Chapter Eleven
April 18th, 11:03 PM
Margot couldn't help Erin. She couldn't stop the ninja from dragging the Blue Lynx into the room, couldn't pry his fingers from the back of Erin's spandex costume, couldn't wake her friend from her unconscious state. She couldn't threaten Brent Hammerson, who watched the two new arrivals with absurd glee, or throw a smoke bomb behind his desk, break all of his stupid screens which he'd used to monitor Erin's progress for the last hour. She couldn't grab the Blue Lynx and leave, couldn't fight off her attackers, couldn't save the day.
All the Black Bobcat could do was watch.
She had been captured, restrained and gagged, and had waited, helplessly, for Erin to complete this "gauntlet." They had fixed her to a wall with five chains, two for her ankles, two for her wrists, and one around her neck. They hadn't unmasked her, stripped her, or really done anything with her since this had all began. They had simply let her stand, her mouth taped, her chains just long enough to futilely shake, and look around the room. It was a sort of office for Hammerson, with a desk and chair and a bunch of computer screens, but also more lavish elements: a turkish rug, an immense, lit fireplace, some garish paintings. It would've been the typical hideout of a filthy rich playboy but for the young woman attached to its back wall.
Hammerson had barely talked to her, was clearly not interested in her at all except as bait for his real quarry: the Blue Lynx, who now lay in an unconscious heap on the rug, just a few feet away from Hammerson's desk.
"Thanks for bringing her in, Steve," he said, standing up from the chair. "For a second there, I thought you were going to kill her."
Margot looked up. Steve was silent, still. She seen him just once before, but had heard enough from Erin to know that this man was dangerous: the fastest, strongest, and most cunning member of Hammerson's "Fearsome Five." He was huge. Next to him, Erin suddenly seemed small, weak, and inexperienced.
The thought made Margot gulp. "He's... defeated her. And now... she's... here..."
She shut her eyes. This was it, it had to be. There was no coming back from this one. Margot couldn't escape. And Erin had been beaten and knocked out, was now totally prone before her greatest foe.
"MMPH!" she yelled. "MMMMPH!!!"
Neither Hammerson nor Steve acknowledged her. They didn't care about her: the Blue Lynx was here, and helpless. Margot was just a bystander, now.
"Let's chain her over there," Hammerson said, pointing at the wall perpendicular to Margot's.
Steve nodded. He once again took Erin by the fabric on the back of her neck, and dragged her. Her limp body slid across the rug with a small, scuffing sound. They reached the wall, and Steve first placed her in a sitting position, then picked her up by her armpits, bringing her to her feet. He picked up Erin's lifeless left arm, stuck her wrist in the cuff, closed it, and then repeated the process with her right arm. The ankle chains came next, and then finally the neck chain. As Steve snapped it around Erin's neck, Margot could see her friend's eyes flutter. She was waking up.
"Ugh..." Erin mumbled. "Urgh..."
"MMMPH!!!" Margot cried. "MMMMPH!!!"
She was sweating. The room seemed to have gotten hotter-- the fire raged in its brick enclosure, casting long shadows from Hammerson and Steve. It was hell, and at the center of it was her friend, chained, groggy, probably in immense pain.
"Blue Lynx, welcome," Hammerson said, walking over to Erin, his hands in his pockets. "You've made it to the final stage. My stage."
Erin had shaken off the sleep, and was glaring at Hammerson, her arm and leg muscles bulging. She wasn't giving up. Margot was terrified, but Erin continued to fight.
"Your stage, huh?" the Blue Lynx said, sarcastically. "Seems like it's your ninja friend who's doing all the work."
Hammerson shook his head and laughed. "Oh, this is undoubtedly a team effort. Steve provides the brawn. I provide the brain."
"That's highly debatable," Erin said.
The tape on Margot's mouth crinkled as her lips forced a smile.
"You think so?" Hammerson said. "I got you here, didn't I? You think this sort of thing just comes together overnight? I've been planning this for months. Every stage of it. The paint factory 'statement.' Kidnapping your partner. Designing this wonderful gauntlet. You've followed me here, all the way. And now, you're mine."
Erin gritted her teeth and pulled at the chains on her wrists. They wouldn't budge.
"You see?" Hammerson continued. "You can't break free, Blue Lynx. You're strong, but you're not that strong. These chains are made of steel. Not even Steve could break them."
"You're sick," Erin spat. "All of this time and work. For what? To capture me? You need to get a life."
Hammerson had moved over to Erin, had set his hand on Erin's waist. She instinctively shuddered.
"This is my life, my dear," Hammerson said. "I used to think politics was my passion. I got over that. I found drugs, and I thought they could hold my attention. They didn't. But you..." He rubbed his fingers along Erin's side, finally hooking them on the top of her belt. "You are so tantalizing. So exciting. You are a project worthy of my attention."
"I'm not your project," Erin sneered. "I'm your nemesis. I'm going to get out of here, and I'm going to punch your face in."
Hammerson chuckled. "It's just a shame, really, that it has to end." He pressed the palm of his hand to Erin's stomach, let his other hand slip behind her back. "I can't let you get away, Blue Lynx. Not now."
Margot couldn't help but watch as Hammerson bent over, stuck out his tongue, and licked Erin's neck. Erin squealed and shook her chains.
"The Fearsome Five has done its work," Hammerson said, pulling away from Erin, licking his lips. "They've brought you to me. And now, I get to really know you."
"Hammerson! Stop!" Erin shouted, but he didn't. His hands had fallen behind Erin's back again, and were now clutching her butt cheeks, pushing them around in circles. He pressed his crotch against Erin's, then thrusted it at her. Erin's body bounced against the wall, her chains rattling with each shove. She looked up, forlornly, her mouth alternating between winces and cries.
"You know what would really turn me on," Hammerson mumbled, his face deep in Erin's chest, his hands still kneading her rear. "Seeing your face..."
"Don't!" Erin yelled. Hammerson's hand crawled from her butt and moved up her spine, then worked its way around to her breasts, then climbed up her bare chest, toward her face.
"Oh God," Margot thought. "Here it comes..."
"I've waited... so long... for this," Hammerson breathed, his body still glued to Erin's, his fingers prying at her mask.
Suddenly, Steve stood behind Hammerson, his hand clamped on his boss's shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Hammerson gasped, turning his face around, leaving his body against Erin. "You scared the shit out of me."
Steve kept his hand on Hammerson. He was shaking his head back and forth. He was saying, "No."
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Hammerson said. "Jesus fucking Christ."
Steve continued to shake his head. Hammerson squinted at him.
"What do you want, you big dumb mute fuck? You want me to stop? You want me to just walk away?"
Margot blinked. What was happening? She could see Erin look on at the scene, could see a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Steve shook his head, back and forth, completely silent. Hammerson's face had turned bright red.
"Such a fucking mystery man. Think you're a fucking big shot because you've defeated the Blue Lynx, because you've unmasked her. Well it's my turn now, you fucking imbecile. Back the fuck off, give me some fucking space, and let me have this moment."
Steve released Hammerson's shoulder.
"Fucking thanks, prick," Hammerson said, turning back around.
"Now," he said, bringing his hand back up to Erin's face, delighting in her pained grimace. "Where were we?"
It took just a few seconds to unfurl. Steve grabbed Hammerson by both shoulders, picked him up, threw him back to the ground. Hammerson groaned, and Steve took his ankle, spun him around, tossed him into the wall where Margot stood, chained up, watching it all in shock.
"Oh my God," Margot thought. "Is this real?"
Hammerson whimpered on the ground, his suit a dusty, rumpled disaster, his hair flung out in every direction.
"Fuck..." he muttered. "You... fuck..."
Hammerson lifted his face, and Steve knocked it back with a kick. Hammerson's body snapped back, hit the wall again, fell back to the floor. Steve picked him up by the back of his suit jacket and threw him over his desk, smashing the computers, flinging paper everywhere, cracking the chair with his body.
Margot couldn't see Hammerson, could just hear his high-pitched drone of agony. He was beaten, destroyed, completely humiliated by Steve, but the ninja wasn't done yet. Steve marched past the desk and bent down. The sounds of punches and Hammerson's accompanying shouts of pain echoed through the room.
Margot looked up at Erin. She was still chained, her costume all stretched out of proportion thanks to Hammerson's filthy hands, her pink bra and panties visible, her hair tangled up, her belt slumped down onto her thigh. She looked worn-down and weary and defeated. But she was smiling.
"Kick his ass, Steve!" she shouted.
Finally, Hammerson's cries subsided, and Steve stood up, looking just as he did minutes before. Only his now blood-stained fingers indicated that he had been in a fight. He shook out his hand and walked from behind Hammerson's desk, not looking back at the body he'd left bruised and unconscious.
Margot was torn. Hammerson hadn't unmasked Erin, had been beaten by his own man... But the Black Bobcat and the Blue Lynx were still prisoners. And there was no telling what Steve would do next. He was walking toward Erin now, still calm, still silent. Erin's smile slowly morphed into a look of anxiety.
"What's up... Steve?" she said.
Steve nodded, and with a single mighty pull, tore the chain on Erin's left wrist from the wall. He pulled four more times, and just like that, the Blue Lynx was free, standing next to Steve, chains hanging off her body, a bewildered look on her face.
"You're... letting me go?" she asked.
Steve looked down at Erin. And then, in a deep and resonant tone, he began to speak.
"All of my life, I've searched and searched for a challenger. Someone who was worthy of my skills. I've been from city to city, hunting for the man who could stand up to me in combat. I came to this city, your city, not knowing that the man I was searching for was actually... a woman."
Erin stared up at him, still confused, but clearly growing more hopeful.
"Blue Lynx, I've hunted you for reasons unlike Mr. Hammerson's. I have no desire to imprison you. I seek not to end your career. I've only wanted to fight you, you who have bested so many men, you who have demonstrated mental and physical superiority against foes double and triple your size."
Margot looked on. Erin was nodding now. Things were starting to make... sense?
"I joined up with Hammerson for the opportunity of facing you one-on-one. When we first fought, you were weakened, and I must admit that I did not play fair. I broke your arm and unmasked you as a test: would you be able to recover after such a terrible setback? And of course, you did recover. You are a very resilient woman. There are not many I've fought who have been so willing to pick themselves back up and try again.
I continued to work with Hammerson. I knew that this 'gauntlet' would give me another chance to fight you the way I've wanted to. And this time, you were faster, stronger. You hit me. You knocked me down. I had never been knocked down in combat before. I'm not sure if I'd even felt pain before that moment. And for that, I thank you, Blue Lynx.
You have much to learn, still. I could not let Hammerson finish you, not when you have so much potential. He does not deserve an opponent as powerful as you. Someday, you will be a truly impressive warrior, and on that day, I hope to meet you again."
Erin's eyes brimmed with tears. "Steve... I..."
Steve put his finger to his mask-covered lips. "Goodbye."
And with that, the ninja darted from the room, letting the door swing behind him.
Erin wiped her eyes, stared down at the floor, and then looked up, leveling her gaze at Margot.
"It's been a very long, very hard day," Erin said.
She walked over to her friend and peeled the tape off with a gentle pull.
"Erin," Margot whispered. "What the hell just happened?"
Erin shook her head. "I don't even want to think about it, right now. I just want to go home."
She grabbed the chains holding Margot's wrists, trying to snap them. They didn't bend.
"You know where the key is?" she asked.
"Hammerson's pocket," Margot said, nodding to the place behind Hammerson's desk.
Erin sighed and walked over to the corner. She bent down. Margot couldn't see her.
"Is he... dead?" Margot asked.
There was an uncomfortable silence before Erin stood up, keys in hand.
"I don't think so," Erin said. "But he is very, very fucked up."
"Oh," Margot said. "That's good, I guess."
Erin walked back to Margot and began undoing the cuff on her right wrist.
"So... you still feel like being a superheroine?" Erin asked.
She looked Margot in the eye, and Margot saw a woman who, in one evening, had been punched, kicked, thrown, choked, groped, tied up, chained up, hit repeatedly with a pillow, drugged, dragged, insulted, knocked unconscious, humiliated, and almost unmasked.
"Umm," Margot said, with a small laugh. "I think I'll leave that to you, Blue Lynx."
THE END
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