The slender brunette tugged in frustration on the shackles that held her pinned against the wall. “Curse that Mr. Zig! Curse him for putting me in this dungeon!”
She had been a prisoner of the shackles for nearly half a day. Her wrists were locked overhead. Her ankles were restrained below. Her back was pressed flat against the cold bricks of a subterranean wall. Fatigue was setting in. Worse, she was hungry.
“Not even a slice or bread or a drink of water since I have been here!” the beautiful prisoner said in exasperation. “Just what kind of jail is Don Refrain running here, anyway?”
She considered that the infamous crime lord might not even be aware of her presence in the dank dungeon. Mr. Zig, the brutish butler that had caught her sneaking around Othello Manor and put her here, had not seemed like the talkative sort. Perhaps he had failed to notify his boss that one-half of the troublesome M-Girls had been captured.
“Well!” the brunette said indignantly. “I may not be Ms. Marvelous, but they will learn soon enough that Elle Mental is not a woman to be scorned!”
She tugged again at the bracelets holding her wrists. Though her mutant strength was incapable of forcing the steel shackles to open, the young super-fem had other abilities at her disposal. “Come on, Elle,” she mumbled in determination. “You can do this!”
Smoldering eyes focused on the short length of chain that connected the bracelet holding her left wrist to the wall. A violet aura of mutant energy glowed around her lithe body. The aura extended across her hand and over the shackle. It embraced the chain. And then, suddenly-- nothing happened?
“Damn it all!” the fiery heroine shouted out in disappointment. “Why can’t I do this?” Elle’s telekinetic abilities were revered by her friends and feared by her enemies. The power of her mind seemed at times to be nearly unlimited. But she was yet young and inexperienced. Her training had never been completed. In order to unleash the full might of her mind she required a totem, a length of rope through which she could channel her incredible powers. Without it, she was virtually helpless. “Try again…”
In the past, she had occasionally been able to perform small tasks without the aid of a rope— moving a pencil across a table, opening the latch on a window or door, or keeping a small object suspended in the air—but these had amounted to little more than parlor tricks. Perhaps one day she would learn to take full advantage of her amazing abilities without the need for a totem but that time was not yet at hand.
“Do not focus on the chain itself,” a voice in her mind suggested. “Focus on an individual link.” Once again, a violet aura of energy appeared around her magnificent body. Wrinkles of concentration took shape on her high forehead. A link at the center of the chain jostled. It moved slightly from side to side, as if caught in a breeze.
“The link is basically just a rope,” the heroine tried to convince herself. “A very small rope, made of steel and forged into a loop, but still just a rope--”
The violet light grew brighter. Mutant energy sizzled in the air above Elle’s head. Her brown eyes bulged. Strands of long hair floated out from her scalp. The ends of the link slowly parted. As if by magic, the gap between them grew wider. Finally the link straightened, slowly untwisting and unwrapping itself from its siblings.
“Got it!” the girl shouted while pulling her wrist away from the wall.
Elle reached across her body and tugged on the shackle imprisoning her right wrist. Using the strength of both arms, she snapped its chain and yanked the shackle away from the wall. She freed her ankles, next.
“Free at last, free at last!”
Though no longer chained to the wall, the beautiful brunette had no way of removing the steel bracelets from her wrists and ankles.
“No doubt Mr. Zig has the key required to unfasten these shackles,” she said while moving toward the dungeon door. “So until I find him, I will simply have to make the best of it and consider these
steel bracelets as my shiny new fashion statement. I hope that no one gets the wrong idea and thinks I have some weird bondage fetish!”
The door blocking the exit was reinforced with iron plates. To the young heroine’s relief, though, it was unlocked. Without making a sound, she darted into the long hallway beyond. A small light bulb dangled from the ceiling outside the door, illuminating the narrow stone passage with a pale and completely inadequate glow. The heroine knew that she was well underground, deep in the bowels of Othello Manor.
“I wonder what time it is?” Elle asked aloud while trying to decide which direction to go. “It is just past ten in the evening,” a seductive voice replied from behind her.
The surprised brunette spun around and raised her hands to the ready position. Her heart caught in her throat as she recognized the striking facial features and petite build of the woman standing but a few feet away.
“Oni Kamaha!” she exclaimed in astonishment.
“Have we met before?” the Vampire Queen replied while looking more closely at the girl. “Ah, yes, now I remember—You were one of the prisoners forced to take part in the MCT Games on the night of my escape from the Institute for Genetic Studies. Your name is… Elle?”
The beautiful brunette kept her hands at the ready. “That’s right—I am Elle Mental. Ms. Marvelous is my friend and partner.”
The vampire’s eyes narrowed. “Ms. Marvelous, you say? How interesting! Can I assume that, like her, you have a dislike for Don Refrain?”
“I detest him. I only just escaped from his dungeon, just beyond this door.” Elle looked at the pale skinned vampire warily. “I warn you, I will not allow one of Don Refrain’s minions to take me prisoner again--”
Oni Kamaha smiled. “I can assure you that I do not work for Refrain. He is my enemy just as much as he is yours. In fact, I have come here to kill him. Perhaps the two of us can join forces and fight him together?”
“Join forces?” Elle replied skeptically. “What makes you think that I would willingly join forces with a blood-sucking demoness such as yourself?”
The Dark Mistress paused before answering. Her sinister mind quickly formulated a deceitful plan. “I have already convinced Ms. Marvelous to assist me,” she lied. “If you are indeed her partner, as you claim, then it only makes sense that you should join us, as well. Together, we will ensure that Don Refrain is brought to justice.”
“Ms. Marvelous agreed to help you?” Elle asked in surprise. “When did this happen? How--” “Your beautiful friend tracked me to my lair only today. At first, she wanted to fight. But once I explained that I am in Megapolis on a vengeance quest against Don Refrain, she agreed to assist me on the condition that I leave town once the quest has been completed. I am sure that she will be joining us very soon.”
“But why did she not come with you to begin with?”
The Vampire Queen tried to reassure her young counterpart with a seductive smile. “She mentioned something about an errand that she needed to perform. Perhaps she went in search of you? Whatever the reason, I think that she should arrive sometime soon. In the meantime, we should scout ahead and engage any enemy forces that we might encounter. It will be to our advantage if we can eliminate some of Refrain’s guards before he knows that we are here. Ultimately, we will engage the crime lord and his top lieutenants directly, but for now I think that stealth may be the appropriate tactic.”
Elle eyed the beautiful vampire suspiciously. She doubted that Ms. Marvelous would have joined Oni willingly. Jody was too good and pure to ever take sides in a battle between evils. And yet, there could be no denying that the Dark Mistress was here, in the cellar of Othello Manor, voicing a desire to kill Don Refrain. And despite widespread reports of Jody’s death, the Vampire Queen knew that Ms. Marvelous was still alive. Perhaps they really had met, as Oni claimed, and perhaps they really had come to some kind of agreement. Either way, Elle figured it would do no harm to join forces with the immortal Hawaiian princess, at least until she discovered what was really going on.
“Which way do we go?” she asked while dropping her hands and giving her new partner a nod.
“I just came from that direction,” Oni answered while pointing down the left side of the passage. “I entered through an old and long forgotten maintenance hatch. If security for the rest of the building is as lax as it is down here, we shall have little difficulty in moving to the higher levels.”
“I have already scouted much of the Manor,” Elle replied. “There are a number of high-tech movement sensors placed at various locations but we should be able to skirt them easily enough. The main quarters lie beyond a wide hallway lined with gargoyle statues. The atrium is there, as well as the living quarters and Don Refrain’s personal studio. Unfortunately, the hallway is blocked by a reinforced door that is kept locked. And one more thing-- In addition to the normal assortment of guards, the grounds are patrolled by a foul-looking hunchback named Mr. Zig. If we encounter him, do not underestimate his fighting ability.”
“Locked doors and guards do not concern me,” the Vampire Queen hissed coldly. “No barrier can stand in my way and no hunchback can prevent my passing.”
Elle shrugged. “In that case, I will allow you to take the point. Lead on and may the fates be with us!”
Oni moved forward, her dark eyes momentarily glowing a deep, crimson red. As she passed by Elle, she silently forced back the instinctual desire to ravish and consume the young brunette’s fabulous body. There would be other opportunities to partake of the girl’s sweet blood, the vampire decided. And though a quick snack might briefly enhance her undead powers, it was better, for now, that she have an ally at her side for the battle to come.
“It appears that there is a stairway ahead.”
“I am relieved to see it,” Elle replied. “The sooner we get out of this cellar, the better!” The two women traveled upward, cautiously traversing a spiral stairway that had seemingly been cut out of solid stone. Exactly how far up they traveled was hard to say, but when they finally arrived at the top they encountered a heavy wooden door.
“It is locked!” the Vampire Queen hissed.
“Allow me to assist you,” Elle said while kneeling next to the latch and examining the locking mechanism. “Hmm… yes, this should not be overly difficult--”
The slender brunette raised her right hand and gripped a hidden clasp at the top of her costume, at the front of her neck and just under the chin. She pulled downward on the clasp, undoing a micro zipper that ran the length of her chest and stomach. She reached under the fabric and quickly removed two tiny wires that had been secured inside.
Oni licked her lips. Her eyes focused hungrily on the beautiful girl’s bronze-tanned cleavage. “I see that your costume is similar in design to that of Ms. Marvelous.”
“We use the same tailor,” Elle confirmed while adjusting the shape of the wires.
The young heroine inserted one of the wires into the top of the lock and gently wiggled it back and forth until she located the first tumbler. Working with a sensitive and experienced touch, she inserted the second wire into the bottom of the lock and moved it inward until the tumbler released. She repeated the process and opened several more tumblers inside the mechanism. In no time at all, the lock was undone and the door opened.
“Nice trick,” Oni said while following her young partner through the door and into the hallway beyond. “Maybe you can show it to me sometime.”
“I thought no barrier could stand in your way,” Elle replied jokingly while returning the wires to their holding place and zipping up her costume.
“Few doors can hold back the undead,” the Dark Mistress said with an evil growl. As if to prove her point, the vampire waved her hand and the door magically slammed shut behind her. “But the ability to pick locks might be useful in the right circumstances.”
Elle swallowed hard. Having spent a lot of time around mutants, she had been witness to many incredible and bizarre powers. But there was something about this Vampire Queen that was different. There was an eternal darkness surrounding the woman. Her aura, if such a thing existed, was sinister and black. No, Elle decided, Oni Kamaha was just plain scary.
“It seems that we have found the gargoyle lined hallway that you mentioned,” the Dark Mistress said while pointing to the stone statues crouching next to the walls.
“I will not be able to pick the lock on the door that leads to the atrium,” the beautiful brunette said while trailing behind her fast moving partner. “The lock is too complicated to pick with a pair of simple wires. We will need to find the key.”
“Does the hunchback have the key?” Oni asked.
“Actually, yes,” Elle confirmed in surprise. “Why do you ask?
“Because,” the Dark Mistress answered, “if I am not mistaken, that is him right there--” Elle stopped in her tracks and peered into the shadows at the end of the hallway. A bit of movement finally caught her eye.
“I see him, now,” she said softly. “But your eyesight is really quite amazing.”
“There is no need to whisper,” Oni replied. “He has already seen us. But let us dispatch him quickly and retrieve the key. I want very much to see what lies beyond that door!” “I suppose we might as well get it over with,” Elle agreed. “But be careful—He is as tough as he is ugly!”
The two women strode forward bravely. Oni took the lead, her petite but fabulous body barely contained within a tight-fitting black leather jumpsuit. A deep slit down the front exposed her pale cleavage brazenly. Her dark hair fell in straight waves across her shoulders and upper back. The strikingly exotic, native Hawaiian features of her face were as cold and emotionless as her dark heart. Her black eyes simmered with an unnatural fire.
Elle walked two steps behind and to the right of her new partner. Her lithe figure moved with the grace and power of a jungle cat. Her violet costume hugged her scintillating curves and lines like a second skin. Athletic strength seemed to burst forth from the chiseled but feminine muscles of her arms and legs.
The beautiful brunette paused before passing by one of the statues. The gargoyle stared up at her mockingly, reminding her of how she had been wrapped across its head and beaten into submission earlier that day. The all too fresh memories made her back throb and her stomach muscles tighten.
“Time for a rematch, Mr. Zig!” she cried out while turning away from the gargoyle statue and proceeding toward the end of the hall. “Come out and face me!”
A massive figure emerged from the shadows. “You again?” it said in a gravely voice. “I don’t know how you escaped the dungeon, but you will soon be returned. And I see that you have brought a friend—No matter! There is room enough in the dungeon for both of you!”
Oni looked upon the misshapen figure of the large man and scowled. “By all that is unholy, you are ugly! Were I to sleep for a hundred years and wake up starving, I would not feed on one such as you!” “Do not underestimate him!” Elle warned again. “His knuckles are bony knobs and his fists strike like hammers!”
“He is nothing,” the Vampire Queen said with disdain. “I shall finish him quickly so that we may retrieve the key from his pocket and proceed to the main quarters.”
The ogre-like monstrosity moved closer to his adversaries. He was anxious to once again get his massive hands on the lovely Elle Mental, but the Hawaiian girl was blocking his path. He swung for her head, a looping overhand strike that would surely drive her into the floor like a railman’s spike. Instead, and to his displeasure, the sultry young woman nimbly dodged to the side and avoided the powerful blow.
“You’re quick!” the hunchback said with a smile. “But so am I!”
He leapt forward and grabbed the pale Hawaiian by her shoulders. He lifted her off the ground and held her before him. His huge hands seemed almost to swallow the svelte figure of the petite girl. Her athletic body writhed back and forth in a futile attempt to escape. An expression of anger grew on her face.
“Let go of me at once, impudent beast!” she snarled.
“As you wish!”
Mr. Zig flung the girl into the wall with the entirety of his impressive strength. She crashed into the bricks with devastating force. Her body collapsed to the floor like a throw rug. But to his surprise, she slowly rose to one knee. She gripped her left shoulder and winced in pain. Her eyes glowed red as she glared up at him.
The hunchback moved to finish the girl off. His large fingers clenched together to form a fist. The clumps of bone growing out of his knuckles were a dangerous weapon. He was sure that with a single blow he could finish off the troublesome young wench.
“Now you shall pay the price for trespassing in Don Refrain’s home--”
With a burst of super-speed, Oni moved faster than the hunchback’s eyes could even follow. His fist swiped at the empty air. A confused look appeared on his misshapen features. “What? Where did she go?”
“Behind you, fool!” the Vampire Queen snarled.
Oni waited for the hunchback to turn around before driving a hard right into his large gut. Her fist hammered off of his twisted ribs. The blow was powerful enough to kill most humans. To her disbelief, though, the big man merely grunted.
“Witch!” Mr. Zig yelled while bitch-slapping the vampire across the hallway.
“Leave her alone!” Elle Mental shouted while leaping into the fray and snapping back the man’s head with a quick one-two. The beautiful brunette followed up with a spectacular series of kicks and punches that drove her foe backward. She rocked him with a right. She staggered him with a left. She doubled him over with a powerful kick to the stomach.
“This time I will beat you!” the heroine declared while launching yet another attack. “You will not be able to--”
Elle’s words were cut short as her foe’s massive hand clamped down over her face. He picked her up by her head and easily supported her one hundred and twenty pound frame with his tree branch like arm. With an ugly smirk on his abhorrent face, he squeezed her supermodel-like features between his thick fingers. The heroine struggled valiantly, her hands tearing at the man’s fingers in a vain effort to get free. Her legs flailed wildly in a failed attempt to kick him. The sound of her screams were muffled by his clammy palm. Pain began to tear through her skull. Was Mr. Zig really this strong, she wondered? Would he be able to crush her skull in his massive paw?
The slender beauty began to brown out. Her legs stopped kicking. Her feet dangled off of the ground. Her hands fell away from his and hung limply at her sides. She groaned, a sad, miserable groan that could barely be heard.
“I will lock you up better, this time,” Mr. Zig said victoriously. “You will not escape the dungeon a second time--”
“Let go of her!” Oni Kamaha said while leaping onto the man’s twisted back.
Mr. Zig cried out in pain as the vampire’s sharp fingernails ripped across his grotesque face. Desperate to defend himself, he flung Elle Mental to the side and groped with both hands over his head. He tried to grab the girl riding his hump but she skillfully remained out of reach. Her fingernails felt like the claws of a lioness as they ripped across his oily skin for a second time.
“Witch!” he shouted in frustration. “Do you think to make me even uglier than I currently am?” “That would be impossible,” Oni replied while shifting her position atop her foe’s mountainous back and squeezing his torso with her vise-like legs. “But I do want to kill you!”
Mr. Zig yelped as the claws of his undead foe scraped across his throat. His poorly fitting shirt was becoming soaked with blood. This girl did not fight like most heroines, he learned. This girl was different. She was evil. Perhaps she really did want to kill him.
The hideous hunchback was becoming frantic. The demoness riding his back was ripping him to shreds with her razor sharp talons. In desperation, he thrust his massive body backward against the stone wall of the hallway. His bony hump slammed against the hard bricks, squashing the girl in-between. Her claws came away from his face and neck. He slammed against the wall a second time. Her grip on his back became slack. He slammed against the wall a third time and she groaned in pain. Finally, the dazed witch slumped over his shoulder. He reached up and grabbed her by the wrist. He pulled her petite body forward and smashed her down on the hard floor at his feet.
“I am going to crush you!” he shouted while stomping his right foot into the center of the girl’s ample cleavage.
A few feet away, Elle struggled to her feet and looked on in horror as Mr. Zig prepared to drive his massive fists down into Oni’s face. She knew that she had to ignore the pain jabbing through her skull and do something. She had to save her new partner before it was too late.
“Get off of her!” she shouted while rushing forward.
The lithe brunette leapt high into the air. She cocked her long legs and vaulted off of the wall toward the mammoth hunchback. She snapped her left foot forward with all the strength she could muster. It slammed off the back of his head like a sledgehammer. So powerful was the amazing kick that Mr. Zig was sent tumbling head over heals through the air. He crashed back to earth six feet away and slid into the base of one of the gargoyle statues.
Oni quickly rose to her feet and stood next to the fetching heroine. “You were right when you said he is tougher than he looks. Are all of Don Refrain’s men so powerful?”
“Some are,” Elle replied while walking to where the grotesque butler lay. His eyes were closed. She leaned over him and reached down with her hand. She tapped a couple of times on his forehead to make sure he was finished. “Hello? Anyone home?”
“It would appear that he is unconscious,” Oni said while kneeling next to Mr. Zig’s enormous and twisted figure. “Shall I rip out his throat and finish the matter?”
Elle looked at her counterpart in horror. “I do not think it is necessary to kill him. But perhaps we should retrieve the key and get moving before he wakes up.”
The Vampire Queen reached into the man’s pocket. “Here it is,” she said while removing a large key and tossing it to her partner. “Perhaps you would do the honors?”
Elle walked to the large door at the end of the hall. She inserted the key and gave it a twist. The enormous lock seemed reluctant to give, but with a loud groan it finally turned over. The slender brunette cautiously pushed back the iron latch and turned the knob. She slipped through to the other side.
“This is the atrium,” Elle whispered while closing the door behind her dark-haired counterpart. “Though I must say, it looks quite different from when I was here last.”
The gorgeous brunette quickly scanned the cavernous room. At first, she felt disoriented, as if she was not where she expected to be. Certainly, the room was large enough to be the atrium that she remembered from her first visit to Othello Manor some months before—The ceiling was several floors overhead and the rectangular floor was more than fifty feet across. An elaborate stairway constructed against the stone wall led to balconies above. The balconies, in turn, led away to higher floors and the living quarters of the residents. These things, at least, were as she remembered them. But everything else was quite different.
The far wall, which had once been home to dozens of large-screen televisions, now stood empty. Its blackened surface still bore the scars of smoke and fire damage. The interior garden, which had once contained three massive aspen trees, had been removed. No longer did leafy ferns and fragrant flowers dominate the interior of the atrium. No longer did plush chairs and oriental carpets line the once beautiful garden’s edge.
“This is very different,” Elle said again. “Not at all like I remember it.”
“There are signs of recent construction,” Oni said while pointing to a large scaffolding that had been set up near the wall. “Perhaps Refrain is remodeling.”
Elle looked at the large piles of lumber and bricks that were stacked beneath the scaffolding. “The fire must have gutted the place. Still, it seems that Refrain is storing more than just construction materials here.”
As noticeable as the missing plants and furnishings were the tall stacks of crates and boxes that cluttered the room. Row after row of large wooden containers made the room seem more like a warehouse than an atrium. Elle carefully made her way to one of the dimly lit aisles formed by the stacks of boxes. A claustrophobic feeling made goose bumps rise on her darkly tanned skinned.
“What do we have here?” she asked while pulling back the lid to one of the boxes. “It would appear to be ammunition,” Oni said while peering inside. “And the boxes over here contain rifles!”
Elle’s eyes narrowed. This was the reason she had come to Othello Manor in the first place. At last, she had found the hidden cache of weapons being stockpiled by Don Refrain. “Grenades, rocket launchers, machine guns—There is enough here to start World War III!” “All the more reason to put an end to Refrain’s miserable existence,” Oni said with a growl. “Let us track him down and finish the matter!”
Elle followed her anxious friend’s gaze toward a door at the near end of the room. She could hear the sound of voices emanating from beyond.
“Refrain’s parlor and studio are through there,” she whispered. “He will have his goons nearby, I suspect, and there may be too many of them for us to handle. We should wait for Ms. Marvelous before we proceed.”
The Dark Mistress’s eyes glowed red at the mention of the blonde heroine’s name. “But why? Surely we can handle Don Refrain and his men by ourselves!”
“Please--” Elle said while ducking behind a crate, “--keep your voice down. We do not want to attract attention to ourselves. And no, I think we should wait. We could use the reinforcements and you said yourself that she should not be long.”
“Ms. Marvelous is not coming,” the Vampire Queen finally admitted. “I only said that to get you to help me.”
“What?” Elle asked in surprise. “Not coming? But you said--”
“I asked Ms. Marvelous to join forces with me. I offered her everything that she could desire, and more. I offered the destruction of her greatest enemy. I offered to leave Megapolis once the task was completed. I even offered to relieve her of her wretched weakness to erotic stimulation. Still, she refused. It was probably the right choice, in retrospect. Little did she know that had she accepted, I
would have turned her into an undead minion and forced her to serve me forever.” Elle could not hide the look of shock on her face. “Where is she now? What did you do with her?”
The Dark Mistress bared her fangs and scowled at the young heroine. “She is dead. I left her to serve as an appetizer for my children. At this very moment, her magnificent body is being consumed by them.”
“You lie!” Elle shouted in anger. “Ms. Marvelous is too strong. She cannot be defeated by--” “Did you not see me beat your friend during our match at the MCT games?” Oni asked with a shrill laugh. “Do you doubt for a moment that I was able to do so again? And my children, devil-spawn nearly as strong as myself—Do you doubt that they could subdue and make a meal of her? I tell you, I left her chained and defenseless. She could not have survived such an encounter. She is dead!” Elle stepped away from the demoness and tried to control the myriad of emotions-- hatred, shock, sadness-- building in her heart. Could it be, she wondered? Had Ms. Marvelous really perished at the hands of Oni’s undead children? Thoughts of the fight at the Institute for Genetic Studies, when Jody had been defeated by the Vampire Queen, were still fresh in her memory. Could the gorgeous blonde have somehow survived an encounter with two of the Queen’s devilish offspring? “Oh, god!” the slender brunette thought. “First Solar Flare and now Jody! All of my friends are gone! Is this the end of the M-Girl’s?”
Elle’s fingers clenched into tight balls. The tears rolling down her cheeks were nearly boiling. Her heart was beating fast and hard in her chest. Her despair was matched only by her rage. “You are a vile and evil creature!” she screamed at the vampire. “You will be made to pay for what you have done!”
The Dark Mistress laughed evilly while parrying away the girl’s blows. Displaying the athletic prowess of a wild cat, she back-flipped out of harm’s way and leapt onto a large crate. “I should have known better than to seek the assistance of a mortal,” she snarled. “You are all alike—weak and short-sighted. You are slaves to your emotions. You are incapable of seeing the larger picture. Don Refrain is the real enemy. What are the lives of a few innocents when compared to the chance to see him destroyed? I offer his life in trade for your assistance and you turn me down? First, Ms. Marvelous and now you? You are ungrateful wretches, all of you. So, join your friend! Join Ms. Marvelous in death!”
Elle stood her ground as the Vampire Queen leapt down from the box and engaged her in battle. The two women locked hands and struggled with one another. Oni’s strength was greater but Elle’s rage fueled a fierce resistance. With arms and legs entwined, they fell to the floor and rolled across the ground. They were face to face, glaring into each other’s eyes. One girl would momentarily gain the advantage and get on top, then the other. It was a desperate fight between two black widows, each trying to pin the other to the ground.
Finally, Elle took command. She flung the Vampire Queen’s petite form backward into the crate. The box crumbled beneath the impact and buried Oni beneath stacks of neatly folded military uniforms. “Return to hell, demon!”
The lithe heroine jumped onto her foe with the ferocity of a tiger. She pushed back the uniforms and uncovered the slender figure of her opponent. She pelted the woman with powerful punches. The thuds of her fists against the woman’s voluptuous figure resounded through the atrium. “Take that!” she cried while raining down another series of blows.
At last, the Vampire Queen was able to raise her legs and get her feet beneath the rampaging heroine. With an upward thrust she launched the brunette backward. The girl flew high into the air. Oni watched in satisfaction as the girl crashed back first down on top of another crate.
Elle groaned in pain as her back wrapped over the top of the unforgiving box. This crate was not loaded with the soft cotton uniforms that had padded her opponent’s fall, but rather packed with steel casings and ammunition. Her head whip lashed over an edge. Her arms lay flat at her sides. Her lower legs dangled over the side and her feet fell limply toward the floor.
“It will take more than that to finish me…” a dazed Elle said bravely while lifting her head up. “All I need is a second to recover and then--”
Suddenly, Oni was above her. The vampire’s hands grasped the sides of her face. Cold lips smothered her own. Elle was helpless to resist. She moaned softly as the kiss quickly sapped her willpower. Her athletic body went limp on top of the crate. Her eyes took on a glazed, semi-conscious appearance.
“Foolish girl,” the Dark Mistress whispered while finally breaking the devastating lip lock. “Unlike Ms. Marvelous, who was once infused with the power of the Blood Spirits and is protected by them still, I do not need your consent to turn you into one of my servants. I will force you to give in to me and once your willpower has been broken, I will drain the blood and the life from your incredible body—But do not be overly concerned. I will bring you back as one of my kind. You will be immortal, my child, and completely obedient to my will.”
“No…” Elle moaned almost inaudibly.
“What’s this?” Oni asked in surprise. “You resist the kiss? No matter—A few strokes of my fingers across your amazing body should quickly sap what remains of your willpower.” The vile seductress stood beside the box, near Elle’s drooping head. Her nimble fingers quickly located the hidden micro-zipper running the length of the heroine’s chest. She slid the clasp downward and pulled the fabric to the sides. The young brunette’s large breasts popped out of her costume and stood high on her chest.
“My, you are a healthy girl,” Oni said while teasing the heroine’s soft mounds with the tips of her talon-like fingernails. “This may prove to be more pleasurable than I anticipated.” The Dark Mistress dove onto the girl’s tits hungrily, lapping her tongue across the pink nipples as if enjoying a matching pair of ice cream cones on a hot summer day. She resisted the urge to bite, knowing that the blood would taste so much sweeter once the nipples were swollen and firm. It would not take long, she knew. Oni had been doing this to young women for almost two hundred years and knew how to touch them in just the right way to maximize their arousal.
“Just relax,” she said to the defenseless heroine. “It will be over very soon.”
Elle’s body was paralyzed. Her lower legs, dangling over the edge of the box, were non responsive to her mental commands. Her hands could barely move. She could not lift her head. It drooped over the side of the box and arched her neck painfully. Her throat was completely exposed, the young heroine knew. There was nothing to prevent Oni from biting into her jugular vein and draining her life’s blood.
Yet the Dark Mistress did not seem at all interested in biting her neck, Elle discovered. Instead, the vile seductress was focusing all of her energies on the young heroine’s ample boobs. The beautiful brunette moaned softly as her breasts were massaged and teased. The feeling of her evil opponent’s sharp fingernails grazing the top of her skin ever so softly filled the girl with emotions that she would rather not be feeling. The sensation of her foe’s rough tongue quickly and expertly lapping across her swelling nipples filled her with unwanted ecstasy.
“No…” Elle whimpered as the erotic torture of her breasts continued. “I am not… a lesbian…”
But Elle’s sexual orientation did not seem to matter. So talented was her devilish opponent’s technique that the young brunette’s paralyzed body seemed not to care that its tormentor was a woman. The feeling of the fingers stroking her skin was almost unbearable. The sensation of the vampire’s mouth sucking on her nipples was excruciating.
“Almost ready,” Oni whispered anxiously while testing the firmness of her victim’s nipples. Elle knew that she was helpless. The devastating kiss of the vampire had destroyed her will to resist. Like so many victims of the Dark Mistress before her, the lithe heroine gave in to her fate. She sighed in resignation. She was now willing to trade her life for the brief moment of glorious sexual pleasure promised by her new queen.
“Yes…” the beautiful heroine moaned, “…do not stop…”
Encouraged by her victim’s consent, the Vampire Queen attacked the girl’s breasts with renewed energy. One after the other, she pursed the heroine’s hardening nipples between her cold lips and pulled upward on the tiny buds. Her predatory instincts told her that the girl was very nearly ready. Her experience as a seductress told her that Elle Mental’s fabulous body had reached its peak level of sexual arousal.
“The time is at hand,” Oni said while bearing her fangs. “Say goodbye to the life that you knew and prepare for the new, immortal, life that is to come…”
The Vampire Queen leaned over the girl’s left breast. She softly cupped the wonderful mound between her hands. She secured the nipple with the surface of her tongue to hold it steady. She pressed the tips of her stiletto fangs into the soft flesh. She prepared to make the bite. She enjoyed the anticipation of the pleasure that was to come—
“What’s this?” a male voice said from behind her. “Trespassers in the Manor?”
“Looks like a pair of whores having a bit of fun,” a second voice replied.
Oni whipped around and glared angrily at the intruders. “Who dares to interrupt the Vampire Queen as she is about to feed?”
The men glanced at each other and shrugged. “She is a bit crazy in the head, if you ask me, Rocko. Maybe we should kick off the alarm and get some help down here?”
“I think we can handle the sexy whore, Smitty,” the second man replied while gazing lustfully at the Hawaiian girl’s curvaceous cleavage. “Besides, ever since Ms. Marvelous trashed me at the pool party, I have been wanting another shot at one of these super-bitches. And if I am not mistaken, that’s Elle Mental stretched out across the crate—Looks pretty wiped out, too, which is just the way I like them.”
Oni bared her fangs and growled fiercely at the men. “She is mine! Run away and hide or I shall make meals out of you, as well!”
“Whoa!” Smitty declared while staring in disbelief at the trespasser’s fearsome canines. “I guess I won’t be sticking my dick in there!”
“Yeah, but she has a nice rack on her,” Rocko answered. “And whether she is some kind of vampire or not, I’m willing to bet that she will be a good fuck. What do you think, shall we give her a try? I’ll even let you go down on her first!”
“Sounds good!” Smitty said while moving toward the leather-clad girl. “I didn’t fare all that well against Ms. Marvelous, either. But I have never seen this chick before. Except for the Halloween teeth, she doesn’t look all that tough.”
The large thug was surprised that the beautiful girl did not raise her hands and defend herself. He fired a pair of wicked punches at her head. Both missed by a fraction of an inch. He let go with two more strikes. These barely missed, as well.
“If I didn’t know better,” he growled angrily, “I would think you were just playing with me!” The vampire’s eyes glowed red. “You are not even worth my time, pathetic human.” A pale hand shot forward with the speed of a lightning bolt. Five powerful fingers grabbed the
surprised man around his throat. His heavy mass was lifted off the ground as if it weighed no more than a feather. And though his female foe made no apparent movement, the large man’s body was thrust backward and crashed violently at the feet of his partner.
“Shit!” Smitty said while scrambling to his feet. “She is a lot stronger than she looks!” Rocko agreed. “Maybe calling in some reinforcements isn’t such a bad idea, after all.”
The big goon reached into his back pocket and removed a small walkie-talkie. “This is Rocko down in the atrium. Um, we got a situation down here. Some super-skank is causing trouble. Smitty and I got her cornered but we could probably use a hand.”
The thug returned the radio to his pocket and took a fighting stance. He glared at the trespasser confidently. “You may be strong but our friends will be here in less than a minute. You might as well give up.”
Oni smiled wickedly and stepped toward her outclassed foes. She raised her right hand and clicked her fearsome fingernails together threateningly. “It will take less time than that for me to rip your throats out.”
Rocko swallowed hard and tried to control the fear that was suddenly gripping his heart. He was not a cowardly man—He had stood his ground and battled against super-heroes and mutants before. But none had ever made him feel as frightened as did this new enemy.
“Stay back!” he shouted while pulling a pistol from his pocket. “Stay back or I will--” The Hawaiian girl moved with the speed of a cobra. Her strike was just as deadly. The pistol fell from Rocko’s hand. He looked down at his arm in disbelief. He gripped the torn flesh with his opposite hand in a futile effort to hold back the blood spurting from a grievous wound.
“What have you done to me?” he shouted in pain.
Oni did not immediately answer. She raised her right hand to her face and slowly licked a trail of crimson blood from the razor sharp talons. “I usually do not play with my food,” she said with a sinister chuckle. “But in your case I cannot help myself.”
Smitty rushed forward to defend his injured friend. He slammed a meaty ham fist off of the side of the woman’s jaw. Her head snapped to the side but she remained standing. She glared at him with burning red eyes.
“How dare you?”
A back-handed swipe sent the big thug sailing backward through the air. He crashed into a stack of crates ten feet away. He crumpled to the floor and looked up at his attacker in dazed amazement. “You are as freaking strong as Ms. Marvelous!”
“And so much more vicious,” Oni answered with a chuckle. “But it would seem that your reinforcements have arrived just in time to save you from further humiliation. For the moment, that is.” The Vampire Queen turned to face the group of newcomers but continued to casually lick her bloody talons as if she did not have a care in the world.
“So,” the obese man at the front of the group said in a booming voice. “The Dark Lord of the Undead has finally sent an emissary to negotiate with me, has he? I should have known that the coward would rely on a servant rather than come himself.”
“I am no mere servant, Don Refrain,” the Vampire Queen hissed. “I am my master’s mistress. And I have not come to negotiate-- I have come to slay you.”
The white-clad figure of the crime boss shook with laughter. “Then you have failed miserably, my dear. To attack me in my own home was a foolish mistake. Look around you—I am surrounded by my best fighters. Prince Lomac is here, as is my lovely daughter, Nev. Mikey and Griffon are both at my side. And of course, my bodyguard, Gravestone, is always nearby. You may be a vampire, but what hope do you have of--”
Refrain’s voice trailed off as he spotted the limp body of Elle Mental lying across the top of the ammunition crate. His eyes scanned her lithe figure, pausing momentarily to look upon her bare and swollen breasts.
“Ah, but what is this? The sole remaining M-Girl is in my house, as well? And beaten into submission, it would appear. How did this happen? Did the two of you girls have an argument? Did you have a spat?”
Oni glanced at the defenseless and half naked body of the beautiful brunette. “It does not matter—She is a foolish and impetuous girl. I do not need her assistance to defeat your motley legion of thugs.”
“Is she really a vampire?” an injured Rocko asked while taking refuge behind the others. “I did not think that such creatures really existed--”
“Oh, they exist,” Don Refrain replied. “In my younger days, I made the mistake of trusting their leader during a drug deal we did in Hawaii. The Lord of the Undead turned out to be a less than ideal choice for a partner.”
Oni hissed angrily. “It was you that betrayed us, Refrain! You tried to murder my master as he slept!”
The obese crime boss paused, as if trying to remember. He tapped the brass handle of his walking stick against the palm of his hand. “Now that you mention it, my lovely guest, I think you are right—I did try to have him murdered. I never liked sharing the profits, don’t you know? A shame that it did not work out. Still, perhaps after tonight we can consider the matter to be equitably resolved. After all, his pathetic attempt to have me killed has not worked out either. Lomac, do your job and dispose of this pale wench.”
The Warlord of Riberia nodded toward his boss and eagerly stepped forward. “We once had vampires in my home country. We eradicated the vermin long ago. But I never realized just how beautiful they could be.”
Oni did not like the way the man was eyeing her cleavage. The deep slit down the front of her leather jumpsuit revealed a lot of skin, though normally the Vampire Queen was not modest about such things. But there was something about this Prince, something that made her feel an unexpected tingling of an emotion that she had not experienced in almost two hundred years. “Was it trepidation?” she wondered while trying to remember what trepidation felt like. “Was it fear?”
“Stay back, mortal!” the Vampire Queen demanded while raising her hands and clicking her claws together.
To Oni’s surprise, the Prince seemed almost amused by her warning. She examined him more closely, trying to gauge what it was about him that made her feel so uneasy. The man was clearly a superb athlete. Well-formed muscles bulged beneath a tight-fitting gold and purple bodysuit. His short cut, curly brown hair and boyish good looks gave him an attractive appearance, not unlike the appearance she preferred in the men she hunted down and killed to satisfy her never-ending bloodlust. But there was something else about him, something that made her feel unsure, even intimidated--
“It is his eyes!” she finally decided. “His eyes have the look of a hunter! Of a predator!” Indeed, the Prince’s eyes seemed to flicker with a never-ending hunger that was surely a match for the Vampire Queen’s own bloodlust. Most women would never notice, Oni was sure, but due to her undead powers she could see it as clearly as if it were stamped on his forehead. Yet, Lomac did not lust for blood, as she did. Instead, his passion was something even more sinister. This man, she could tell, was driven by pure sexual hunger. The Prince was not an ordinary hunter—He was a sexual predator. The intensity of the lust burning in the man’s eyes frightened the Dark Mistress. She was accustomed to men being drawn to her, accustomed to the desire they felt for her perfectly sculpted body. She was the Vile Seductress, after all. But she had always been in control. She used sex as a weapon, as bait to draw her victims into her web. But this man was different. This man insisted that he be in control. This man insisted that he be the predator and she be the prey.
“Blood Spirits protect me!” Oni shouted out while sending forth a surge of her amazing power through her hands. “Bind my enemy with bonds of blood!”
Prince Lomac’s eyes opened wide in surprise as a crimson cord of solid plasma cut through the air toward his chest. It wrapped around his body like a lariat, pinning his arms and driving him to the ground. His powerful muscles strained against the cord but he was helpless to escape its vise-like grip.
“Blast!” he cried out as the cord wrapped tighter around his thick figure. “What is this madness?”
“My blood bonds shall hold you captive until I command otherwise,” the Vampire Queen stated victoriously. “You will not be able to break free no matter how hard you struggle.” “Damn!” Refrain cursed in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. “You have beaten my best man! But no matter, I have others that can take up the fight. You will never win, Vampire Queen!” A terrifying snarl sent a chill of fear up the spines of Oni’s opponents. “Your army of goons mean nothing to me, Refrain! By the strength of the Blood Spirits, I swear that I shall feast on your heart!”