable and accept your fate. You can’t escape me you know."

"Did you think I’d stay here to live as your slave," I said, feeling my resolve crumbling, but trying to hang on to my nerve. "You let them torture me, drive me to the point of madness, then you used my weakness to ingratiate yourself. Well I’m afraid you underestimated me."

"Really?" Karl said, stepping closer. "What about Rhinehardt, he is still here and you know I’ll have to give you back to him now."

I began to panic, but somehow reached inside myself and found the strength to fight off the attack. Part of it was my faith in god, the rest was my desire to protect my country from these monsters. It took a lot of my reserves, but I did it, I faced the darkness and looked it in the eye. My mind replayed some of what had been done to me, but then I remembered the destruction at Pearl Harbour, of saving a young WREN from a diving Zero and the touch of my father’s hand as he told me how proud he was of me. Somehow those images, those memories helped me fight my way clear of the terror and back to the present.

"Karl, I’ll give you a choice, come with me willingly, or I’ll have to kill you. I can’t leave you here to start all over again."

"Bitch, do you truly think you can win!" Karl spat. "You are weak, your principles give you so many weaknesses anyone could make you their puppet. Your military uses you, like a weapon!"

"Because I choose to serve with them," I say, snarling. "You and your sick leaders want to enslave people, but we won’t let you!"

Karl pulled up a gun, not a pistol, but the gas gun they’d used on me on that long ago night.

I hit him, hard and watched as he flew back into the wall. I hadn’t meant to hit him that hard, but I lost it for a moment. I heard the snap as he struck the wall and watched as he lay there, back broken and unable to stand. He looked as I’d first seen him, old, wizened and hideous. I don’t know how he made me see him as a handsome, middle-aged man, but his true form was ugly and it made me sick to know he’d touched me, used me.

"I don’t know how you made me see you as you did, but now I see you as you are. It’s over Karl, all of it." I turned to the bench and looked at the test tubes, retorts and other equipment. "I do what I do willingly, for my country and for myself. I fight for what is right, not for conquest, greed or my own pleasure. I have power and with power comes responsibility, though I doubt you’d know too much about that."

"You’re a fool," he said, "they will use you that same way we would."

I smashed the table beside me, sending the chemicals everywhere, ripped the safe from the wall and took out the papers. I set fire to them, then looked down at the pathetic creature that was Karl Falkenhurst.

"Goodbye Karl, I hope it hurts, a lot, as much as what you had done to me hurts."

I flew out of the lab as the chemicals ignited, leaving Karl to his fate. His screams echoed around the halls, but the memories of the torture chamber drove me forward. Perhaps I should have killed him cleanly, but the knowledge of what he’d done to me was too much. I couldn’t let him go quickly, I wanted him to suffer, not just for me, but for Marianna too. A part of me hoped that it took a long time for him to die.

In the courtyard, Marianna and Jack were finishing off the German soldiers. I spotted Rhinehardt sneaking up a back stair and I called to Marianna. She saw him, dived down and snatched him up into the air. I joined her.

"What should I do with this bastard?" Marianna asked.

"Let go," I suggested, simply and she grinned. Rhinehardt’s fear was obvious, though there was something in his eyes, something that disturbed me and left me feeling incredibly scared.

He screamed as he fell and neither of us made a move to catch him. He plunged into the darkness and our only regret was that we couldn’t do to him what he did to us.

I swooped down to Jack as he waved.

"Think you could get me out of here, luv," he said, "I’ve rigged the armoury to go up anytime now."

I grabbed him and swooped upward as the castle seemed to shudder, shake, then crumbled into a massive pile of rubble. I looked down, along with Marianna and Jack.

"Time to go home," I said.

"Me too," Marianna said.

"You could come back to America with me," I said, but she shook her head.

"I need to fight them in my adopted country, though we’ll meet again, I promise." The look in her eyes told me she was right, just as I knew I had to return to America. I couldn’t go with her to France, I didn’t feel that strongly for her, despite what we’d shared. We were friends, it was enough.

"Take care of yourself," I said, kissing her cheek and holding her hand for several long moments. We’d been lovers, but we’d never be in love, we were too alike and we had different aims.

"You too, Laura," she said, "I’ll always remember those nights, especially when we get to have a few more, without all of this to weigh us down."

I watched her fly off and looked down at Jack.

"Back to Italy?" I asked.

"Could we go via your bedroom?" he asked, with a grin.

"I could let you walk," I said.

"Italy sounds good…"

The Present

New York has innumerable low dives and places where you can find information, if you know who to ask. Drug dealers, low-life pushers, people who can get you anything you want, for a price, they’re all there, if you know where to look and are prepared to pay the price. The price is often high, but if you want it bad enough, someone will sell it to you. If you want a girl, boy, sex, anything the imagination can come up with, if you know the right people you can get it. Information is like any other product, available for the right price or the right incentive.

‘The Virgo Club’ is an affront to women, a place where women sell themselves either as dancers or as private entertainment. I know several of the girls who work there, mostly from saving them from over-active clients and they owe me a couple of favours. I don’t criticise their lifestyle, it’s their choice, though if they ask me for help, I do help them. Some chose this form of life, they want to live like this, others don’t have a choice, but won’t accept charity. Yet, that doesn’t mean they deserve to be treated like meat. I sometimes offer them a little work, now and then, for a generous commission, on the understanding that any extra goes towards their ‘retirement’ fund.

It isn’t the girls I’m visiting tonight, at least not primarily. One of my contacts likes the club, almost lives there, and that makes him easy to find. Cyrano Kemp is a low-life, he’d sell his mother, for the right price, but he’s one of the best information brokers in the city.

"Cyrano," I say, sitting down next to him.

"Laura, long time," he leers up at the girl dancing on the stage. "Becky’s new costume is real hot, does she still do that thing with the dildo and the KY Jelly?"

"Sometimes," I say. "This is my friend Marianna, she’s new in town and she’s looking for a friend."

"I’ll be her friend," Cyrano said, staring at Marianna, undressing her with his eyes and lusting after what he thinks lies beneath her clothes.

"She’d more interested in Becky," I said, "unless your name was Hans Rhinehardt?"

"Rhinehardt, I heard he was in town." Cyrano looks away from Marianna and back to Becky.

"Do you know where?" I ask.

"No, he likes his privacy and anything he wants he arranges to pick up, usually in an out of the way place." Cyrano throws Becky a ten-dollar bill, which got him a smile. "She’s a really gorgeous girl, do you think she…"

"That depends," I say, "I know her quite well, she might, if you’re nice to her friends."

"You’d put a word in for me?" Cyrano looked across at me, then at Becky.

"No promises, she’s not a prostitute, and you’d have to treat her right." I look up at Becky as she finishes her set and nod to her. She smiles and indicates she’ll be out as soon as she’s changed. "Becky is a good kid, caught in a bad trap. We’ve slept together and she’s not a virgin, but she isn’t the kind to sell her body just for cash. She wants out of the club, but she won’t take charity. I’ve done what I can, but I have to be careful not to insult her pride."

"I get you," Cyrano says. "She needs to be treated like a lady, not a slut."

"Right," I say, wincing at his phraseology. "Now, Rhinehardt!"

"I’ve heard he’s buying a shit load of sexual suppressants, stuff that’d turn a nymphomaniac into a nun, though no one knows why." Cyrano looks round as Becky emerges from the side of the stage, dressed in jeans and t-shirt. "He is supposed to be picking up the stuff from a dealer tomorrow, at pier 12."

"Thanks," I say, then turn to Becky. "Becky, good to see you again. This is Cyrano, he’s all right and he’d like to ask you out, but he’s a little shy. If he gives you a hard time, you tell me and I’ll break his legs, then work my way up. Becky grins.

"I know Cyrano," she says, "he watches all the shows, but he never hassles us. I guess I could give him a chance, as long as he knows the score. How about you, do you need me?"

"Not at the moment, this was a business call," I stand, Marianna follows suit. "Treat her right, Cyrano, I wasn’t joking."

Cyrano winces, he knows my reputation…

---

Pier 12 is like all of the other docks, busy. There are a lot of people around, too many really, but if Rhinehardt is here, we’ll find him. We’re in civvies for this part of our investigation, though our costumes are under our street clothes. Two costumed superheroines would attract far too much attention from people we’d rather didn’t notice us. Not that we don’t attract attention anyway. Marianna is as gorgeous as I am, which means men look, their gazes following us as we walk around the dock.

There are two ships at the dock, off loading goods from overseas. There are some passengers coming ashore, but mostly the dock is filled with dock-workers and seamen. We split up, to cover more ground, though it still takes some time to cover the whole dock. We meet up at the far end of the dock and compare notes, not that there’s much to say. We’ve spotted a few illicit deals going down, which we’ve noted for the police to follow up, but no sign of Rhinehardt.

"Do you think Cyrano was wrong?" Marianna asks.

"No, he’s here, I can feel him," I say, scanning the crowd. "We’ll just have to keep looking and hope we can spot the son of a bitch."

My eyes sweep the dock again, but a flicker of movement makes me look up at one of the ships.

"Is that him?" I say, nodding at a man on the bridge of the ship.

Marianna nods, I can see her eyes harden, though she has to be feeling the fear twisting her guts. I stare at the monster who so nearly drove me mad so long ago, the man who still haunts my dreams.

"Let’s go," I say, striding towards the ship, Marianna is at my heels.

There is no one watching the gangplank, which is odd, though it’s only later I realise this.

"Does this seem a little too easy to you?" I ask Marianna, she nods, looking around nervously.

"I can’t help feeling we’re walking into some kind of trap," she says, "though I’ll admit the idea of facing this guy scares me shitless."

"I know what you mean," I say, "but I want to see his face, see him defeated, at last."

Marianna nods and we stride up the gangplank, watching for any signs of a trap.

Rhinehardt has vanished by the time we get to the bridge, which doesn’t surprise us. We start searching the ship, looking for any signs of life, though it appears deserted, until we reach the cargo hold. There we find Rhinehardt, standing in a patch of light as if he’s waiting for us.

"Welcome, ladies," he says, "I was wondering how long it would take you to find me. I believe you have been looking for me? Well here I am!"

I watch him carefully, he’s far too confident, far too at ease. The darkness around him is total, there’s no way to see what is hidden there, though I have no doubt there is something hidden in that darkness.

"Tell me, do you ever wish for me to repeat my treatment of you, or do you just wake up screaming in the night?"

"Bastard," Marianna screams, flying forward.

I can’t fault her reaction, I want to hit him, tear him apart and make him pay for what he did to us. Yet something holds me back, I can’t put my finger on what.

Marianna grabs him, pulling back her fist, then screams in agony as she collapses to her knees.

"What have you done to her?" I yell, rushing forward.

"I have done nothing," Rhinehardt says, "though it is nice to see that the old conditioning still works. I planted a post-hypnotic command in her sub-conscious that attempting to hurt me would cause her indescribable pain. There is a similar command in your mind, so you see, I am perfectly safe from you, where as you and your lovely companion might have a few problems with my friends."

Light flares as several men in armoured suits step forward and the trap reveals itself…

---

Marianna stood, the pain receding, as the men approached. Their armour was black, with a blood-red swastika pierced by a lightning bolt. I remembered the symbol, where I’d seen it before and my blood froze.

"So, you still work for Karl," I said to Rhinehardt, watching the armoured men.

"He pays me well," Rhinehardt said, "and I get to indulge my passions. It is an equitable arrangement. Besides, I have him to thank for my extended life span,, not to mention my survival on that night. If he hadn’t gifted me with his blood, I’d have died, instead I managed to crawl to safety, though it took me a long time to heal. The pain was rather … interesting. I’ve inflicted it before, but actually feeling it, it gives one a unique insight."

"He wants us back, doesn’t he?" Marianna says, placing her back to mine as the armoured goons surround us.

"He feels that your DNA will enhance the new race of Aryan Purity," Rhinehardt said. "Though I personally believe he just wants to fuck your brains out. He has promised me that I can have you both to play with, once he has extracted the samples he wants. I believe he is exploring options involving artificial insemination of Aryan mothers, using your eggs. But I just want to get you back into my domain, you both have strong wills and I will enjoy breaking you, again. Of course, this time you will be my slaves, I may even make you my consorts, an immortal man needs immortal companions." He smiled and I recoiled in horror at the extended canine teeth. I wanted to scream, to deny the evidence of my own eyes, but there it was, Rhinehardt was a Vampire!

"You sick bastard!" I scream, then fly at the nearest man, grabbing him. An overhead throw drops hiim onto the next in line, though I doubt the others are going to be as easy to take care of. One fires a blast of fire at me, burning away my outer clothes and revealing my costume.

"Marianna, let’s get some altitude," I shout and we take to the air.

A grinding noise above alerts us to the hold cover being lowered into place, we are plunged into total darkness, except for the light Rhinehardt stands under. I strain my senses, using my hearing, smell and other senses to place Marianna and our foes. I picture the hold in my mind, what I saw of it, along with our foes, where there were in relation to me and where Marianna was. Some inner sense tells me to move and I just escape the burst of energy that passes through the space I was in. A slight breeze and a loud clang tells me that Marianna has nailed another of the goons. Five, possibly six to go.

"I should tell you ladies," Rhinehardt called, "that this hold has been filled with a very special gas, one that suppresses sexual reactions. According to Baron Falkenhurst, it should, eventually, eliminate your powers, or at least the most bothersome ones."

Rhinehardt isn’t kidding, I can already feel my strength waning and it is getting harder to stay aloft.

"Marianna?" I call, "we need to get out of here, fast!"

"I know," she calls back, "up or down?"

"Up," reply and fly upward at my fastest speed.

The deck plating buckles on impact, but I can’t break through it, my strength is fading too fast. I concentrate on staying aloft, but it’s so difficult.

"Laura," Marianna says, "we can’t let them get us."

"The door," I say, "it’s the only chance we have."

We fly for the door, slipping through it ahead of an energy blast, only to come face to face with several crew members with guns, all trained on the door.

"You will surrender now," the Captain says, "or we will open fire."

I grab at one of the guns, but another backstrokes me with the butt of his rifle. I stagger as my vision blacks out. A second hit knocks me to the floor, the pain in my skull incredible. A kick in the head sends me into blackness…

---

I wake up on a bunk, the feel of the ship around me tells me we’re at sea. I look around and find I’m chained down, not that I have the strength to move. Marianna is missing, though her clothes lie on the floor, torn to shreds. As I try to move the door opens and three men enter the cabin, cruel looks on their faces.

"Your friend’s busy, so we thought we’d come and keep you company."

I know what they intend, it’s written clearly on their faces and there is nothing I can do to stop them. They unchain me, pull me to my feet. Two of them hold me as the other, the one who spoke runs his hands over my breasts and down to my thighs. My costume is wrenched off and my breasts exposed to their hungry gaze. The three men stare at my magnificent body, lust in their eyes and I steel myself for what is to come. Rape I can handle, it is degrading, often violent, but it is also something that might help me at the moment.

"The captain said to leave you alone, but I reckon we deserve a little fun," one of them says, "we don’t get passengers like you too often. If you don’t tell anyone, we won’t come back and hurt you."

Hands caress my breasts, teasing the nipples into erectness and I try not to shudder as a tongue licks at them. Other hands tug at my panties, then run over my firm ass, whilst a mouth fastens onto my pussy. I let the sensations overwhelm me, I know I should be horrified and in another situation I’d kill these bastards, but right now sex is my only salvation.

They mount me eagerly when they realise I have no intention of resisting. The insistent rhythm of their thrusts carries me along, I show them how a woman with over eighty years experience makes love. They come together, I ride the crest of pleasure with them, feeling the sexual power fill me, but it’s only a start. I grab one, kiss him deeply, then pull his face to my chest, surprising him, and his friends. He is hard again quickly and I mount him eagerly. I ride him to another climax, turning to his friends after he is done.

They are watching, totally surprised by my eagerness. I motion to one of them to come over, and lie back. He straddles my chest, placing his manhood between my breasts and using them to masturbate himself. He cums over my face, I lick his seed from my lips and let him withdraw as the third climbs between my legs. He is large, stretching me, but I take him and cling to him as he thrusts deep inside me. We climax together, he is totally amazed and all three men look exhausted.

"Is that all you’ve got," I say, "perhaps you’d better send some of your friends in."

"Bitch," one of the men says, grabbing me and forcing me to my knees. I take him in my mouth, teasing him erect, then he picks me up, pins me against the wall and forces himself inside me. He is rough, but when he cums I feel my power slowly returning. It’s not much at the moment, but it’s more than I had. I wonder how Marianna is doing, I know she isn’t as hardened to what some men like to do to women as attractive as we are, but she’s smart, she should have worked it out.

I’m on my knees as the next man mounts me doggie-style, his hands mauling my breasts as he thrust into me. It’s a damned good job I can’t get pregnant, none of these men would be suitable as a father. I feel my power coursing through me as the man finishes and I know it’s time for this to stop.

"Thank you," I say, turning to face them men. Two slaps lays two of them out cold, the third looks stunned, then afraid. "Now, where is my friend?"

"She’s … she’s with Rhinehardt, in his cabin." He stares at me like I’m some monstrous apparition, which I am to a degree. I feel my face contort into rage and concern. Marianna, helpless in the hands of that sadistic bastard!

"Where?!" I say, snarling.

He falls over himself to tell me the location, for which he earns a tap to knock him unconscious. I pull on my costume, after cleaning up a little, and crack open the door. All clear, so far. I think a moment, then grab a pair of jeans and sweater, pulling them on over my costume. Then I step into the passageway.

I consider sneaking around, but that would call attention to myself, so I just walk along naturally, with the air of one who belongs. It doesn’t take long to find the cabin, Marianna’s screams are audible for some distance and there are no sailors anywhere near it. I open the door, to find Rhinehardt preparing another device to use on his helpless victim.

"I do apologise for the crude conditions, fräulein," he says, "but I’m sure you understand. Now, why don’t we discover what other areas of your body are sensitive to pain?"

"I’d rather you didn’t," I say, shutting the door. "Lay one more hand on her and I swear I’ll rip it off and make you eat it."

"A shallow threat, without your powers," Rhinehardt says.

He’s holding a long knife, with a very thick blade. I take the knife from him, turn it on myself and push until it shatters.

"You forgot one of my powers that isn’t neutralised by your little gas, my looks. Sailors spend a lot of time at sea and when they get chance to fuck a woman, they do." I smile coldly at him, then grab him. "Now, you are going to remove every one of your tools from Marianna’s body, very carefully and with as little pain as possible."

His look was worth having those sailors use my body. Rhinehardt is scared of me, he remembers how we beat him and Karl before, almost killing them. Though I can’t get the image of those teeth from my mind. I watch him very closely, carefully avoiding his eyes.

"You won’t kill me, fräulein," Rhinhardt says, "you need me to lead you to Herr Falkenhurst."

"As you have ably demonstrated there are worse fates than death," I say, "and I remember every moment of my time in your hands, another of my advantages. I could duplicate anything you did to me, perhaps not as well, but the effect would be the same."

Rhinehardt recognises the fact I’m not joking and starts removing his tools from Marianna. She is hurt, badly, but she is alive and she will recover. I wish she were unconscious, at least then she wouldn’t feel what Rhinehardt was doing.

"Now, stand over there and don’t move," I say, moving closer to Marianna. "Hey, how you doing."

"It hurts," she says, but in her eyes I see that she is still herself.

"I know," I say, with a wan smile, "but it’ll get better."

Pain erupts in my shoulder as Rhinehardt attacks. Blood stains my sweater, a long, pointed blade protrudes from the wound and I stare at it for a long moment, before looking up at Rhinehardt. The look in his eyes is full of ecstatic joy and for a brief moment I am back in my cell, cowering from the SS goons as they come to take me away for more questioning. Fear, abject terror washes over me and for several long moments I am paralysed by the memories, the look on his face and the pain in my shoulder.

By the time I come to myself, he is gone. I pull the spike from my shoulder and look at it. There is an odd shimmer to the blade and I realise that Rhinehardt has found a way to defeat my invulnerability.

"Go after him," Marianna says, but I shake my head.

"We’ll find him again, and Karl," I pick her up. "We get out of here, heal and then we start looking for them."

"They’ll cover their trail, we may not find them until they want to be found," Marianna says, wincing at each movement.

"I know, but I won’t leave you helpless," I say. "Some battles have to be fought at other times. We know they’re out there, we’ll find them, and beat them."

Marianna subsides as her pain finally overcomes her will. I look around, grabbing her costume, before willing myself into the air. No one tries to stop me as I leave the ship, they are too surprised by my appearance. Before they can react, I am well beyond their weapons range and heading for New York. Marianna is unconscious, which is a blessing, as she won’t feel her wounds. Inside I face the fear that lurks inside me and know I will have to face it again one day…

---

Three weeks later, Marianna is back to full strength and ready to leave. We’ve talked it over and, much as I want to join her in her hunt, I can’t. I have responsibilities and things to do here.

"Are you sure," she says as we stand looking out at the sunset.

"Yes," I say. "Somewhere out there is a young woman who needs my help, even though I may have to fight her and beat her. There are other villains who will hurt people if I’m not here. It’s a real pain having a patriotic soul, but it’s who I am and I have no choice."

"I understand," Marianna says, looking back to the sunset. "I have my own needs and responsibilities. I’ll call you when I find something."

"I’ll be there, no matter what." I watch the sun go down and sigh. "Until this is finished, I doubt I’ll sleep very well. Be careful?"

"And you." Mariana hugs me and I hug her in return.

She takes off and I watch her fly into the reddening sky. I know we’ll never be more than friends and casual lovers, we’re too alike to be more than that.

I turn to my apartment. On the TV Robyn Marshall is discussing how she would have me brought up on charges of assault and piracy. It appears the Captain of the ship has filed a complaint that I assaulted some of his crew and my personal nemesis has decided to use it against me. Robyn Marshall is championing the people who I fight, despite their crimes and actions. She and I are heading for a showdown, one that will leave both of us worse off than when we started.

I turn off the TV and head for my lonely bed…

To Be Continued in Ghosts – coming soon