Indeed, the robotic monster piloted by the evil doctor was an impressive sight. A literal engine of destruction, it stood fully forty feet tall and bristled with all manner of weaponry - missiles, autocannons, a flamethrower, sonic wave blast rays and more. Pavement cracked and crumbled with each thunderous step the thing took, and it was only a matter of minutes before authorities intercepted Pluto's advance into downtown Los Angles.
"Stop in the name of the law!" a policeman yelled into a bullhorn. Several officers near him took up positions on a couple of squad cars, AR15 rifles and shotguns at the ready.
In answer, Ultrobot lifted its left arm and raked the lawmen with high-caliber cannon fire. As the cars they hid behind shuddered, sparked and generally blew apart, the policemen scrambled back off the street, looking for any kind of cover. With spent brass falling to the street like rain, Ultrobot ceased its assault only when several of the cars erupted into bright orange fireballs, their fuel tanks ignited. With flames and black smoke staining the bright blue afternoon sky, Ultrobot crashed through the roadblock, completely ignoring the sporadic small-arms fire that ricocheted off its thick armor plating.
Dr. Pluto laughed louder, amused by the chaos he was sowing with his machine. Its flamethrower belched a stream of liquid fire, igniting most of the trees in a nearby park along with a long row of parked cars. He raised his wickedly arched eyebrows as a woman carrying a baby suddenly burst out of the flaming park, right into the path of Ultrobot's massive, treading feet. Pluto didn't slow the monstrosity's gait, but rather increased it. Such insignificant lives were not his concern.
The woman - an attractive thirty-something L.A. blonde - stumbled, looked up and screamed. The huge metal foot was coming down, and there'd be no question about her fate - or her daughter's; they were both about to be squashed like grapes.
That's when the good guys arrived. Streaking onto the scene at speeds better than 100mph, Velocity Girl whisked the woman and her child out of the way in the nick of time. Pluto cursed the blurred teen as he watched her speed the woman away on one of the many screens lining his cockpit. He didn't see Velocity Girl's super-strong partner, Bombshell, on the small screen on his far left that was a feed from a camera aimed directly behind the giant robot.
Clad in a tight blue and yellow bodysuit that left her arms, legs and a generous portion of her impressive chest bare, knee-high boots and a pair of gloves that ran to her elbows, Bombshell was quite a sight as she grabbed onto the bottom of one of Ultrobot's heels. Grunting with effort, the woman heaved the gargantuan machine skyward.
"What?! No!" Pluto exclaimed, his gyrostabilizers going haywire as the robot flipped end-over-end in the air. His multi-ton invention came down with a tremendous crash in a nearby parking lot, crushing a full dozen parked cars. As car alarms wailed and honked, Ultrobot slowly got back to its feet. A large bruise forming on the top of his bald, pointed head, Dr. Pluto gnashed his teeth. "Bombshell and Velocity Girl!" he spat the names of his nemeses. "You are no match for my newest creation - none shall stand before Ultrobot!"
Bombshell had made her way into the parking lot just in time to be attacked by the robot. A pair of rockets, first, then a flashing laser beam, a hail of cannon shells and a blast from the sonic cannon mounted in the thing's mouth. Her blonde ponytail bounced merrily as she tumbled and cartwheeled to avoid the attacks, but the young heroine was finally caught by a well-aimed barrage of sonic waves. Thrown back into a parked van - which crumpled at the impact - Bombshell screamed in agony as waves of pulverizing sound pounded into her.
Smoke was filling the cockpit of the robot - the fall had done serious damage to the war machine - but Pluto didn't care. He poured it on, increasing the intensity of the ray past safe levels. "That's it!" he screeched. "This will be the end of you!"
Velocity Girl raced to the scene. It looked grim. Her partner was getting wailed on by the mad inventor, and she wasn't sure what good her super-speed would do her against the towering robot. As the steel creature opened its jaws wider and intensified it's sonic onslaught, the perky meta-human knew she didn't have much time to act. But then, she didn't need much...
Through Velocity Girl's hyper-accelerated eyes, she could see the waves of sound (Pluto felt the weapon more intimidating if its rays were visible... typical) moving through the air like huge smoke rings. Slowly, purposefully, the rings crossed the distance and crashed onto Bombshell, forcing the girl's body to shake and shudder in slow motion. Ew, that's pretty gratuitous, the speedster thought, watching Bombshell's large breasts jiggle and quiver for a few dozen microseconds before deciding on a course of action.
Darting into action, the athletic young blonde raced out of the parking lot and across the street, onto a construction site where a skyscraper was partially erected. Hefting a cinderblock, she sped back over to her partner. Placing it on the ground, she went back for another - and then another, and another. In a few seconds, a complete wall materialized between Ultrobot and Bombshell. The sonic waves blasted and crumbled the blocks to dust, but Blur replaced them as fast as they were being destroyed.
"Bomb. Shell," the speeding heroine said on two separate trips. "Make. A. Break. For. It," she added, putting five more blocks on the wall. With most of the sound now being blocked by Velocity Girl's makeshift barrier, Bombshell crawled out of the wreckage of the van and leapt out of the way. Seeing her friend safe, Velocity Girl ceased her efforts and allowed the robot to finally reduce her wall to dust. As the last few bricks burst into fine white powder, the sonic cannon in Ultrobot's maw whined, sparked and sizzled. Pluto had overtaxed its capacitors.
"Curses!" Pluto screamed, coughing through the smoke that now choked the cockpit. Pressing a switch, he brought up a crosshair on the main monitor and grabbed a joystick. A press on the stick's trigger sent a pair of crackling laser beams at the two girls from the robot's eyes. As the pavement exploded behind them, the pair split up.
"I'll distract him!" Velocity Girl cried, zooming around just slow enough to almost let the deadly beams hit her.
"Right!" Bombshell called back, running off in search of a weapon. She found one quickly, and it brought a smile to her face.
Pluto's blood pressure rose dangerously as he futilely tried to track Velocity Girl with his targeting cursor. "Blast!" he roared. "Sit still and let me kill you!"
"Hey Bluto!" Bombshell yelled.
"Eh?!" Pluto snapped his attention to his other opponent, her voice picked up by the many external sensors. "It's PLUTO!" he cried, his mechanically augmented voice booming over the parking lot.
"Yeah, whatever," Bombshell answered, hurling the greyhound bus she'd been holding over her head. "Catch, Bluto!"
The empty vehicle piled into the robot, smashing directly into its face and chest. Though it crumpled splintered against the hard steel of Ultrobot, the mass of the bus was enough to knock the giant robot down.
Nearly knocked off their feet when the weight of her foe's machine and the bus crashed to the ground, both Bombshell and Velocity Girl pounced. The pair made short work of the downed contraption, the brawnier girl pounding, rending and tearing at metal while the faster one used a wrench she'd retrieved from the construction site to loose several hundred bolts in the span of a few seconds. As the thing fell and was ripped apart, a very distressed Dr. Pluto activated an escape sequence and was ejected clear in an escape pod. As it rocketed away, he shook his fist at the two teens who'd foiled him - again.
"You've not seen the last of me!" his voice carried on the wind.
Velocity Girl dropped the wrench and brushed off her hands. Looking at her buxom partner, she grinned her devilish grin. "You know... Johnny Moore is having a beach party tonight..."
"Awesome!" Bombshell answered. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Thumping techno suddenly blared as the girls high-fived and strutted out of the parking lot, their work done. It was time to party!
"Cut!" yelled director Krane.
Sarah looked at Jessica, better known to the public as Blur, and blew a few strands of hair out of her face. "Whew," she said, "I think we finally nailed it."
Jessica nodded. "Oh yeah, we rocked!" she piped.
"Clean up! Prep for the next scene!" Krane hollered.
There was a sudden flurry of movement as dozens of people suddenly swarmed onto the lot, extinguishing fires, sweeping and picking up debris, touching up hair and makeup on the girls, and all manner of other things. Krane called the duo over to where he sat in his director's chair, protected from the hot afternoon sun by a large umbrella.
"Good work, girls," the normally impossible-to-please director said. "Excellent emotion. Jessica, you especially. You might have a future in this."
"What about Sarah?!" Jessica blurted. "She was killer in that scene!"
Krane looked at the girl and raised a very British eyebrow. "Well, she does have very excellent breasts. I suspect there's room for her here in Hollywood as well. In the right roles, of course."
"Of course," Sarah said, a scowl on her face. "I'll be in my trailer."
Krane made a face. "Oh, the poor dear hasn't lost sight of why she's here, has she? It's not for her "acting" ability, I'll tell you that," he said cruelly.
"Don't be a jerk," Jessica quipped, zooming off after Sarah.
******
Sarah slammed the door hard enough to nearly take it off its hinges, and then collapsed face first down onto her narrow bed. Behind her, Jessica made her way into the trailer."Sarah?"
"That's my name," the tall blonde answered harshly.
Jessica sat down on the bed beside her friend. "Hey, screw J.D. Krane. He's just a rude, gross English dude with bad teeth and no sense of knowing greatness when he sees it."
Sarah rolled over. Her eyes were wet. "Bull crap. I suck, Jess, and he knows it and is going to tell everyone just that. I won't get another role."
"I didn't think you even really wanted this role, to start with..."
"I don't. I didn't. Aw, I don't know. When I got it, I was so thrilled... the idea of being up on the big screen... no it just turns out they want me to sell tickets to the horny thirteen-year-old-boy set."
Jessica smiled. "That's a huge demographic! Why do you think Brittany Spears is popular? It's her looks, Sarah, not her talent. I mean, come on. Don't get down on yourself because of the way the world treats girls who look like you. Take what comes - take advantage of it, babe!"
Sarah sniffled. "I know. And I've been feeling better about... things lately. The surgeries and stuff. I feel more... myself, after Ireland. You know about what Alex..."
"Yeah, and it's cool!"
"I guess. All I know is that all the complications and crap are gone. It's kind of liberating."
Jessica patted the girl on her hip. "Then don't let J. Dickhead Krane get you down. He's a hurtful, petty guy. Now, whatdya say we head downtown? The crew are shooting stuff we're not in, and I'm dying for a malt."
Sarah smiled, feeling better. "Nah, I'd love to, but I've got an appointment at the gym in an hour. Gotta lift some serious weight."
"Whatever," Jessica shrugged. "I'll see you tonight, then."
******
Wheeling her car around smartly, Sarah chirped the tires slightly as she pulled into the lot behind the gym - Mike Musselman's gym, to be precise, though not the one she normally worked out at. This gym was in Los Angles, just like Sarah. It had only been a few weeks since Sarah'd returned from Europe and all that had happened there, but she felt ready to move on with her life, ready to move on and put some of the recent unpleasantness and strangeness behind her. The last few months had been exhausting, first with all the trouble Hack and Orchid had caused, then with the war waged on the Royal Elite.As Jessica had mentioned, making a movie wasn't something Sarah was sure she really wanted to do, but the last few days had been fun, excepting Krane's pompous ass attitude. Filming mostly at beautiful coastal locations, she and Blur had been having fun together, fun being girls rather than superheroines or even celebrities. Perhaps, in some strange way, making the movie was the most normal activity she'd engaged in for quite some time.
Opening the door to her rented Boxster, Sarah climbed out of the car and reached for her gym bag from behind the driver's seat. As she fumbled about in the small cargo area, a voice sounded behind her - a girl's voice.
"K-knock-out?"
Sarah retrieved her bag and turned around. "Yes?" she answered simply.
A skinny girl of about sixteen stood facing the powerful heroine. Freckles marked her cheeks, and braces were plainly visible on her teeth. Behind her, a man and woman sat in a car - a car Sarah recognized from her drive over to the gym. Had they followed her?
"What can I do for you?" Sarah asked.
The teen raised a book and pen at lightning speed. "I've been trying to gesh your autograph ever schince you've come to Los Anglesh!" she blurted, her heavy braces giving her a slight speech impediment.
"Oh," Sarah answered. Smiling sweetly, she took the book and pen, then scribbled her name on a blank page. "Here you go, sweetie."
"Ohmygawd, I can't believe I finally met you!" the girl gushed. "My friendsh will never believe me!"
Sarah's smile broadened. "Aw, sure they will. I'm not that famous, and L.A. is full of celebrities - you must see them all the time out here."
The girl shook her head. "Not like you! No one isch as beautiful or schtrong as you!"
Sarah laughed. "That's not true, but thanks for flattering me. What's your name?"
"Nanchy!"
"Well, Nancy, I have to get to the gym - it's hard work being a superheroine." The blonde glanced over at the car behind her fan. "Tell your parents I said hi as well. And here," she paused, unzipping and rifling through her bag. "Have this hair barrette - might be worth something on eBay."
Nancy's eyes glowed. "WOW!" she exclaimed, gently taking the jewelry. "Thanksh!"
Sarah winked and turned to go. "No problem. See you, Nancy."
******
Sarah opened her eyes and shook her head painfully. Her mind spun with confusion; she wasn't sure what time of day it was, what day it was, nor even where she was. As she shook off the cobwebs, she looked around and saw what appeared to be a hospital room. Had something happened at the gym? Trying to sit up, she abruptly noticed that she was being held in restraints. She tried to pull herself free, but to her surprise, couldn't break the straps. What the hell, she thought? She tried again; they looked like common leather straps but the girl only succeeded in producing a loud grunt. What happened to her strength? Just then, the door opened and someone entered the room."Hello Sarah. I'm Doctor Langley. How are we feeling today?"
Sarah focused on the man who came close to the bed. He had thinning gray hair and spoke with a warm, grandfatherly manner that probably served him well with patients. Was she a patient? "Wh-where am I?"
"The same place you've been for the last few years Sarah," Langley reassured her.
"The last few years?!" Sarah exclaimed, straining against her bonds again. "What?! What are you talking about?"
Langley sighed with a sympathetic shake of his head. "Memory problems again? Are you having that Knock-out fantasy again?"
"Fantasy?" Sarah retorted, her voice rising. "What do you mean, fantasy - Knock-out's as real as I am. I mean... I... I am Knock-out."
Just then, a nurse entered the room and handed Langley a chart. Sarah looked at her and suddenly recognized her. "Paula? What are you doing here? What the hell is going on?!"
The nurse looked at Sarah and Langley and shook her head. "Doctor... is she going to be alright?"
"Of course she is," Langley said with calm reassurance. He then turned towards his restrained patient. "This isn't the first time you've regressed to this state, Sarah. Given your situation, it's perfectly natural to-"
"I'm not regressing!" Sarah nearly hollered. Struggling with her bonds, she continued, "Let me up! These shouldn't be able to hold me!"
Langley laid a calming hand on the girl's shoulder, then looked at her and nodded with sympathy. "Okay, Sarah. Let's say you've got 'super-strength.' Let's say your alter ego is 'Knock-out,' a beautiful, crime-fighting superheroine. If this is consistent with our previous conversations, then you've had some cosmetic surgery - right?"
Sarah relaxed slightly. "Well, yes."
Langley picked up a mirror from beside the bed and held it in front of Sarah's face. Sarah's jaw dropped. The face looking back at her was one she hadn't seen in years. Speechless, she looked down at her body, at her chubby arms, thick waist and entirely average chest. "That's... impossible," she managed.
Lowering the mirror, Langley sighed. "Sarah, try and understand. No one holds you responsible for what happened to that boy."
"What boy?"
"It was an accident," Langley continued. "A moment of carelessness, combined with the abrupt emergence of your meta-human strength, and with the stress of the-"
"The boy in my gym class," Sarah remembered suddenly. "That was years ago... he... he snapped my bra and I... hurt him a little, by mistake. His name was Tommy Moore. I broke his jaw, I think..."
Langley lowered his head and sat down on the bed. He'd have to tell her again, though he'd already done so often. "Sarah, that boy's been dead for nearly seven years. He died instantly... when you hit him."
The room went deathly quiet for long seconds as Sarah closed her eyes and fought back a wave of hysteria. It just wasn't possible. The whole thing had to be a trick. She distinctly remembered... then she turned pale as the memory began to surface. Her stomach churned. She remembered. Remembered Tommy's shattered skull, remembered the ambulance and the frightened looks on everyone's faces - even her teachers.
"No one blamed you, Sarah. And it's perfectly natural to want things to turn out differently. You aren't the first person to imagine yourself a superheroine, a model, or an actress - to imagine yourself famous, glamorous, and beautiful. You've used it to cover up the painful memories, Sarah. But accepting that it's just a fantasy is the first step to recovery." Langley patted Sarah's head and stood up. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours. Why don't you just try and get some rest? We'll have the orderlies escort you back to your room later."
Tears rolled down Sarah's cheeks as she began to cry. The memories... they came flooding back. Years spent institutionalized, placed there by her parents. Years of drugs, therapies and doctors poking and prodding at her, poking and prodding...
"This might pinch Sarah, even with the anesthetic."
Sarah blinked through her tears. "W-what?"
Dr. Cassman touched his scalpel to the mark on Sarah's right breast, just below her nipple. "I'm making the primary incision," he called out to the assistants flanking him.
"No," Sarah sobbed, remembering the weeks of pain she endured because of her enormous implants. "No, I don't want them!"
Cassman frowned as he worked, his keen edge drawing a thin red line down Sarah's tender skin. "It's too late, now, Sarah. We've already begun. And besides, you know it isn't you decision to make."
Grimacing as she felt her skin pull open, Sarah began to cry again. "Mom..." she blubbered.
"Hand me the implant," Paula.
Sarah glanced at the nurse who handed Dr. Cassman a massive saline implant. "Here you are, doctor," she said without passion, her eyes on Sarah's. "1200ccs."
"What?! 1200?!" Sarah exclaimed, her eyes darting to the implant, which was so large the doctor had to handle it with both hands.
"You mother decided to increase the size of the implants, Sarah," Cassman mentioned casually. "It's well known that most women wish their implants were larger. Your mother is looking out for your, for your career."
Sarah screamed as he started stuffing the jiggling bag inside her breast. "Nooooo! Stop! Noooo!" she wailed.
"Silence!" Orchid hissed.
Sarah immediately fell silent, but tears continued to roll down her face.
"Better," the vampiress intoned, walking around the operating table, her steel-spike heels clicking with every step.
"Father," Adam began, each of his three arms wielding wicked and perverse-looking instruments, where shall I begin?"
Hack loomed closer, his bloodshot eyes bulging behind his cracked hockey mask.
"We stopped you..." Sarah half-bawled. "We... stopped you..."
Hack ignored her feeble cries and ran his hand over Sarah's prone, sweat-slicked body, tracing her curves with a half-rotted fingernail. He stopped when he reached her pelvis, then tore off the girl's underwear and ran his fingers down between her legs.
With a supreme effort, Sarah screamed, tore her arms free from the chains that held them and seized Hack's arm. Wrenching with all her might, she tore his limb straight out of its socket with a spray of blood, bone chips and grisly tissue.
Mark Janus - Paula's friend who had been interested in Sarah back in the fall, howled in agony. "AAAHHH! Jesus, Sarah! AHH!"
Sarah met Mark's pleading eyes with her own. "Mark...?" she said, afraid to look down at the arm she held in her hands.
Mark could only gasp for air as he collapsed on the ground, blood rushing from his shoulder at a frightening rate, staining and spreading across the picnic blanket they'd been sitting on.
"My God, Mark," Sarah cried, getting up to avoid the spreading blood. Dropping his still-twitching arm, she knelt at the convulsing man's side and looked on helplessly as the life drained out of him, one gush at a time. "What do I do?"
Snap!
Sarah's eyes widened as something stung her in the middle of her back.
Snap!
Her bra strap.
Spinning around, Sarah found herself face to face with Tommy Moore. Her anger faded immediately upon seeing the young boy, fully half of his face crushed inwards from a single, massive blow.
"I'n soorra, Saraaah," the youth said, teeth and giblets of flesh falling from his misshapen mouth as he spoke.
Sarah's lower lip trembled at the sight of the boy, but she refused to look away. "I didn't mean to kill you, Tommy. I didn't know... how strong I was."
"What?" Tommy asked.
Sarah's eyes grew wet again, and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm the girl. "I'm sorry... I never meant to kill you."
"Kill me?" Jessica asked with a quizzical look on her face. Lowering her voice to a whisper, she said, "Sarah, that's not your line..."
J.D. Krane sat up in his chair. "What's she doing? What the hell is going on? Cut!"
Sarah blinked three times, her eyes focusing in on her perky costar. "Jess?" she said with some hesitancy.
Doing a one-eighty to look behind her, then another to again face Sarah - in less than a quarter of a second - Jessica answered, "Duh, yeah! You were expecting...?"
"I- I don't know," Sarah stumbled.
Jessica's expression turned serious. "Are you okay, Sarah?"
"Ladies, take five," Krane said with iron in his voice. "Ms. Steiner - I want a word with you. Now."
Sarah looked from Jessica's sympathetic face to Krane's livid one. Crossing the sound stage floor, she began to notice the bustle around her - the lighting and camera crews, the extras, the assistants... there were literally dozens of people involved in the production of this scene. So why the hell couldn't she even remember coming to the set?
"Mr. Krane, I'm really sorry-"
"Oh yes, you're sorry. You're a sorry actress is what you are, Ms. Steiner," Krane stabbed. "I should never have let Tomlin talk me into using you for the part."
Sarah's heart fell. After months of being ambivalent about the movie, she'd found, upon starting work on it, that she greatly enjoyed the experience and particularly liked working with Blur. "I'm sorry, sir - I lost focus back there. It won't happen again."
"Lost focus?" Krane chortled. "Lost focus? Ms. Steiner, you stood there like a fucking statue when you were supposed to be delivering some key dialog. I'll tell you what," Krane arched one of his eyebrows, "this happens again, and you'll lose much more than your 'focus.' Am I clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Krane, crystal clear."
"Good. Now, then - ready for the scene? I want it in the can today."
"Ready," Sarah lied.
******
Kicking sand along under her bare feet, Sarah mulled over the events of the day as Jessica sped down the private beach, throwing up and impressive spray of sand and sea foam. The sun sat low on the western horizon, poised to sink beneath the waves of the Pacific."So," Jessica started, suddenly appearing at Sarah's side, "do you wanna talk about what happened today? You were spacin' hard back there on the set. Like total zone-out."
Sarah shrugged. "I don't know what to say. It was like I was... I don't know, day-dreaming? But it was more like nightmares. I don't remember coming to work this morning. Or going to bed last night. I remember going to the gym... and that's it."
"Weird. Did you bang your head on some weights or anything?"
"Not that I remember," Sarah shook her head.
"Were you like, delusional? You were saying some weird things to me right before you snapped out of it."
Sarah thought for a moment. "You know, I was. I've never experienced anything like it... but it was very real. It was like these awful visions had come to life, and I couldn't tell them from reality."
Jessica was quiet for a second. "I have a friend... who sees this psychiatrist. He's supposed to be really good."
"I dunno, Jess - a shrink? It only happened the once."
"Do you want to keep the part?" Jessica asked.
"Yeah," Sarah answered plainly, nodding.
"Well, if what happened today happens again, you can kiss it goodbye. You know that Krane is looking for an excuse to can you." Zipping around in front of her friend, Jessica gave Sarah's bathing suit-clad impressive physique a once over. "I bet you intimidate the hell out of him. You're gorgeous, and could kick the crap out of him to boot. That's got to get to guys like him."
Sarah frowned. "I'll think about it - I think I'm just overtired or something. I'll get with it."
******
It was almost 3am when Sarah woke. The balcony door in her hotel room was wide open, and Sarah presumed it was the night chill that woke her. Getting up to close the sliding door, she looked out at the glittering city lights and sighed. The last few days had been terribly troubling. Sarah'd never had problems before with blacking out or hallucinations, but it seemed like she was now experiencing both in spades. She'd been managing to hold it together on the set, but only barely. The whole situation was made worse by the fact that she felt very much alone. She and Jessica had become friends, but Sarah wasn't yet comfortable enough to share her deepest secrets with the girl. Her mother was back in New York, as were Paula and Alex. She hadn't had the gumption to call Tommy since arriving in L.A. - she wasn't sure why. Things were progressing nicely between she and Alex... was it that she didn't trust herself with Tommy? Perhaps, because since returning from Ireland, Sarah had been feeling much more sexually confident. The changes in her body were subtle, but the resultant changes in the girl's mindset were definite. Thinking for a moment as she perched on the edge of her bed, Sarah bit her lower lip before speaking."Alex, I need you."
Nothing.
"Alex," she repeated, "where are you when I need you?"
"Right here," Alex's voice returned from the foot of the bed.
"Alex!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly.
"In the flesh," the tall Englishman returned with a slight but charming grin. "You called?"
Sarah crawled on the bed towards her friend - her lover. "Oh yes," she purred. "Things have been... rough out here. I think it might do me some good to... relax."
Alex smiled crookedly. "Is that what you yanks are calling it now?"
Sarah moved closer, kissing the man on his neck. "Yeah..." she breathed. "Let's... relax."
Alex drew back slightly. "I should think it better if I fuck you."
Sarah blinked, a little surprised at his words. "Um, right. That's what I mean..."
"You like to be fucked."
Sarah hesitated. "Yes," she answered.
Alex loomed over the girl, and his voice lowered almost to a growl. "You want to be fucked, that's why you called me here."
"Alex..." Sarah said softly. "Don't. You're scaring me."
Alex's eyes were suddenly full of stars. "You summoned me, and I shall perform your desire."
Sarah's heart leapt into her throat. Was he... Music?
The stars in the man's eyes spread over the rest of his body, and as he rose up above Sarah, she whimpered slightly. "Alex... please..."
In an instant she was naked, and he lifted her from the bed. Then he was in her. It was huge, and it hurt.
"Alex!" Sarah screamed, trying to fight him off. "You're not yourself! Stop it!"
The star-being bared its sharp, glistening teeth and rammed the woman harder, a deep rumbling slowly building in its chest as it ignored her pleas.
"No!" Sarah cried. "No! No! Oh. Oh! Ooooooooh!"
The pain very suddenly turned to pleasure. Pleasure so acute that in but a few seconds the girl was coming, bucking and grinding uncontrollably. When the last thrills raced out of her body, the girl sobbed softly and opened her eyes. Tommy Champion, breathless, stared back at her, his face only a few inches from her own.
Sarah looked down. They were high over Los Angles, and had just finished making love in mid-air. She started to cry.
"Sarah?" Tommy asked, puzzled by her reaction to what was some of the most intense sex he'd even experienced.
"Tommy," she sobbed, "take me home, please..."
"New York?" he asked, not understanding.
"No... just... just the hotel. I... I need to be... by myself for a while."
Tommy conjured clothes for the girl to wear, and began descending. "I don't know what just happened, but I'll respect you in the morning," he said, a bit dumbly. "I always will."
Sarah sniffled and nodded. "Just take me..."
"Hotel, I know," Champion answered in clipped tones. "Next stop, beautiful downtown Burbank." He has a thought: "If you need to do this alone, I can leave the powers in you for a couple of hours. You can fly, clear your head."
Sarah cried harder. "No. I need to get back now..."
"Back to solid ground," Tommy said, continuing to lower the girl. "Sometimes the heights can get to me too - I feel unworthy of them," he adds, thinking maybe it's the heights that have gotten her so upset. "Somebody as human as me shouldn't get to be a god. But most days, I don't judge myself. I just enjoy the view."
Sarah closed her eyes, breathing deeply in the darkness until Tommy landed her safely back on her balcony. Rising back up into the air, he said simply, "Call," as the girl ducked inside her hotel room.
******
Sarah looked over top of her sunglasses as some of the crew prepped the lot. Last night... had it happened? Sarah's body recovered so quickly... where a normal woman would have been able to tell she'd had sex, Sarah could not. It all seemed so real, and very unreal at the same time. Someone whistling brought the girl out of her wondering."Yoohoo, anybody home?" Jessica asked, her face whizzing here and there around Sarah's. "Ground control to major babe! Come in major babe!"
"Ha-ha," Sarah mock laughed. "I'm here, I'm fine. Just had a rough night last night. I had bad dreams."
"Again?" Jessica asked, somehow devouring an entire bagel between the two syllables. "You're kooky, girl. You she should see that dude."
Sarah sipped her coffee. "Yeah, maybe. I guess I'm afraid he'll tell me I'm like totally nuts or something. Shrinks freak me out. I saw one for a while after I... after my power manifested. To help me like, deal with them."
"This guy's supposed to be good. Oop - Krane's on the prowl. Time for our scene. This one should be fun."
"Uh-huh," the well-built blonde answered, setting down her coffee. Straightening herself in her blue and yellow costume, she followed along behind Jessica, who wore her incredibly cute Velocity Girl outfit.
They shot scene after scene throughout the day, with Sarah only finding her mind wandering a few times. Nothing to really worry about, she thought. Towards the end of the afternoon, police sirens blared a few streets over, outside the back lots. Sarah bounded for the wall and prepared to jump over. "Sounds like trouble!" she said to Jessica. "I'm going over - meet you there!"
Blur sped away as Knock-out crouched and leapt over the ten-foot wall. Running down the street, still in her Bombshell outfit, she caught sight of the cause of the disturbance. Several police cars were on the streets, and all were melted to slag. Injured officers staggered away from the scene, away from the glowing man in the high-tech suit who stood atop an overturned armored car.
"I, Moltar, cannot be stopped!" the villain gloated.
Knock-out set her jaw. Just some dumb, overconfident supervillain. Guys like this were a dime a dozen on the west coast. At least this would be cut-and-dried, not like all the whacked visions she'd been having. He was the bad guy; she was the good guy. And she was going to pound the crap out of him until he gave up.
"Be careful," Blur said, rushing by, "this guy has some kind of blast that can, like, melt stuff."
"Moltar! Give it up right now and I won't break any bones!" Sarah warned.
Moltar looked at the girl strangely, hesitated a moment, then howled, "Do not make me laugh! Moltar will not be overcome by the likes of you!" Leveling his hands at the pavement, the villain loosed a stream of blistering heat at the pavement in front of Blur. When the teen raced through it, it gripped her feet like glue. After a dozen steps through the gooey mess, she was stuck.
"Hey!" the young heroine cried. "I'm stuck!"
Knock-out continued her approach, unimpressed by Moltar's show of power. When he directed a heat-blast at her, she merely grimaced and fought her way through it.
"Er... I don't understand..." Moltar muttered, sending blast after of blast at the woman, all direct hits. "Die already!" he screamed when she was nearly on him.
Kicking the armored car, Knock-out knocked the vehicle out from under the man and he came down with a crash. He seemed very small and very worried when Knock-out easily lifted him up with one hand. She made a fist with her other. "Good night, Moltar..."
Moltar screamed. "What?! No! What are you doing? Stop! Somebody stop her!"
His protests were cut short as Sarah's fist slammed into him, shattering his glass helmet, special exosuit and several of his bones. He skidded across the pavement limply and someone screamed.
"Sarah!" Jessica cried, stepping through the icky black goop that didn't restrain her one bit. "What did you do?!"
"CUT!"
Sarah heard the voice, and suddenly knew what had happened. She looked dumbly at her fist, and then to Roger, the actor playing Moltar. Paramedics were already rushing over to his stationary form, and chaos had erupted around the rest of the lot.
Krane was furious. Out of his chair, he screamed, "You are FIRED!"
Jessica appeared at Sarah's side. "Sarah - what is wrong with you?" she asked, her blue eyes wide.
Sarah's own eyes were pleading, and wet once more. "I don't know!" she cried, falling to her knees and grasping her head with her hands. "I don't know!"
******
A Few Days EarlierMike Musselman's Gym
Straining against a machine dialed up to an incredible fifty tons, Sarah steadied her breathing and watched her powerful, trembling legs lift the weight again and again. Across the room, the only other person in the gym puffed as well, using a reinforced version of a pec-deck. Lowering the press for the final time, Sarah crawled out of the apparatus and wiped it down with a towel. Moving to the next station, she glanced first over at Mike Musselman and the incredible amount of weight he was lifting, then at herself in the mirrors lining the far wall.
Long uncomfortable with her body - not the same body she'd been born with, certainly - Sarah was finally beginning to come to terms with her physique. Dressed in black, form-hugging workout shorts and a tight white t-shirt with the letters "KO" on her chest, Sarah had to admit she looked good - very good. She was in the best shape of her life, and the attention she'd been receiving on-set from any number of attractive men was flattering. Sure, they were shallow twerps interested only in getting her into bed, but it was flattering nonetheless.
"Ms. Steiner, a good looking workout," Musselman congratulated her as he started his last set on the military press.
"Thanks, Mr. Musselman," Sarah replied. "This gym is awesome - even better than the one back in New York."
"It's a newer facility," Musselman commented, moving the press without straining. "And please, call me Michael. Whenever I hear 'Mr. Musselman,' I turn around and look for my father. Besides, after what we went through together in Ireland, I think we're okay on a first-name basis."
Sarah groaned inwardly as she remembered fighting at Musselman's side, and at accidentally plastering him instead of Avatar. On the outside, however, she smiled. Michael was not only rich and powerful, but also a genuinely nice guy.
Musselman let the press come to a rest. "Sarah, I'm going to head up to make a few phone calls, but take your time. Just tell the trainer to power down the machines when you're done."
Sarah nodded, testing out his name as she answered, "Okay, Michael, thanks." Once he was gone, she went to the pull-up station. Hooking her feet into a set of stirrups, she used the touch pad to adjust the effective weight of her body. Grasping the titanium pull-up bar, she lifted her now multi-ton self off the floor with a grunt.
******
Musselman put on his jacket as he left the locker room. Nothing like a workout, steam room and shower at mid-day to get the juices flowing. On his way in, his secretary nodded and briefly mentioned that he had no messages. That was strange, he thought; he was sure that Merek was going to get back with him on that research deal.Inside his office, one of several wall monitors was reporting some of the rebuilding news in the aftermath of the Ireland War. Musselman felt an unconscious twinge of pain hearing about it; strong though he was, against Avatar, he was still a straw fighting a hurricane. That and Knock-out and Blur's combined haymaker had left an ugly contusion that took a long time to heal properly. What made matters worse, of course, was that the haymaker had been his idea.
Turning his mind back to the present, Musselman picked up a summary report and began to look it over. As he did, his mind began to drift and the numbers began to get foggy, fuzzy. Something wasn't right. Jerking the page back down, the powerful mogul looked around the room. He didn't like what he saw. Sitting on the couch opposite of him was Mindshadow, a slight grin touching her red lips.
"So, you're more than just a strong back," Mindshadow smiled. "A normal person wouldn't have felt a thing until he was already my slave."
Musselman stumbled to his feet, suddenly realizing that his mind must have already been partially compromised for him to be so shaky. He grabbed the desk in front of him and managed to heave it in Mindshadow's direction with the hope of distracting her for even a second, only to watch in dismay as it glanced harmlessly off a telekinetic force bubble and crashed out his office window.
"Nice try," Mindshadow taunted, "but completely predictable, since I can sense your every thought."
Pressing a button on a small remote that had found its way into this hand, Musselman brought some of the building's defenses to bear. A ceiling panel shot back into the wall, allowing a large, pincered hydraulic arm to descend into the room. When the whining limb moved towards Mindshadow with great speed, she waved her hand at it and watched as it fell to pieces.
Before the wreckage of the machinery clattered to the ground, a floor tile popped open and a small energy cannon rose up, peppering the invading mentalist with dazzling purple energy. One bolt from the weapon would be enough to incapacitate a full-grown bull, but, astoundingly, every shot from the cannon missed, despite the fact that Mindshadow sat unmoving, at point-blank range. Lifting one of her eyebrows, she crushed the cannon to dust and looked back at Musselman. "Anything else you'd like to try? No? Then lets get on with this."
Musselman stumbled back to his knees as he felt his will being drained away. He had been briefed of Mindshadow's existence, and if she was even half as powerful as she was reputed to be, he knew he was in deep trouble.
******
Sarah jerked her head up at the sound of crashing metal and glass. What the heck was that? she wondered. She then froze for a second as she saw through the wall's full-length windows the implausible sight of a desk falling from the sky, papers, glass and other debris dutifully following after it. No, not the sky; the floors above her. Someone must have tossed it out the window from one of the upper floors, which obviously meant trouble. Getting off the patented cardio machine she'd been using, she ran towards the exit, hoping nothing too serious was wrong.******
Leaning against the cracked-plaster wall of his jumbled office, Musselman activated the communicator in his tie clip and tried to reach his small but potent security force. "S-security... a-alpha one... ultra..." he managed to rasp aloud, sweat beading on his forehead."Help, I'm being murdered!" Mindshadow mockingly shouted, then turned back to Musselman. "Don't waste your last few seconds of freedom. I've already hypnotized everyone else on this floor. No one can hear you, unless I allow it."
It wouldn't be long, Musselman knew. He had tried to employ some yoga and Tibetan mediation techniques, but all that did was slow his foe down a little. She was just too strong; Mindshadow had already shifted her mental frequencies and was even now expertly wrapping his will in chains. He had one last resort - a drastic one, one he'd hoped he'd never have to use. But drastic or not, Musselman would not be mind-controlled. A small cylinder found its way into the man's sluggish hands. Flipping it open like a cigarette lighter, Musselman uncovered a small, sharp needle. Just as he was about to jab his thumb onto the needle, his hand froze. Straining, the huge man grunted as he tired to prick himself.
"What's this?" Mindshadow asked bemusedly, standing up. "Psychotropic drugs?"
Musselman didn't answer - he couldn't, so focused was he on trying to inject the drug. A drug that he himself had designed, one meant to temporarily render the mind incoherent and inaccessible to telepaths. Its effects were immediate and dramatic - disorientation, dizziness, hallucinations and eventual nausea, all serious enough to debilitate the user. Even if a mentalist could establish control, the victim's mind was unable to follow instructions or even accept simple suggestions. Another inch was all his trembling thumb needed...
******
The door to the fire stairs almost exploded off its hinges as Sarah ran up to the main office, her well-muscled legs pumping. To her amazement, when she pulled open the glass door to the office, the entire staff was simply milling around, doing their work as if nothing had happened. On her way up, Sarah had heard another crash, and knew something was the matter. The staff's obliviousness was surreal in its contrast. Seeing Musselman's door, Sarah made for it but was intercepted by the office manager and one of the secretaries. Their movements were stiff, robotic, and their eyes were glazed, almost unseeing. Fear crawling down her spine, Sarah knew from her studies with the Protectorate that these people were very likely under the influence of some kind of mind control. Calming her now-pounding heart, she gently brushed aside those who stood in her way and entered the office.Musselman laid in a heap against the wall, holding something, and a caped, red-headed woman Sarah didn't recognize stood facing him, her back to the room's entrance.
"Sarah..." Musselman managed through gritted teeth, "get out of here... run!"
"You'd best do what he says Sarah," Mindshadow said without even bothering to turn around. "I'll give you this one chance to run away." Her voice was dangerous.
Sarah had no idea what had happened, but it was at least obvious that this woman had attacked Mike Musselman. That was enough for Sarah to know that she needed to stand and fight. Setting her jaw, the young meta-human bent down and grabbed the rug Mindshadow was standing on. Shouting, "Screw you, lady - get up, Mike!" she yanked the carpet to her side of the room, sending furniture and rubble flying. The debris passed through Mindshadow - who was somehow still on her feet - like air, but a chunk of the hydraulic arm landed on Musselman, stabbing his thumb onto the needle. In a matter of seconds, the serum spread throughout his system, clouding his mind and breaking the partial hold Mindshadow had established. The device not only administered its payload, but in a marvel of miniaturized technology, also, with a flash of brilliant light, encapsulated Musselman in a glowing orb of energy - a stasis field. Musselman's incapacitated form was now protected and immobile, and would be for the duration of the charge.
Lowering the hand she'd raised to protect her eyes from the flash, Sarah now saw that Mindshadow had turned to face her, and that a dark look marked her beautiful face. She hovered forward with a look of utter confidence, her brilliant green eyes flashing.
Musselman's thoughts were disassembling; Mindshadow could sense it. He was useless to her like this. But perhaps her time here would not be totally wasted. "A pity," the villainess mused.
"W-what?" Sarah demanded, raising her fists though she fully expected the effort was futile.
"That you won't even remember it when he repays you for your sacrifice."
Sarah moved to attack, but Mindshadow gestured and the girl found she couldn't move. "Remember that you had an opportunity to run," the villainess said smoothly. "Remember that what happens to you now happens because you did not mind your own affairs.
There was a twinge in Sarah's mind, then everything went black.
******
Sarah's eyes flashed open. She was in a hospital bed. Looking around the private room, she noted that she wasn't restrained. The girl got up and padded over to the door, arriving at it just in time to have someone come through to look in on her."Hello Sarah," a middle-aged doctor said, stepping into the room, "how are you feeling?"
Sarah narrowed her eyes. "I feel terrible," she answered. "What am I doing here, and who are you?"
The doctor gently moved Sarah towards her bed. "You're here recuperating after collapsing on the set of the movie you're making with Blur - I'm the doctor she's been recommending to you, Sarah. My name is Dr. Langley."
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