Chapter One
June 18th, 1:35 AM
Erin Steele.
It was obvious from the beginning, wasn't it?
The beauty, the brawn, the brains... Well, maybe not the brains. But the beauty, certainly. You've got the exact same build. Lithe. Athletic. Great tits and ass. Great big black sexy hair.
I was just guessing before. Seeing if I could make you crack. Looking for anything to give me an edge. I had no idea how... accurate... I was.
But of course it makes sense now.
The Blue Lynx could've only ever have been a certain kind of girl. A goody goody. Sometime with an over-inflated idea of their importance, and a ridiculous concept of "justice" that only the child of a politician could believe in.
You wanted to make your dad proud. So you put on a little swimsuit and mask and went after the big dogs. The drug dealers. The "evildoers." Brent.
You made quite the splash, didn't you? You tore apart our operation. You put legions of our men in jail. You put Brent in a coma. You really had us on the run, for months there...
Now look at you.
Alone. Afraid. Completely helpless. Bound and gagged in the most nefarious way my boys know.
How many months did we try to defeat you? We faced off so many times. We even put together that "Fearsome Five," with that goddamn ninja traitor. And somehow, you kept fucking winning. Every time we thought we had you, you and your dumb bitch partner found some way to turn the tables at the last minute.
I guess I'm surprised how easy it finally was.
All we had to do was follow you around. Ambush you. Catch you off-guard.
That moment when you put up your hands... When my boys restrained you... Oh my God. That was probably the most exciting moment of my life. I knew you were ours, right then.
And now, Erin Steele... You're not going anywhere.
We've beat you.
The Blue Lynx is no more.
On to Chapter Two
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Two
Chapter Two
June 18th, 1:52 AM
Erin didn't want to listen to Sunny's interminable chatter. The villainess's shrieky, self-satisfied voice was bad enough on its own; her words were even worse, as Sunny relished every humiliating detail of Erin's defeat. She had already recounted the Blue Lynx's unmasking three times.
"You have to understand, I wasn't really a hundred percent sure, even in that moment," she crowed. "Sure, I had a good theory, and yeah, I saw you go into the apartment. But until that mask flew off your face, I didn't know. And when everything was confirmed in that moment... It was just... Just..."
Sunny sighed. "It was glorious, Erin."
Erin groaned. It was all she could do. At the moment, she was literally a captive audience, trussed up like she'd never been trussed up before. They had placed her atop some kind of medium-sized wooden sawhorse, her legs astride the main bar, her thighs and shins both lashed with heavy rope to the table's back supports. Her forearms had been tucked underneath her upper body, her wrists also wrapped in rope, with additional rope securing her arms around the sawhorse's body. The bonds and the contraption had contorted her into a sort of sexy squat, forcing her ass in the air, but also allowing her to see in front of her, where Sunny stood, her arms folded, smiling. Erin's predicament was topped off by the large red ball gag that had been inserted between her lips and strapped around the back of her head.
The scene would've been straight out of one of Sunny's twisted erotic dreams but for the fact that Erin was still clothed... for the most part. She didn't have her belt-- the Spaniel hadn't allowed her to get it back. And, of course, she didn't have her mask. Her face was exposed. Which made her feel more naked than she'd ever felt.
"I could do this all night," Sunny said. "And I probably will. I feel so... elated. The thrill of dominating one of your foes. Surely you know it, Erin?"
She did.
"So how does it feel to be so thoroughly dominated, yourself?"
Erin wouldn't have answered this question even if she could have. Sunny didn't need to know what was going on in her head. She had to stay strong, resilient. She knew she was in deep, deep, deep trouble. She had been unmasked before, but never like this: never by a foe so malicious, someone so committed to the Blue Lynx's destruction, someone who recognized Erin Steele and was ready to use that knowledge for evil purposes. But she couldn't crack. Showing any sort of emotion would only enable Sunny, embolden her. She had to keep her superheroine composure.
The problem was, superheroine composure was a very difficult thing to keep in circumstances like this. Being "thoroughly dominated" felt awful. Every time Sunny said her name-- "ERIN STEELE," in that horrible voice-- Erin had to fight back tears. She was ashamed of being so helpless, of being so stupid and easy to surprise. She was also terrified. She didn't know what Sunny planned to do from here on out, but she knew that it was going to be far, far worse than anything the Spaniel cooked up. Brian had only wanted to play games with her. Sunny wanted to destroy her.
"You're not as witty as you were before I unmasked you," Sunny said. "Though I suppose that gag doesn't help."
Erin groaned. She couldn't think about this topic, again, so she instead wondered where they were. The nondescript, dark surroundings made it impossible to know for sure. Was this a secret room in Hammerson's house? Sunny's lair? One of those old warehouses that Hammerson had so often converted to a drug factory? The villains seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of creepy, dimly-lit storage rooms.
Had anyone seen her get captured? Had Margot been around? Erin had told her not to come, had insisted that dealing with Brian was the Blue Lynx's job alone. But Margot was the only person in the city who had the will and the ability to help Erin, now. The only other person who might even have a clue about what was going on was the Spaniel, and...
"I'll bet you're wondering what happened to your friend. The Spaniard."
Erin gulped. It was like Sunny had hacked into her brain. Was anything of hers a secret, anymore?
Sunny smiled. "Let's just say he's doing some, oh, re-training at the moment."
Re-training? So they'd captured him, too? And were... Hypnotizing him? Forcing him to do their bidding?
"He's the test subject, you see. What happens to him is going to determine what happens to you, my pet."
Test subject? Erin's body automatically tensed up. Sunny had a direction, a focus. She had a future mapped out for Brian and Erin. Everything from here on out was going to be completely controlled. And Erin, without her mask, bound and gagged, utterly in her foe's clutches, was just going to have to watch it happen.
Sunny laughed. "Yes, yes. You've got some busy days ahead, Erin. You should probably get some sleep." She strolled around her captured quarry. She paused. Erin took as deep a breath as her gag would allow.
"Just a couple of more minutes of fun, and then it's lights out," Sunny said.
Erin felt Sunny's fingers on her butt. The long nails scratched her rear's most outward point, digging into Erin's spandex and tugging it around. She heard Sunny giggle, and then felt two light pats on the side of her buttock. There was silence, and several seconds without movement, before the Sunny's hand touched her again, this time slapping the buttock hard with an open palm.
"MMPH!" Erin said.
Sunny laughed, stabilized Erin's jiggling butt with her fingernails, and then hit her again, harder this time. Erin howled into her gag, and Sunny hit her again. Within seconds she was furiously spanking Erin's defenseless, protuberant ass, knocking it around from side to side, forcing Erin to arch her back and slam her eyes shut, producing a steady, loud "MMMPHH" from Erin's sealed lips. Sunny hit her again and again, occasionally pausing to dance her nails on the seam of Erin's spandex, but mostly just smacking, the sounds of each swat cracking the still of the room.
"I need more space!" Sunny chortled. While one hand kept spanking, the other dragged the leg holes of Erin's costume up and into the heroine's butt crack, turning her bikini-cut into a thong. It gave Sunny an even bigger target, and she now attacked all around Erin's most sensitive places, with complete disregard for modesty or human decency. Even as the slaps began to lose their potency, with Erin's butt going numb, the pain continued in Erin's heart. Had she ever been subjected to such a demeaning, pointless torture?
She lowered her head. Once more she felt on the verge of tears. She could sense the waters welling up when suddenly, Sunny stopped.
"My God, you're all red," Sunny said. She had stepped back from her foe's bottom and was inspecting her work. "If we keep going like this, your ass is gonna be putty."
Erin exhaled. So it was over?
"I've got just one more treat for your butt tonight," Sunny continued. Erin heard her rustling in the dark. "This one's been Spaniel-approved. A muscle relaxer. But also a "will relaxer." Should make you easier to move."
Before Erin could consider the implications of a "will relaxer," she felt one more twinge of pain in her ass, and then saw Sunny walk back around to her front, shaking out a syringe. She had been... drugged?
Erin's vision became cloudy.
"Sleep..." Sunny cooed.
Was this what... she meant? Test... subject?
The rest of her body was becoming numb as her abused behind.
Her head wilted into her arms, her breasts smooshed against the table, her legs lost all their tension...
And once more, Erin was unconscious.
On to Chapter Three
June 18th, 1:52 AM
Erin didn't want to listen to Sunny's interminable chatter. The villainess's shrieky, self-satisfied voice was bad enough on its own; her words were even worse, as Sunny relished every humiliating detail of Erin's defeat. She had already recounted the Blue Lynx's unmasking three times.
"You have to understand, I wasn't really a hundred percent sure, even in that moment," she crowed. "Sure, I had a good theory, and yeah, I saw you go into the apartment. But until that mask flew off your face, I didn't know. And when everything was confirmed in that moment... It was just... Just..."
Sunny sighed. "It was glorious, Erin."
Erin groaned. It was all she could do. At the moment, she was literally a captive audience, trussed up like she'd never been trussed up before. They had placed her atop some kind of medium-sized wooden sawhorse, her legs astride the main bar, her thighs and shins both lashed with heavy rope to the table's back supports. Her forearms had been tucked underneath her upper body, her wrists also wrapped in rope, with additional rope securing her arms around the sawhorse's body. The bonds and the contraption had contorted her into a sort of sexy squat, forcing her ass in the air, but also allowing her to see in front of her, where Sunny stood, her arms folded, smiling. Erin's predicament was topped off by the large red ball gag that had been inserted between her lips and strapped around the back of her head.
The scene would've been straight out of one of Sunny's twisted erotic dreams but for the fact that Erin was still clothed... for the most part. She didn't have her belt-- the Spaniel hadn't allowed her to get it back. And, of course, she didn't have her mask. Her face was exposed. Which made her feel more naked than she'd ever felt.
"I could do this all night," Sunny said. "And I probably will. I feel so... elated. The thrill of dominating one of your foes. Surely you know it, Erin?"
She did.
"So how does it feel to be so thoroughly dominated, yourself?"
Erin wouldn't have answered this question even if she could have. Sunny didn't need to know what was going on in her head. She had to stay strong, resilient. She knew she was in deep, deep, deep trouble. She had been unmasked before, but never like this: never by a foe so malicious, someone so committed to the Blue Lynx's destruction, someone who recognized Erin Steele and was ready to use that knowledge for evil purposes. But she couldn't crack. Showing any sort of emotion would only enable Sunny, embolden her. She had to keep her superheroine composure.
The problem was, superheroine composure was a very difficult thing to keep in circumstances like this. Being "thoroughly dominated" felt awful. Every time Sunny said her name-- "ERIN STEELE," in that horrible voice-- Erin had to fight back tears. She was ashamed of being so helpless, of being so stupid and easy to surprise. She was also terrified. She didn't know what Sunny planned to do from here on out, but she knew that it was going to be far, far worse than anything the Spaniel cooked up. Brian had only wanted to play games with her. Sunny wanted to destroy her.
"You're not as witty as you were before I unmasked you," Sunny said. "Though I suppose that gag doesn't help."
Erin groaned. She couldn't think about this topic, again, so she instead wondered where they were. The nondescript, dark surroundings made it impossible to know for sure. Was this a secret room in Hammerson's house? Sunny's lair? One of those old warehouses that Hammerson had so often converted to a drug factory? The villains seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of creepy, dimly-lit storage rooms.
Had anyone seen her get captured? Had Margot been around? Erin had told her not to come, had insisted that dealing with Brian was the Blue Lynx's job alone. But Margot was the only person in the city who had the will and the ability to help Erin, now. The only other person who might even have a clue about what was going on was the Spaniel, and...
"I'll bet you're wondering what happened to your friend. The Spaniard."
Erin gulped. It was like Sunny had hacked into her brain. Was anything of hers a secret, anymore?
Sunny smiled. "Let's just say he's doing some, oh, re-training at the moment."
Re-training? So they'd captured him, too? And were... Hypnotizing him? Forcing him to do their bidding?
"He's the test subject, you see. What happens to him is going to determine what happens to you, my pet."
Test subject? Erin's body automatically tensed up. Sunny had a direction, a focus. She had a future mapped out for Brian and Erin. Everything from here on out was going to be completely controlled. And Erin, without her mask, bound and gagged, utterly in her foe's clutches, was just going to have to watch it happen.
Sunny laughed. "Yes, yes. You've got some busy days ahead, Erin. You should probably get some sleep." She strolled around her captured quarry. She paused. Erin took as deep a breath as her gag would allow.
"Just a couple of more minutes of fun, and then it's lights out," Sunny said.
Erin felt Sunny's fingers on her butt. The long nails scratched her rear's most outward point, digging into Erin's spandex and tugging it around. She heard Sunny giggle, and then felt two light pats on the side of her buttock. There was silence, and several seconds without movement, before the Sunny's hand touched her again, this time slapping the buttock hard with an open palm.
"MMPH!" Erin said.
Sunny laughed, stabilized Erin's jiggling butt with her fingernails, and then hit her again, harder this time. Erin howled into her gag, and Sunny hit her again. Within seconds she was furiously spanking Erin's defenseless, protuberant ass, knocking it around from side to side, forcing Erin to arch her back and slam her eyes shut, producing a steady, loud "MMMPHH" from Erin's sealed lips. Sunny hit her again and again, occasionally pausing to dance her nails on the seam of Erin's spandex, but mostly just smacking, the sounds of each swat cracking the still of the room.
"I need more space!" Sunny chortled. While one hand kept spanking, the other dragged the leg holes of Erin's costume up and into the heroine's butt crack, turning her bikini-cut into a thong. It gave Sunny an even bigger target, and she now attacked all around Erin's most sensitive places, with complete disregard for modesty or human decency. Even as the slaps began to lose their potency, with Erin's butt going numb, the pain continued in Erin's heart. Had she ever been subjected to such a demeaning, pointless torture?
She lowered her head. Once more she felt on the verge of tears. She could sense the waters welling up when suddenly, Sunny stopped.
"My God, you're all red," Sunny said. She had stepped back from her foe's bottom and was inspecting her work. "If we keep going like this, your ass is gonna be putty."
Erin exhaled. So it was over?
"I've got just one more treat for your butt tonight," Sunny continued. Erin heard her rustling in the dark. "This one's been Spaniel-approved. A muscle relaxer. But also a "will relaxer." Should make you easier to move."
Before Erin could consider the implications of a "will relaxer," she felt one more twinge of pain in her ass, and then saw Sunny walk back around to her front, shaking out a syringe. She had been... drugged?
Erin's vision became cloudy.
"Sleep..." Sunny cooed.
Was this what... she meant? Test... subject?
The rest of her body was becoming numb as her abused behind.
Her head wilted into her arms, her breasts smooshed against the table, her legs lost all their tension...
And once more, Erin was unconscious.
On to Chapter Three
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Three
Chapter Three
June 18th, 2:12 PM
Sunny turned her around, punched her in the stomach, kneed her in the chin. She stumbled backward, and Sunny leapt on top of her, pounding her against the floor. She struggled underneath Sunny's legs, now straddling her. She reached her hands up to fight and Sunny swatted them aside. She was punched in the face. Her head slumped. Sunny grabbed her by the chin and brought it back up. "Time to see who you really are," Sunny whispered, resting her hand on her face, and then tugging her mask off, inch by inch, until...
Erin woke up and cried out.
She stared at a concrete ceiling and a single light hanging from a small fixture.
She had been having a dream. A dream. A dream.
But this wasn't a dream.
She was on a slab, probably also concrete, some sort of bunk.
Her back ached, her legs ached, and her butt was throbbing. She sat up and rubbed the back of her neck.
She was in a cell. It was just her, sitting on this bunk jutting out from the wall, and a dingy-looking toilet, sharing a featureless room about seven or eight feet square. A gray door with a small window-cut was the only thing to distinguish the monotony of the walls.
She looked down. Her costume had been taken from her, replaced by a skimpy tunic with horizontal black and white stripes. A prisoner's outfit. She wasn't wearing underwear. She was barefoot.
Things could always, always get worse. She knew this now. Each bad night she'd had as the Blue Lynx had been gradually replaced with another memory that was even more horrific. Her first dicey mission at the Hillbilly House had been supplanted by nearly being blown up in a factory with Margot. Being poisoned by Todorov had been nothing compared to having Steve beat her up, break her arm, and unmask her. And not even the Fearsome Five could compare to the humiliation of being defeated by the Spaniel.
But this... This situation... This was surely it, right? The worst peril she had ever faced.
Unmasked. Abducted. Bound and gagged and spanked. And now... a literal prisoner of Sunny.
No one was coming to save her.
She tried to get up from the bunk, but couldn't seem to find her feet. Her thoughts were clear, but her body still felt weak, like her muscles had been baking in the sun for days. She placed her hands on the side of the bed and tried to push herself up. Her arms shook. Nothing happened.
"What was in that syringe?" Erin thought. "A goddamn elephant tranquilizer?"
She couldn't fight back in this state. She could barely even move.
She sighed.
All she could do was wait.
And so Erin sat, for maybe ten minutes, until there was a knock at the cell door.
"Good afternoon, Blue Lynx," a low male voice said. It was coming from a slit underneath the door window that Erin hadn't noticed before.
Erin didn't reply. What could she say?
"Did you have a good sleep? I hope you did," the voice intoned. "You've got a very busy day ahead of you."
Suddenly, the cell door opened. Two large men dressed in black tank tops and camo pants entered the room, one of the them dragging in a metal dolly with a tall back. Erin saw the light outside and instinctively hopped on her feet, hoping to make a break for it. But her legs were still too weak to sustain her weight and, with a small "off," she tumbled to the floor, provoking a small giggle from one of the men.
"It's just as Sunny said," the man laughed. "She's lost all of her strength."
"Don't worry, babe," the second man said. "You won't have to walk to get to where you're going."
Erin set her palms on the floor, again trying to push herself into fighting condition. Before she could even make much of an effort, the men bent down and pick her up by the arms, pulling her effortlessly to her feet. With next to no resistance, they dragged Erin over to the dolly, placing her feet in its base, and pulling her arms behind the back. Erin could only moan quietly as the men wrapped her wrists together and then put additional rope around her torso, securing her tightly to the metal cart.
"These probably aren't even necessary given your condition," one the henchmen said, binding her legs with even more rope, and making huge knots around Erin's ankles. "But the boss told us to take every precaution."
One of the men moved around to face Erin. She glared at him, and the man chuckled.
"This bitch probably doesn't even remember us," he said.
"Yeah," said the second man, holding the metal handle of the dolly and tipping Erin backward. "She has no idea we've met before."
Erin stared at the man in front of her. It was true: she didn't recognize his face.
The man stepped toward her and placed a meaty hand on her exposed thigh, squeezing it just below the hem of Erin's prisoner tunic.
"We were just a couple of thugs for the Blue Lynx to dispose of, that night," he growled, pushing his face to close to Erin's and letting her smell his foul breath. "I wonder if she'll remember us now..."
The man smirked, and then slowly slid his fingers up Erin's thigh, pinching her skin the whole way, and letting the edge of the skirt gradually ride up on his wrist. Erin shook her head and squealed-- it was all she could do-- which only made her attacker laugh. He pushed up her tunic just millimeters away from her private parts...
The other man swatted away her groper's hand.
"Hey man, not now. We gotta job to do."
The groper stepped back. The hem of Erin's tunic resumed its place against the middle of her upper leg.
"Remember what Sunny said," the swatting man said. "We can have her if we do these tasks correctly."
"Yeah, I remember," the second man replied. He once again stepped toward Erin and leered. "I just really want her right now."
"Eww," Erin said, tossing her head around. It was the first thing she'd managed to say since they'd come in.
The second man winked at her. "Oh, you'll learn to love me in time, Blue Lynx."
"Enough of this. Let's go," the first man said, rolling his eyes. He tipped the dolly back further, wheeled it around, and pushed it and its scantily clad freight out of the cell door.
They were in a hallway now, brightly lit like a clinic. As the thugs pushed Erin down the way, she could see doors like the one in her cell passing by on either side. This was not a normal abandoned warehouse. This was some kind of facility, a base even.
She was in the heart of Sunny's operation. Wherever that was.
The dolly stopped. One of the men opened a door, and Erin was turned ninety degrees, pushed into a room several times bigger than her previous enclosure. This one had more furniture: a desk with a laptop, a file cabinet, a few chairs. It also had Sunny, dressed in her classic all-leather ensemble, her bleached blonde hair a blinding yellow in the fluorescent light.
"There she is," Sunny said, staring at Erin as the men rolled her against a wall. They set the dolly down, allowing the two female foes to lock eyes.
"I hope my boys were gentle with you," the villainess said, crossing her arms in front of her. "I told them you're our most valuable possession, at the moment."
"If by gentle you mean they groped me, then they did just fine," Erin coughed. She had to find a way to restore her confidence.
Sunny laughed. "Well, boys will be boys." She glared at the thugs. "You may leave now."
The henchmen shrugged and exited the room, shutting the door behind them.
"Idiots," Sunny said. "They really don't understand how crucial you are to the plan."
Erin blinked. "And neither do I." She made her first attempt to pull at the bonds on her wrists. They didn't budge. She sighed. "Perhaps you should enlighten me, now that you've got me here."
"Perhaps I will," Sunny said. She pulled a chair over to within a few feet of Erin and took a seat. Her eyes were level with the hem of Erin's tunic. Sunny didn't seem to mind.
"I've got two things going now, Erin. Wait. Should I call you Blue Lynx? I haven't decided myself. What do you think?"
Erin groaned. "Well, you have no proof that I'm the Blue Lynx, so why don't you stick with my name."
"Still playing that game, eh?" Sunny said, grinning. "I think I have more than enough proof at this point. I have you entering that apartment. I have your mask and costume. And now, I have you."
"I'm not sure what any of that proves," Erin said. "Just because you caught me in a Blue Lynx costume doesn't mean I'm the Blue Lynx."
"Rightttt," Sunny said. "You just have the exact same face, hair, and build. The exact same speech patterns. The exact same arrogant attitude. And you just happen to wear the exact same spandex outfit."
Erin rolled her eyes. "That's circumstantial evidence, at best."
"Okay, then, it's settled. You're the Blue Lynx. I'm calling you the Blue Lynx," Sunny said. Her face was turning red. It was the first time Erin had seen her lose her cool since she'd encountered her in Brian's apartment. It was a small thing, but a encouraging one.
"So listen up, Blue Lynx," Sunny continued. "Last night I gave you a drug I tested on our friend, the Spaniard. It looks like it's work as well on you as it did on him. Which is great for me and maybe not so good for you. Because there's a whole lot more where that came from."
Erin felt a twinge in her muscles. One more of those injections might turn her into soup. A terrifying prospect.
"I'm testing all kinds of cocktails on him," Sunny said. "And I'm going to give all the good ones to you."
"You've made him into a labrat," Erin said. "You're sick."
"I won't deny it!" Sunny exclaimed. "But sometimes you've got to do things for the good of science. Which brings me to my second project, one in which you have the starring role."
"Let me guess," Erin said. "You're going to reveal my identity-- what you think it is, anyway-- on TV. Very original."
Sunny chuckled. "What a quaint thought, Blue Lynx. On TV? Wow. You think this is 1990? TV. Ha. No. What I have planned for you is much more interesting... More interactive, I think. A plan fit for our contemporary moment. Though you're correct in assuming it involves your secret."
Erin nodded. "Of course."
"You see, Blue Lynx, my dear friend Brent Hammerson's recovery isn't coming along quite as quickly as we thought it would. Our research has stagnated. He's still deep in a coma, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Oh no," Erin deadpanned. "That sounds awful."
"I'm glad you think so," Sunny replied. "Because you're going to help him get better. We're about to make a fortune off of your secret identity."
"What are you gonna do? Blackmail my dad?" Erin said. "The cops would find you. You'd be finished in seconds."
"I doubt that," Sunny said. "But again, you're not thinking imaginatively enough, Blue Lynx. What we're going to do with you is much more... Participatory, than that."
"Enough dancing around, Sunny," Erin said. "Just tell me what the hell is going on."
Sunny laughed. "We're going to crowdfund Brett's recovery. By auctioning off little pieces of you."
"What?"
"Yes, yes, yes," Sunny said, standing up from her chair and clapping. "We're setting up a Donator page. And the prize is whatever you want to know about the Blue Lynx."
Erin could feel her heartbeat accelerate. So this was Sunny's plan: to not only make a fool of her in public, but to use her humiliation in order to pay for Hammerson's well-being.
"You've got to be kidding me," Erin spat. "It won't work."
"We'll see what the people think about that," Sunny said. She walked back to the desk and two items. The first was a phone. The second was... Something small. And blue. Erin couldn't tell yet.
Sunny strutted back over to where Erin stood. "You can have this back, for now," Sunny said. And with that, she pushed the Blue Lynx mask back onto the bridge of Erin's nose, patting it down around her eyes. Erin struggled in her foe's grasp, but the rope and the drug made sure she could only defend herself with a grimace.
"Perfect fit," Sunny giggled, stepping back from Erin. She held the phone out in front of her.
"Here's a good first pic for the small fry donations," Sunny said. She pushed a button on the camera.
"Smile, Blue Lynx."
On to Chapter Four
June 18th, 2:12 PM
Sunny turned her around, punched her in the stomach, kneed her in the chin. She stumbled backward, and Sunny leapt on top of her, pounding her against the floor. She struggled underneath Sunny's legs, now straddling her. She reached her hands up to fight and Sunny swatted them aside. She was punched in the face. Her head slumped. Sunny grabbed her by the chin and brought it back up. "Time to see who you really are," Sunny whispered, resting her hand on her face, and then tugging her mask off, inch by inch, until...
Erin woke up and cried out.
She stared at a concrete ceiling and a single light hanging from a small fixture.
She had been having a dream. A dream. A dream.
But this wasn't a dream.
She was on a slab, probably also concrete, some sort of bunk.
Her back ached, her legs ached, and her butt was throbbing. She sat up and rubbed the back of her neck.
She was in a cell. It was just her, sitting on this bunk jutting out from the wall, and a dingy-looking toilet, sharing a featureless room about seven or eight feet square. A gray door with a small window-cut was the only thing to distinguish the monotony of the walls.
She looked down. Her costume had been taken from her, replaced by a skimpy tunic with horizontal black and white stripes. A prisoner's outfit. She wasn't wearing underwear. She was barefoot.
Things could always, always get worse. She knew this now. Each bad night she'd had as the Blue Lynx had been gradually replaced with another memory that was even more horrific. Her first dicey mission at the Hillbilly House had been supplanted by nearly being blown up in a factory with Margot. Being poisoned by Todorov had been nothing compared to having Steve beat her up, break her arm, and unmask her. And not even the Fearsome Five could compare to the humiliation of being defeated by the Spaniel.
But this... This situation... This was surely it, right? The worst peril she had ever faced.
Unmasked. Abducted. Bound and gagged and spanked. And now... a literal prisoner of Sunny.
No one was coming to save her.
She tried to get up from the bunk, but couldn't seem to find her feet. Her thoughts were clear, but her body still felt weak, like her muscles had been baking in the sun for days. She placed her hands on the side of the bed and tried to push herself up. Her arms shook. Nothing happened.
"What was in that syringe?" Erin thought. "A goddamn elephant tranquilizer?"
She couldn't fight back in this state. She could barely even move.
She sighed.
All she could do was wait.
And so Erin sat, for maybe ten minutes, until there was a knock at the cell door.
"Good afternoon, Blue Lynx," a low male voice said. It was coming from a slit underneath the door window that Erin hadn't noticed before.
Erin didn't reply. What could she say?
"Did you have a good sleep? I hope you did," the voice intoned. "You've got a very busy day ahead of you."
Suddenly, the cell door opened. Two large men dressed in black tank tops and camo pants entered the room, one of the them dragging in a metal dolly with a tall back. Erin saw the light outside and instinctively hopped on her feet, hoping to make a break for it. But her legs were still too weak to sustain her weight and, with a small "off," she tumbled to the floor, provoking a small giggle from one of the men.
"It's just as Sunny said," the man laughed. "She's lost all of her strength."
"Don't worry, babe," the second man said. "You won't have to walk to get to where you're going."
Erin set her palms on the floor, again trying to push herself into fighting condition. Before she could even make much of an effort, the men bent down and pick her up by the arms, pulling her effortlessly to her feet. With next to no resistance, they dragged Erin over to the dolly, placing her feet in its base, and pulling her arms behind the back. Erin could only moan quietly as the men wrapped her wrists together and then put additional rope around her torso, securing her tightly to the metal cart.
"These probably aren't even necessary given your condition," one the henchmen said, binding her legs with even more rope, and making huge knots around Erin's ankles. "But the boss told us to take every precaution."
One of the men moved around to face Erin. She glared at him, and the man chuckled.
"This bitch probably doesn't even remember us," he said.
"Yeah," said the second man, holding the metal handle of the dolly and tipping Erin backward. "She has no idea we've met before."
Erin stared at the man in front of her. It was true: she didn't recognize his face.
The man stepped toward her and placed a meaty hand on her exposed thigh, squeezing it just below the hem of Erin's prisoner tunic.
"We were just a couple of thugs for the Blue Lynx to dispose of, that night," he growled, pushing his face to close to Erin's and letting her smell his foul breath. "I wonder if she'll remember us now..."
The man smirked, and then slowly slid his fingers up Erin's thigh, pinching her skin the whole way, and letting the edge of the skirt gradually ride up on his wrist. Erin shook her head and squealed-- it was all she could do-- which only made her attacker laugh. He pushed up her tunic just millimeters away from her private parts...
The other man swatted away her groper's hand.
"Hey man, not now. We gotta job to do."
The groper stepped back. The hem of Erin's tunic resumed its place against the middle of her upper leg.
"Remember what Sunny said," the swatting man said. "We can have her if we do these tasks correctly."
"Yeah, I remember," the second man replied. He once again stepped toward Erin and leered. "I just really want her right now."
"Eww," Erin said, tossing her head around. It was the first thing she'd managed to say since they'd come in.
The second man winked at her. "Oh, you'll learn to love me in time, Blue Lynx."
"Enough of this. Let's go," the first man said, rolling his eyes. He tipped the dolly back further, wheeled it around, and pushed it and its scantily clad freight out of the cell door.
They were in a hallway now, brightly lit like a clinic. As the thugs pushed Erin down the way, she could see doors like the one in her cell passing by on either side. This was not a normal abandoned warehouse. This was some kind of facility, a base even.
She was in the heart of Sunny's operation. Wherever that was.
The dolly stopped. One of the men opened a door, and Erin was turned ninety degrees, pushed into a room several times bigger than her previous enclosure. This one had more furniture: a desk with a laptop, a file cabinet, a few chairs. It also had Sunny, dressed in her classic all-leather ensemble, her bleached blonde hair a blinding yellow in the fluorescent light.
"There she is," Sunny said, staring at Erin as the men rolled her against a wall. They set the dolly down, allowing the two female foes to lock eyes.
"I hope my boys were gentle with you," the villainess said, crossing her arms in front of her. "I told them you're our most valuable possession, at the moment."
"If by gentle you mean they groped me, then they did just fine," Erin coughed. She had to find a way to restore her confidence.
Sunny laughed. "Well, boys will be boys." She glared at the thugs. "You may leave now."
The henchmen shrugged and exited the room, shutting the door behind them.
"Idiots," Sunny said. "They really don't understand how crucial you are to the plan."
Erin blinked. "And neither do I." She made her first attempt to pull at the bonds on her wrists. They didn't budge. She sighed. "Perhaps you should enlighten me, now that you've got me here."
"Perhaps I will," Sunny said. She pulled a chair over to within a few feet of Erin and took a seat. Her eyes were level with the hem of Erin's tunic. Sunny didn't seem to mind.
"I've got two things going now, Erin. Wait. Should I call you Blue Lynx? I haven't decided myself. What do you think?"
Erin groaned. "Well, you have no proof that I'm the Blue Lynx, so why don't you stick with my name."
"Still playing that game, eh?" Sunny said, grinning. "I think I have more than enough proof at this point. I have you entering that apartment. I have your mask and costume. And now, I have you."
"I'm not sure what any of that proves," Erin said. "Just because you caught me in a Blue Lynx costume doesn't mean I'm the Blue Lynx."
"Rightttt," Sunny said. "You just have the exact same face, hair, and build. The exact same speech patterns. The exact same arrogant attitude. And you just happen to wear the exact same spandex outfit."
Erin rolled her eyes. "That's circumstantial evidence, at best."
"Okay, then, it's settled. You're the Blue Lynx. I'm calling you the Blue Lynx," Sunny said. Her face was turning red. It was the first time Erin had seen her lose her cool since she'd encountered her in Brian's apartment. It was a small thing, but a encouraging one.
"So listen up, Blue Lynx," Sunny continued. "Last night I gave you a drug I tested on our friend, the Spaniard. It looks like it's work as well on you as it did on him. Which is great for me and maybe not so good for you. Because there's a whole lot more where that came from."
Erin felt a twinge in her muscles. One more of those injections might turn her into soup. A terrifying prospect.
"I'm testing all kinds of cocktails on him," Sunny said. "And I'm going to give all the good ones to you."
"You've made him into a labrat," Erin said. "You're sick."
"I won't deny it!" Sunny exclaimed. "But sometimes you've got to do things for the good of science. Which brings me to my second project, one in which you have the starring role."
"Let me guess," Erin said. "You're going to reveal my identity-- what you think it is, anyway-- on TV. Very original."
Sunny chuckled. "What a quaint thought, Blue Lynx. On TV? Wow. You think this is 1990? TV. Ha. No. What I have planned for you is much more interesting... More interactive, I think. A plan fit for our contemporary moment. Though you're correct in assuming it involves your secret."
Erin nodded. "Of course."
"You see, Blue Lynx, my dear friend Brent Hammerson's recovery isn't coming along quite as quickly as we thought it would. Our research has stagnated. He's still deep in a coma, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Oh no," Erin deadpanned. "That sounds awful."
"I'm glad you think so," Sunny replied. "Because you're going to help him get better. We're about to make a fortune off of your secret identity."
"What are you gonna do? Blackmail my dad?" Erin said. "The cops would find you. You'd be finished in seconds."
"I doubt that," Sunny said. "But again, you're not thinking imaginatively enough, Blue Lynx. What we're going to do with you is much more... Participatory, than that."
"Enough dancing around, Sunny," Erin said. "Just tell me what the hell is going on."
Sunny laughed. "We're going to crowdfund Brett's recovery. By auctioning off little pieces of you."
"What?"
"Yes, yes, yes," Sunny said, standing up from her chair and clapping. "We're setting up a Donator page. And the prize is whatever you want to know about the Blue Lynx."
Erin could feel her heartbeat accelerate. So this was Sunny's plan: to not only make a fool of her in public, but to use her humiliation in order to pay for Hammerson's well-being.
"You've got to be kidding me," Erin spat. "It won't work."
"We'll see what the people think about that," Sunny said. She walked back to the desk and two items. The first was a phone. The second was... Something small. And blue. Erin couldn't tell yet.
Sunny strutted back over to where Erin stood. "You can have this back, for now," Sunny said. And with that, she pushed the Blue Lynx mask back onto the bridge of Erin's nose, patting it down around her eyes. Erin struggled in her foe's grasp, but the rope and the drug made sure she could only defend herself with a grimace.
"Perfect fit," Sunny giggled, stepping back from Erin. She held the phone out in front of her.
"Here's a good first pic for the small fry donations," Sunny said. She pushed a button on the camera.
"Smile, Blue Lynx."
On to Chapter Four
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Four
Chapter Four
June 18th, 11:05 PM
Margot came home, set the duffel bag full of her Black Bobcat stuff on the kitchen table, and crashed on the couch.
What more could she do?
She hadn't seen Erin since she'd left the house last night. Erin had told her explicitly then not to follow her... And of course Margot didn't listen. She'd trailed her friend to Brian's apartment complex and waited in the parking lot. For hours. When she'd finally got anxious enough to snoop around inside, she'd found an open door that led to turned over chairs, wrecked furniture, and nobody in sight. She went into Brian's room and discovered Erin's clothes.
What had happened? Where had he taken her?
She'd checked her phone tracker again and again, but the red dot representing the Blue Lynx was as absent as it had been since the Spaniel had unmasked her. Worried but undaunted, she'd zipped around town, in costume, interrogating suspicious characters on the streets, looking for leads. She'd found nothing.
She had been up all night, and then continued to search through the next morning and afternoon. She'd even called the police at one point.
"Excuse me," she had said. "Have you all seen, umm, the Blue Lynx, lately?"
"Who is this?"
"Umm, just, uh, a curious person."
"Listen, lady, we don't keep tabs on where Miss Pussy spends her time. You'd probably do better calling the mob or something."
"Umm, do you have their number?"
She was getting desperate. Erin had been in predicaments before, and Margot knew better than to bet against her friend. It was when the moment was at its bleakest that the Blue Lynx typically found a way to prevail. But the clothes in the room... The ruined apartment... None of it looked good.
So she sat at the kitchen table, turned on her laptop, and gazed at it with red eyes. She'd give it one more shot tonight before bed. She wasn't giving up, no. She just had to get some rest. But one more chance, just for the hell of it, for Erin's sake, she had to...
She checked her e-mail. Nothing new, from Erin or anyone else of possible interest.
She checked her social media accounts. Only nonsense.
She sighed and typed "Blue Lynx sightings" into Google.
The fifteenth result down was a link to a Donator page titled, "Find a Cure with Help from the Blue Lynx."
Margot blinked, rubbed her eyes, and clicked the link.
On the top of the page was a photograph Margot had never seen before. It was the Blue Lynx, but not the Blue Lynx. It was definitely Erin, at any rate, but her signature blue spandex and white boots had been swapped out for some kind of black-and-white-striped dress. She was tied with seemingly hundreds of yards of rope to a metal dolly. The shot showed her from bare ankles to the top of her mussed hair.
She looked... Distressed.
"Oh my God," Margot said. "Oh my God."
She began reading the page, her eyes widening with each bizarre, terrifying sentence.
Greetings! My name is Regina Sunflower, and I work for Speaker of the House Brent Hammerson. As you probably know, Mr. Hammerson was recently crippled and put in a coma after an encounter with the costumed vigilante that goes by the name "The Blue Lynx."
For the last several months, my team has been at work for a way to cure Brent and return him back to his vital self. Unfortunately, research has hit some roadblocks. We are rapidly running out of the funds needed to help our friend. Thankfully, you can help!
As you can see, after months of trying, I have finally managed to capture the Blue Lynx. This pesky "superheroine" has been a thorn in the side of both me and our great city for too long. But now, with your generous financial support, she can be made to assist our cause, and maybe even find a cure for Brent.
In exchange for your donations, I will provide information and pictures of the Blue Lynx that SHE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE. That's right. Each tier of your support will give you an inside look into the secret life of this very secretive little vixen. Ever want to know who she REALLY is? Do you want to see her really get worked over in a fight? These things can more can be yours for the right price. (See tiers below.)
I understand concerns about whether I really have the true Blue Lynx in my possession. To help quell any doubts, I provide only these pictures as well as my absolute guarantee that this is the famous Blue Lynx you've read so much about, and none other.
Margot scanned the three photographs, placing her fist against her lips. The first was of Erin in costume, passed out on a floor, her face to the ground, her mask beside her. The caption underneath the photo read: "The Blue Lynx, unconscious and ready for transport." The second was a close-up on the Blue Lynx's utility belt, a few flaps unbuttoned to show the weapons inside. The caption for this one said, simply, "Impossible to fake this." The third was of Brian, the Spaniel, knocked out in his civilian clothes, but wearing his mask. The caption underneath it told of "The Blue Lynx's ally, also in our possession."
"Oh my God," Margot repeated. She was beginning to piece the story together in her head. She continued reading.
Donors will receive the following rewards.
25 dollars: Glossy photo of the Blue Lynx tied and gagged.
50 dollars: Glossy photo of the Blue Lynx tied and gagged, without boots and gloves
100 dollars: Strand of the Blue Lynx's hair!
200 dollars: One of the Blue Lynx's famous "darts" (used to incapacitate "evildoers")
500 dollars: 5 minute video of the Blue Lynx losing a fight
1,000 dollars: Photo of the Blue Lynx naked, with mask
2,000 dollars: Audio recording of the Blue Lynx begging for your help (personalized with your name)!
5,000 dollars: Video footage of the Blue Lynx being unmasked
Other rewards possible! Please inquire for more details.
Thank you! -RS
Margot's mouth felt dry. Her head was spinning.
It was Sunny, the whole time. Sunny who had captured Erin, who was now holding her hostage, who was making the Blue Lynx's identity into a sick game.
"That bitch!," Margot said, slamming her fist into the kitchen table.
Where was she holding Erin? How was she allowed to do this? Had the cops found this Donator page yet? Did they even care? Did anyone?
Margot pressed her fingers to her temples, scanning the page again. She had a lead now. That was good. But this situation... It was not.
Erin's superheroine existence-- her life itself-- was in jeopardy.
"What... do I do?" Margot asked herself.
On to Chapter Five
June 18th, 11:05 PM
Margot came home, set the duffel bag full of her Black Bobcat stuff on the kitchen table, and crashed on the couch.
What more could she do?
She hadn't seen Erin since she'd left the house last night. Erin had told her explicitly then not to follow her... And of course Margot didn't listen. She'd trailed her friend to Brian's apartment complex and waited in the parking lot. For hours. When she'd finally got anxious enough to snoop around inside, she'd found an open door that led to turned over chairs, wrecked furniture, and nobody in sight. She went into Brian's room and discovered Erin's clothes.
What had happened? Where had he taken her?
She'd checked her phone tracker again and again, but the red dot representing the Blue Lynx was as absent as it had been since the Spaniel had unmasked her. Worried but undaunted, she'd zipped around town, in costume, interrogating suspicious characters on the streets, looking for leads. She'd found nothing.
She had been up all night, and then continued to search through the next morning and afternoon. She'd even called the police at one point.
"Excuse me," she had said. "Have you all seen, umm, the Blue Lynx, lately?"
"Who is this?"
"Umm, just, uh, a curious person."
"Listen, lady, we don't keep tabs on where Miss Pussy spends her time. You'd probably do better calling the mob or something."
"Umm, do you have their number?"
She was getting desperate. Erin had been in predicaments before, and Margot knew better than to bet against her friend. It was when the moment was at its bleakest that the Blue Lynx typically found a way to prevail. But the clothes in the room... The ruined apartment... None of it looked good.
So she sat at the kitchen table, turned on her laptop, and gazed at it with red eyes. She'd give it one more shot tonight before bed. She wasn't giving up, no. She just had to get some rest. But one more chance, just for the hell of it, for Erin's sake, she had to...
She checked her e-mail. Nothing new, from Erin or anyone else of possible interest.
She checked her social media accounts. Only nonsense.
She sighed and typed "Blue Lynx sightings" into Google.
The fifteenth result down was a link to a Donator page titled, "Find a Cure with Help from the Blue Lynx."
Margot blinked, rubbed her eyes, and clicked the link.
On the top of the page was a photograph Margot had never seen before. It was the Blue Lynx, but not the Blue Lynx. It was definitely Erin, at any rate, but her signature blue spandex and white boots had been swapped out for some kind of black-and-white-striped dress. She was tied with seemingly hundreds of yards of rope to a metal dolly. The shot showed her from bare ankles to the top of her mussed hair.
She looked... Distressed.
"Oh my God," Margot said. "Oh my God."
She began reading the page, her eyes widening with each bizarre, terrifying sentence.
Greetings! My name is Regina Sunflower, and I work for Speaker of the House Brent Hammerson. As you probably know, Mr. Hammerson was recently crippled and put in a coma after an encounter with the costumed vigilante that goes by the name "The Blue Lynx."
For the last several months, my team has been at work for a way to cure Brent and return him back to his vital self. Unfortunately, research has hit some roadblocks. We are rapidly running out of the funds needed to help our friend. Thankfully, you can help!
As you can see, after months of trying, I have finally managed to capture the Blue Lynx. This pesky "superheroine" has been a thorn in the side of both me and our great city for too long. But now, with your generous financial support, she can be made to assist our cause, and maybe even find a cure for Brent.
In exchange for your donations, I will provide information and pictures of the Blue Lynx that SHE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE. That's right. Each tier of your support will give you an inside look into the secret life of this very secretive little vixen. Ever want to know who she REALLY is? Do you want to see her really get worked over in a fight? These things can more can be yours for the right price. (See tiers below.)
I understand concerns about whether I really have the true Blue Lynx in my possession. To help quell any doubts, I provide only these pictures as well as my absolute guarantee that this is the famous Blue Lynx you've read so much about, and none other.
Margot scanned the three photographs, placing her fist against her lips. The first was of Erin in costume, passed out on a floor, her face to the ground, her mask beside her. The caption underneath the photo read: "The Blue Lynx, unconscious and ready for transport." The second was a close-up on the Blue Lynx's utility belt, a few flaps unbuttoned to show the weapons inside. The caption for this one said, simply, "Impossible to fake this." The third was of Brian, the Spaniel, knocked out in his civilian clothes, but wearing his mask. The caption underneath it told of "The Blue Lynx's ally, also in our possession."
"Oh my God," Margot repeated. She was beginning to piece the story together in her head. She continued reading.
Donors will receive the following rewards.
25 dollars: Glossy photo of the Blue Lynx tied and gagged.
50 dollars: Glossy photo of the Blue Lynx tied and gagged, without boots and gloves
100 dollars: Strand of the Blue Lynx's hair!
200 dollars: One of the Blue Lynx's famous "darts" (used to incapacitate "evildoers")
500 dollars: 5 minute video of the Blue Lynx losing a fight
1,000 dollars: Photo of the Blue Lynx naked, with mask
2,000 dollars: Audio recording of the Blue Lynx begging for your help (personalized with your name)!
5,000 dollars: Video footage of the Blue Lynx being unmasked
Other rewards possible! Please inquire for more details.
Thank you! -RS
Margot's mouth felt dry. Her head was spinning.
It was Sunny, the whole time. Sunny who had captured Erin, who was now holding her hostage, who was making the Blue Lynx's identity into a sick game.
"That bitch!," Margot said, slamming her fist into the kitchen table.
Where was she holding Erin? How was she allowed to do this? Had the cops found this Donator page yet? Did they even care? Did anyone?
Margot pressed her fingers to her temples, scanning the page again. She had a lead now. That was good. But this situation... It was not.
Erin's superheroine existence-- her life itself-- was in jeopardy.
"What... do I do?" Margot asked herself.
On to Chapter Five
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Five
Chapter Five
June 19th, 7:25 AM
"Eat up, Blue Lynx," Sunny commanded. "Come on. Take a bite."
Erin stared at the spoon with bloodshot eyes. There was some kind of mush heaped on top of it that looked objectively unappealing, mush that was almost certainly laced with one of Sunny's drugs. She knew she shouldn't eat it, and yet, she was so, so hungry. Her stomach had been growling for the last ten hours. She needed sustenance, she didn't care what it was...
"No," Erin said, shaking her head. "I won't."
She couldn't do it. Not this way. Not strapped into a high-chair, manacled with straps, with Sunny dancing around in front of her like Erin was a big baby.
"Awww... What's the matter, Baby Blue?" Sunny asked. "You feeling camera shy, again?"
Erin involuntarily flashed her eyes at the henchman carrying the phone, who snapped a picture of the moment. It was either he, his henchman pal, or Sunny who had been tracking her every move since Sunny had first laid out her plans. They were creating a photo record of Erin's humiliation; a scene-by-scene account of how the Blue Lynx was defeated; yours for the right price. They had staged this shot, with the kitchen table, high-chair, and Sunny spooning mush, just as they'd staged others: Erin tied hand and foot to some "train tracks," Erin being cocooned by a thug dressed as a giant spider, Erin trussed up like Houdini on the verge of being dunked in a tank. Though each of those situations was truly embarrassing, none of them was actually dangerous. What seemed more threatening to Erin-- and even more humiliating-- were Sunny's "candid" shots: Erin getting dressed, Erin passed out, Erin being carted from one place to another, Erin completely nude. These were the images that dramatically undermined Erin's superheroine mission. There were the images she desperately, helplessly hoped she could keep from the public.
They had changed her into a variety of costumes, posing her like a 3D model, taking full advantage of the drugs that still coursed through Erin's bloodstream. She was in her Blue Lynx costume now-- minus her utility belt, gloves, and boots-- which made her simultaneously feel stronger and more ashamed. Could she even call herself a superheroine after this treatment?
"You're in a daze, again," Sunny said. "Snap out of it, Blue Lynx." She snapped her fingers in front of Erin's nose. "Eat this. Fucking take the spoon."
Erin glared at Sunny. "I'd rather starve than eat your cooking."
Sunny shook her head and sighed. Without warning, she shot her free hand behind Erin's head and gripped her captive by the hair.
"You don't have a fucking say in the matter," Sunny said, pulling Erin's head back, forcing her mouth open with sheer pain. "Eat it!" Sunny shoved the spoon into Erin's lips. She then removed the spoon and held Erin's mouth shut with her fingers, staring her foe down until Erin swallowed.
Sunny sat back in her chair, letting the spoon clatter on the table. "Phew," she said. "That was a tough one."
Erin hacked. The mush tasted awful from the beginning and was only getting worse. It seemed to coat her insides, like grease, and she could already feel a burning in her stomach.
"What... did you just...?" she coughed.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Blue Lynx," Sunny said. "It's just a little formula designed to get some of your strength back. We need you in fighting shape for the next shoot."
"Fighting... shape?"
Sunny nodded and smiled. "I think we've generated enough photo content for a while. It's time to produce some more... Dynamic fare."
Erin grimaced. The taste of Sunny's food still lingered in her mouth. But somehow, she also felt more lucid. Her vision had cleared, and she sensed a tension in her muscles that she hadn't noticed in days. It was a like there was a battle raging within her between Sunny's tranquilizers and this gross new stimulant.
"It's going to take an hour for it to really kick in," Sunny said. "We better clean you up in the meantime." She pointed at the henchman, who pocketed the phone and walked over to Erin. As he fiddled with the knots securing her to high-chair, Sunny picked up a walkie talkie. "I need one more in here," she ordered.
Erin had already been in this situation several times: watching a guard untie her, but being too exhausted to try to escape. And yet, as the thug pulled her out of the chair and set her on her boots, she felt an odd sensation-- she could support herself. For the first time in days, walking seemed like a physical possibility. Did Sunny know how potent her drug was? She had been so careful to not give the Blue Lynx a single inch, but now, Erin's arms and legs were untied. There was just a few bursts of energy separating her from making a break for it...
"I know what you're thinking," Sunny said. "But I wouldn't get too excited, Blue Lynx. Take her to the showers."
The guard clamped his hands on Erin's shoulders and spun her around. Once again, her weakness was obvious to her and everyone else, as the guard half-carried, half-dragged her with a minimum of effort through the door, into the hallway, and then into another door.
"Bastard," Erin muttered.
"Shut up," the guard replied. He pulled her across wet, white tiles and finally threw her on the floor. She hit the ground, made a small sound of pain, and slowly rolled over, looking up and around. She was in a stall of some kind; there was a drain on the floor to her left. The room had a smell that was simultaneously fresh and harsh, the result of heavy disinfectant. A second henchman had joined the first. They were both watching her from outside of the doorless stall, standing next to a counter pocketed with metal sinks.
"Get up," the new henchman barked.
Erin rolled her eyes as she got to her knees, and then slowly clambered to her feet. She kept her hand on the wall to steady herself.
"Now, strip," the first thug said.
Erin took a deep breath. Was any of these guys not a total pervert?
"No," she said, staring the henchman down.
"You'll strip now," the first thug replied. "Unless you want us to do it."
Erin glared at the henchmen. They were both grinning at her like warped teenage boys, their eyes hungrily taking her in entire body. She didn't want them touching her any more than they already had-- they might not be able to stop.
"Fine," she sighed, pushing the spandex off of her shoulders. She shimmied the costume down her body, peeling the tight, sweaty fabric off her arms and torso, and finally stepping out of its leg-holes clumsily. She kicked the blue wad aside, leaving her standing in just a black bra and thong. She crossed her arms and frowned at the men. "There," she said. "Happy?"
"Now take off your bra and panties," the second thug ordered.
Erin's face flushed red with both embarrassment and fury. Her instinct was to yell something-- to call them the sick douchebags that they were-- but she knew there was no point in protesting. She still didn't have the strength to fight back. There was therefore just two horrible choices: obey them, or disobey and feel their grubby, perverted hands.
Erin turned around so that her back faced the men and reached a hand behind her back. She unclipped her bra and tossed it to the floor with as little fanfare as she could muster. As soon as it left her body, the men started to whistle and cheer.
"Hell yeah!" one of them cried out. "Now do the undies... Nice and slow..."
Erin flicked her head around to sneer at them, which only inspired more laughter. It was like each hour in Sunny's captivity exponentially deteriorated her situation. But what could she do? Her priorities now were staying alive and somehow finding a way to prevent Sunny from publicizing her secret identity. Erin supposed she could deal with anything if it meant saving her life and her superheroine career. But this... This was just...
"Don't make us come over there, Blue Lynx!" one of the men growled.
"Ugh!" Erin groaned, laying one arm across her breasts and slipping the thumb of her free hand underneath the waistband of her thong. "You're both disgusting tools!" She bent over, trying her best not to expose her chest, and nudged her panties off of her shaking hips. She pushed them down the length of her thighs, increasing the men's hooting and hollering. Once the thong got past her knees, it dropped to the floor, and as Erin punted the black fabric aside, the men's screams came to an unbelievably irritating climax. She gritted her teeth as she moved her hand to cover her pubic region.
"My God!" a thug said. "What an ass! A super-ass!"
"You've got to kick a lot of ass to get an ass like that," the other replied.
"I still don't think we're getting the best view, though."
"Me neither. An ass is great, but..."
"Turn around!"
Erin heard the instruction and hesitated. She knew that this had been coming, and she knew she didn't have a choice. But none of that knowledge made the ordeal any less degrading.
"Did you hear me, Blue Lynx? I said turn the FUCK around!"
Erin did what she was told. She rotated a patient, deliberate 180 degrees, keeping her hands and arms in their strategic positions. She looked at the men's faces and immediately looked somewhere else-- she couldn't bear to see their horny, ecstatic leers.
"My God," the thug repeated. "Would ya look at that."
"She is... just... perfect," the second one said.
Erin felt like her whole body was turning red. She had become the equivalent of a celebrity centerfold-- an engine for lascivious male desire. She shivered inside their gaze. Did Batgirl ever have to deal with this?
"I still don't think she recognizes us," one of them said.
"No, of course she doesn't," the second replied. "Even after all we've been through."
Erin flashed her eyes in the thugs' direction. Were they the same two that had menaced her that first time back in the cell? She really couldn't tell. They all looked the same, to her.
"Well maybe we'll give her something else to remember us by."
"Yeah. It's shower time, Blue Lynx."
Erin faced them to see that one was now holding a long gray hose. Before she had a chance to think about what this meant, a jet of water blasted out of its tip and struck her in the upper body. The stream was strong enough to knock her off her feet, sending her to the floor butt-first. She tried to get back up, but the water kept hitting her, eventually forcing her to move her hands to her face. She pushed aside the torrent, coughing, until the stream moved down her exposed body and targeted her crotch. The water splashed between Erin's legs, making her whinny, compelling her to move her hands again. But as soon as her hands were in one place, the stream was in other: soaking her breasts, hair, abdomen, face, lap. She was pinned down in the corner of the stall for five minutes, her eyes shut, her mouth gurgling and screaming, the men chuckling maniacally, the water continuing to slam into her bare skin.
And then, suddenly, it stopped.
Erin inhaled and exhaled loudly. She coughed. She slumped forward and fell onto her hands, letting her thoroughly besotted hair drip along the sides of her face. She heard the sound of water running down the drain.
The men continued to snicker. "Feeling refreshed?" one of them asked.
Her clothes lay next to her in waterlogged heaps. Her skin shined beet red from the hose's onslaught. Her makeup was smeared and her confidence was completely shaken. She felt cold, wet, alone, scared, and ashamed.
"Now that you're clean, we gotta get you ready for the big match," one of the men said.
"Yeah," the other said. "The boss wants you looking your absolute best... For your defeat."
"We'll be filming the whole thing."
"So take this. Dry off. Let's go."
Erin looked up. A towel was floating her way. She lifted a hand to catch it, and missed.
On to Chapter Six
June 19th, 7:25 AM
"Eat up, Blue Lynx," Sunny commanded. "Come on. Take a bite."
Erin stared at the spoon with bloodshot eyes. There was some kind of mush heaped on top of it that looked objectively unappealing, mush that was almost certainly laced with one of Sunny's drugs. She knew she shouldn't eat it, and yet, she was so, so hungry. Her stomach had been growling for the last ten hours. She needed sustenance, she didn't care what it was...
"No," Erin said, shaking her head. "I won't."
She couldn't do it. Not this way. Not strapped into a high-chair, manacled with straps, with Sunny dancing around in front of her like Erin was a big baby.
"Awww... What's the matter, Baby Blue?" Sunny asked. "You feeling camera shy, again?"
Erin involuntarily flashed her eyes at the henchman carrying the phone, who snapped a picture of the moment. It was either he, his henchman pal, or Sunny who had been tracking her every move since Sunny had first laid out her plans. They were creating a photo record of Erin's humiliation; a scene-by-scene account of how the Blue Lynx was defeated; yours for the right price. They had staged this shot, with the kitchen table, high-chair, and Sunny spooning mush, just as they'd staged others: Erin tied hand and foot to some "train tracks," Erin being cocooned by a thug dressed as a giant spider, Erin trussed up like Houdini on the verge of being dunked in a tank. Though each of those situations was truly embarrassing, none of them was actually dangerous. What seemed more threatening to Erin-- and even more humiliating-- were Sunny's "candid" shots: Erin getting dressed, Erin passed out, Erin being carted from one place to another, Erin completely nude. These were the images that dramatically undermined Erin's superheroine mission. There were the images she desperately, helplessly hoped she could keep from the public.
They had changed her into a variety of costumes, posing her like a 3D model, taking full advantage of the drugs that still coursed through Erin's bloodstream. She was in her Blue Lynx costume now-- minus her utility belt, gloves, and boots-- which made her simultaneously feel stronger and more ashamed. Could she even call herself a superheroine after this treatment?
"You're in a daze, again," Sunny said. "Snap out of it, Blue Lynx." She snapped her fingers in front of Erin's nose. "Eat this. Fucking take the spoon."
Erin glared at Sunny. "I'd rather starve than eat your cooking."
Sunny shook her head and sighed. Without warning, she shot her free hand behind Erin's head and gripped her captive by the hair.
"You don't have a fucking say in the matter," Sunny said, pulling Erin's head back, forcing her mouth open with sheer pain. "Eat it!" Sunny shoved the spoon into Erin's lips. She then removed the spoon and held Erin's mouth shut with her fingers, staring her foe down until Erin swallowed.
Sunny sat back in her chair, letting the spoon clatter on the table. "Phew," she said. "That was a tough one."
Erin hacked. The mush tasted awful from the beginning and was only getting worse. It seemed to coat her insides, like grease, and she could already feel a burning in her stomach.
"What... did you just...?" she coughed.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Blue Lynx," Sunny said. "It's just a little formula designed to get some of your strength back. We need you in fighting shape for the next shoot."
"Fighting... shape?"
Sunny nodded and smiled. "I think we've generated enough photo content for a while. It's time to produce some more... Dynamic fare."
Erin grimaced. The taste of Sunny's food still lingered in her mouth. But somehow, she also felt more lucid. Her vision had cleared, and she sensed a tension in her muscles that she hadn't noticed in days. It was a like there was a battle raging within her between Sunny's tranquilizers and this gross new stimulant.
"It's going to take an hour for it to really kick in," Sunny said. "We better clean you up in the meantime." She pointed at the henchman, who pocketed the phone and walked over to Erin. As he fiddled with the knots securing her to high-chair, Sunny picked up a walkie talkie. "I need one more in here," she ordered.
Erin had already been in this situation several times: watching a guard untie her, but being too exhausted to try to escape. And yet, as the thug pulled her out of the chair and set her on her boots, she felt an odd sensation-- she could support herself. For the first time in days, walking seemed like a physical possibility. Did Sunny know how potent her drug was? She had been so careful to not give the Blue Lynx a single inch, but now, Erin's arms and legs were untied. There was just a few bursts of energy separating her from making a break for it...
"I know what you're thinking," Sunny said. "But I wouldn't get too excited, Blue Lynx. Take her to the showers."
The guard clamped his hands on Erin's shoulders and spun her around. Once again, her weakness was obvious to her and everyone else, as the guard half-carried, half-dragged her with a minimum of effort through the door, into the hallway, and then into another door.
"Bastard," Erin muttered.
"Shut up," the guard replied. He pulled her across wet, white tiles and finally threw her on the floor. She hit the ground, made a small sound of pain, and slowly rolled over, looking up and around. She was in a stall of some kind; there was a drain on the floor to her left. The room had a smell that was simultaneously fresh and harsh, the result of heavy disinfectant. A second henchman had joined the first. They were both watching her from outside of the doorless stall, standing next to a counter pocketed with metal sinks.
"Get up," the new henchman barked.
Erin rolled her eyes as she got to her knees, and then slowly clambered to her feet. She kept her hand on the wall to steady herself.
"Now, strip," the first thug said.
Erin took a deep breath. Was any of these guys not a total pervert?
"No," she said, staring the henchman down.
"You'll strip now," the first thug replied. "Unless you want us to do it."
Erin glared at the henchmen. They were both grinning at her like warped teenage boys, their eyes hungrily taking her in entire body. She didn't want them touching her any more than they already had-- they might not be able to stop.
"Fine," she sighed, pushing the spandex off of her shoulders. She shimmied the costume down her body, peeling the tight, sweaty fabric off her arms and torso, and finally stepping out of its leg-holes clumsily. She kicked the blue wad aside, leaving her standing in just a black bra and thong. She crossed her arms and frowned at the men. "There," she said. "Happy?"
"Now take off your bra and panties," the second thug ordered.
Erin's face flushed red with both embarrassment and fury. Her instinct was to yell something-- to call them the sick douchebags that they were-- but she knew there was no point in protesting. She still didn't have the strength to fight back. There was therefore just two horrible choices: obey them, or disobey and feel their grubby, perverted hands.
Erin turned around so that her back faced the men and reached a hand behind her back. She unclipped her bra and tossed it to the floor with as little fanfare as she could muster. As soon as it left her body, the men started to whistle and cheer.
"Hell yeah!" one of them cried out. "Now do the undies... Nice and slow..."
Erin flicked her head around to sneer at them, which only inspired more laughter. It was like each hour in Sunny's captivity exponentially deteriorated her situation. But what could she do? Her priorities now were staying alive and somehow finding a way to prevent Sunny from publicizing her secret identity. Erin supposed she could deal with anything if it meant saving her life and her superheroine career. But this... This was just...
"Don't make us come over there, Blue Lynx!" one of the men growled.
"Ugh!" Erin groaned, laying one arm across her breasts and slipping the thumb of her free hand underneath the waistband of her thong. "You're both disgusting tools!" She bent over, trying her best not to expose her chest, and nudged her panties off of her shaking hips. She pushed them down the length of her thighs, increasing the men's hooting and hollering. Once the thong got past her knees, it dropped to the floor, and as Erin punted the black fabric aside, the men's screams came to an unbelievably irritating climax. She gritted her teeth as she moved her hand to cover her pubic region.
"My God!" a thug said. "What an ass! A super-ass!"
"You've got to kick a lot of ass to get an ass like that," the other replied.
"I still don't think we're getting the best view, though."
"Me neither. An ass is great, but..."
"Turn around!"
Erin heard the instruction and hesitated. She knew that this had been coming, and she knew she didn't have a choice. But none of that knowledge made the ordeal any less degrading.
"Did you hear me, Blue Lynx? I said turn the FUCK around!"
Erin did what she was told. She rotated a patient, deliberate 180 degrees, keeping her hands and arms in their strategic positions. She looked at the men's faces and immediately looked somewhere else-- she couldn't bear to see their horny, ecstatic leers.
"My God," the thug repeated. "Would ya look at that."
"She is... just... perfect," the second one said.
Erin felt like her whole body was turning red. She had become the equivalent of a celebrity centerfold-- an engine for lascivious male desire. She shivered inside their gaze. Did Batgirl ever have to deal with this?
"I still don't think she recognizes us," one of them said.
"No, of course she doesn't," the second replied. "Even after all we've been through."
Erin flashed her eyes in the thugs' direction. Were they the same two that had menaced her that first time back in the cell? She really couldn't tell. They all looked the same, to her.
"Well maybe we'll give her something else to remember us by."
"Yeah. It's shower time, Blue Lynx."
Erin faced them to see that one was now holding a long gray hose. Before she had a chance to think about what this meant, a jet of water blasted out of its tip and struck her in the upper body. The stream was strong enough to knock her off her feet, sending her to the floor butt-first. She tried to get back up, but the water kept hitting her, eventually forcing her to move her hands to her face. She pushed aside the torrent, coughing, until the stream moved down her exposed body and targeted her crotch. The water splashed between Erin's legs, making her whinny, compelling her to move her hands again. But as soon as her hands were in one place, the stream was in other: soaking her breasts, hair, abdomen, face, lap. She was pinned down in the corner of the stall for five minutes, her eyes shut, her mouth gurgling and screaming, the men chuckling maniacally, the water continuing to slam into her bare skin.
And then, suddenly, it stopped.
Erin inhaled and exhaled loudly. She coughed. She slumped forward and fell onto her hands, letting her thoroughly besotted hair drip along the sides of her face. She heard the sound of water running down the drain.
The men continued to snicker. "Feeling refreshed?" one of them asked.
Her clothes lay next to her in waterlogged heaps. Her skin shined beet red from the hose's onslaught. Her makeup was smeared and her confidence was completely shaken. She felt cold, wet, alone, scared, and ashamed.
"Now that you're clean, we gotta get you ready for the big match," one of the men said.
"Yeah," the other said. "The boss wants you looking your absolute best... For your defeat."
"We'll be filming the whole thing."
"So take this. Dry off. Let's go."
Erin looked up. A towel was floating her way. She lifted a hand to catch it, and missed.
On to Chapter Six
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Six
Chapter Six
June 19th, 9:12 AM
They told Erin to get dressed, so she did. They told her to put on makeup, and she had. They told her to stay still, and she obeyed them, and they clamped cuffs around her wrists and a collar around her neck. They pulled her by a chain attached to the collar, and she followed. They dragged her into a room, flicked on the lights, and Erin saw a boxing ring. They forced her into the ring, still holding her by the chain, and she waited.
She looked around. Like every other room in Sunny's complex, this one was spare, white-walled, and almost completely silent. The boxing ring was its the only interesting feature, and a big clue as to what these goons wanted Erin to do next.
"So be it," Erin thought. She was tired of being shackled up, force-fed, spanked, whipped, and otherwise defenseless. She knew the fight wouldn't be fair, that Sunny would find some way to tip the scales in favor of the Blue Lynx's foe. She didn't care. The opportunity to hit something, someone, anything, would be a satisfaction that Erin hadn't known for days. They'd allowed her to wear her complete Blue Lynx costume for the bout-- well, aside from her belt, of course (Erin knew there was no way they'd let her have that back)-- and just looking down at herself gave her a surge of superheroine confidence. She was going to make them pay. They were making a huge mistake.
"We placing bets?" one of the henchmen asked the other.
"On what?"
"How quickly the Blue Lynx goes down."
Erin turned her head around and scowled at the men, who both laughed.
"Yeah," the second henchman said. "I'm thinking she's done in... two minutes."
"Wow. Two minutes? Jesus. I was thinking more like thirty seconds. She just hasn't seemed so tough without her little secret identity."
Erin shook her head. "How about you guys unchain me now and take me on yourselves? If you're feeling so manly."
The thug pulled the chain, yanking Erin off of her feet. She collided with the thug's chest and bounced back, barely keeping upright. The thug placed his fingers under Erin's chin and hoisted it up, forcing her to look into his dark eyes.
"There is honestly nothing I'd like more," the henchman said. "I'd throw you all over this ring, Blue Lynx. And then I'd pull off that stupid little mask and crumple it up before your eyes. I would have you beg me for mercy. And just as you surrender, I'd tear off your clothes, and then the real match would begin."
Erin pulled her head away from the henchman's fingers. "Ugh," she said. "So do it, you coward."
"Maybe I will..."
Just as the thug was bending down, the door slammed open. Sunny came in, her expression as vibrant as her namesake. She looked at the trio standing in the ring, smiled, and raised her open palms into the air.
"Alright!" she said. "Let's do this!"
She snapped her fingers. Two more thugs marched into the room, one of them also holding a chain. The chain was connected to a collar that was fastened around a prisoner's neck. The prisoner was a tall man in a golden spandex outfit.
"Oh God," Erin thought.
"Recognize your first opponent, Blue Lynx?" Sunny said. She snapped her fingers again, and the thugs led the Spaniel up and into the boxing ring. "He's gone through a few changes since you last saw him."
Erin tried to meet his gaze, but the Spaniel refused to look at her. He didn't seem to be looking at anything at all, in fact-- just staring ahead, intensely, like a guard dog, his posture upright, his jaw rigid. Though there wasn't any major change in his appearance, something about him felt... Different. "A few changes?" What was Sunny talking about?
"What have you done to him?" Erin asked.
"Oh, nothing much," Sunny grinned. "A couple of injections here and there, a bit of brainwashing. You know. The usual stuff."
"Hey! Spaniel!" Erin cried. "Snap out of it!"
Sunny laughed. "He doesn't go by that name anymore, Blue Lynx. He's been re-christened. His name is Fido now. Right, Fido?"
The Spaniel craned his neck at Sunny. He stared at her in silence, and then gave her a small nod.
"Besides," Sunny continued. "He has no idea who you are. His memories of the Blue Lynx have effectively been wiped clean."
Erin blinked. "What?" She looked at the Spaniel, who was finally returning her gaze. He looked at her blankly, like he was examining a photograph of a missing girl. There was nothing there.
Erin's mind raced in two opposite directions. On one hand, this was an incredibly disturbing thing to see: in a matter of days, Sunny had turned a superhero into a zombie. Was he on drugs? Had he been hypnotized? Erin couldn't determine the cause, but the effect seemed real, and dangerous. Yet, on the other hand, a Spaniel without memories was a Spaniel who no longer knew the Blue Lynx's secret identity. In a flash, one of Erin's problems had been swept off the table. Or so she hoped.
"It's time to create some content!" Sunny announced. "Boys, unchain our two warriors and get out of the ring. I need several of you filming this."
The thugs uncuffed Erin. "Good luck," one of them sneered under his breath as he removed the collar from her neck.
Erin caressed her wrists. "Thanks," she said. "Though I think you're the one who's gonna need it."
The four thugs climbed through the ropes and settled onto the floor, leaving the Blue Lynx and the Spaniel alone in the ring. She looked at him pensively, anxiously; he looked at her with seemingly no emotion at all. Would they really be fighting each other, again?
"Ladies and gentlemen," Sunny said, looking into one of henchmen's phones. "You see before you the city's two greatest superheroes. One of them you might know as 'The Spaniel,' though he goes by 'Fido' now. They other, of course, is the mysterious and alluring Blue Lynx."
Erin took a deep breath. She hadn't quite figured out what Sunny was trying to do with all of this "content." But the fact that she was speaking "to" an audience was unnerving. Were people actually paying to watch the Blue Lynx imperiled, again and again?
"For months, these two vigilantes have had a rivalry going. Which one of them is the city's strongest, most agile, and overall most capable superhero? Today, we're going to find out. We're going to pit them against each other in hand-to-hand combat. May the best hero win."
Once again, Erin tried to get a read on the Spaniel. If they had "trained" him to respond to a new name-- if they'd "wiped clean" his previous life-- was he entirely under their control?
"I want everyone watching this to know that the Spaniel is not my enemy," Erin shouted. "Sunny is forcing him to fight me. She's the real danger to the city, and--"
"Enough talk!" Sunny yelled. "Fido! Get her!"
Erin had barely enough time to get her fists up before the Spaniel charged. He flung a heavy punch at her head, which Erin ducked. She tried to move around him but was blocked by a knee, which Erin pushed away from her stomach at the last moment. Now she attacked, bringing her hand up across the side of the Spaniel's head, knocking his body to the side. Erin rushed at him, striking him in the abdomen with three rapid jabs. He stumbled forward, and Erin spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to his chin, which sent him off of his feet and to the mat.
Erin took deep breaths as she watched the Spaniel struggle back to his feet. She was beating him. She could beat him. She just had to keep this up.
"Come on, Fido!" Sunny screamed. "Get the kitty cat! Get her!"
Once again, the Spaniel ran at her. He feigned a kick, forcing Erin off balance, and then brought his thick arms down on her, ensnaring her in a bearhug. Erin yelped as the Spaniel lifted her off her feet, continuing to tighten his hold on her lower back. She beat her wrists against his chest, but her arms were too squished against him to do much damage. Panicking, Erin thrust her head forward, connecting with the Spaniel's face. He cried out, dropped Erin, fell back. Erin zipped toward him and sunk her elbow into his stomach. He doubled over, and again, Erin wound up a roundhouse kick, which again proved effective. Twice in two minutes, she had taken the Spaniel down.
"I don't want to do this, Spaniel," Erin said, bending down toward her struggling foe. "But you leave me no choice."
"Fido!" Sunny screamed. She snapped her fingers twice. "The next level! Now!"
Suddenly, the Spaniel's hand shot out and snatched Erin by the boot. He wrenched it back and Erin flew off her feet, banging her back against the floor. Stunned, wincing, she tried to roll over, but the Spaniel wouldn't let her go. He was now standing, holding her by the ankle and dragging her across the mat.
"Dammit, Brian!" Erin said. "Let me go!"
The Spaniel's eyes flashed, but before he or Erin could make something out of a possibly rediscovered memory, she was in the air, her arms and legs flailing wildly. He had picked her up by the boot and was was dangling her in front of him. He giggled quietly as Erin bounced around.
Sunny clapped from the sidelines. "That's it!" she cried. "That's what our subscribers want to see!"
Erin flung her fists at the Spaniel's legs, but her awkward situation made it impossible to generate any force. So she drove her fist into the Spaniel's groin. Instantly, he released her, and both of them fell to the floor in respective, painful heaps. Jeers came from outside the ring as Erin clambered to her knees. "Oh, shut up," she muttered, watching the Spaniel digging into his crotch. She wasn't exactly proud of her tactics, either, but she also wasn't exactly in the middle of a fair fight. Which was why she had no second thoughts about running up to the Spaniel and striking him in his perfectly defenseless cheek.
The Spaniel toppled over, hands frantically moving from his face to his lower body. Now Erin was really winning, and she decided to keep piling on. She kicked him in the chest and stomach, savoring each blow, remembering all of the times when the Spaniel had gladly, mercilessly humiliated her.
"Come on!" she shouted, still thumping him with her hard toes. "Get up, Brian! Show me what you got!"
The Spaniel turned his head, gave Erin a broad smile, and winked.
"What the...?"
In a second, he was up, and on her. He was first deflecting her attacks and then quickly creating his own, countering her punches and kicks with even harder blows, gradually beating her back. Erin held up her wrists against the onslaught but the Spaniel was rapidly breaking down her defenses, sneaking jabs into her abdomen, whacking her against her sides, even getting a cheap shot in on her boob. Pain was starting to get to her, and soon her efforts were put toward gripping parts of her body, allowing the Spaniel to get even more hits in. She cried out and dropped to one knee, and the Spaniel immediately took the bait, knocking her across the chin with an uppercut. Erin soared backward, smashing against the floor with her upper back.
She could feel numbness overtaking her. Her muscles felt slack, and she was in no hurry to get up. She was flat on her back, her arms and legs spreadeagled, her eyes closed, her breathing unsteady.
"What... happened?" she thought.
She had been doing so well... And then... Like a bolt of lightning...
She felt thick fingers slipping down into her cleavage. The hand twisted the fabric of her spandex V-neck and pulled, taking Erin with her. She could feel her body hanging in the air, swinging in the clutches of her own superheroine outfit, as the Spaniel gripped her.
"Oh, that's good!" Sunny yelled. "Boys, you getting this?"
Erin opened her eyes. The Spaniel was staring at her with more curiosity than anger or perverse satisfaction. At the moment, he was beating her, badly, but he didn't seem to care. He was just a tool for Sunny's vile purposes, now.
"Brian..." Erin whispered, through pained gasps. "You... must... fight... this..."
"Fido!" Sunny called out. "Unmask her! For the camera!"
Erin instinctively tried to squirm away, but it was no use: with a flick of his wrist, the Spaniel brought her up and into his grasp. He held one arm tightly around her upper body, bracing his legs against hers, and let his other hand float freely in front of her face. Erin put every last ounce of her energy into breaking free, but she was much too exhausted to even budge the Spaniel's wrist. She felt small and pitiful in his clutches, and she looked that way, too, through the henchmen's cameras.
"Brian..." Erin moaned. "Please... don't... We're on the same side... Don't take off... my mask..."
"Now!" Sunny barked.
The Spaniel dropped his hand onto Erin's face and, with little interest in prolonging the effect, dug his fingers into the eyeholes of the Blue Lynx's mask. He gave it a single, assertive tug, and suddenly, Erin's face was bare.
"Augh!" Erin said, still unable to register her protest with any kind of physical force. "No!"
"Perfect!" Sunny said. The henchmen were both giving her the thumbs-up. "That will be a nice gift for our more dedicated customers!"
Looking out at Sunny and the thugs, all three of the gloating, and utterly helpless in the Spaniel's muscular grip, Erin felt a surge of despair. She dropped her head so that no one would see the tears she was desperately trying to fight back. They were making a mockery of her. She had lost all of her strength, but even worse, she had lost her power. They weren't scared of the Blue Lynx, anymore, or threatened by her any way. She existed only for their amusement.
"Fido!" Sunny yelled. "Put her out of her misery!"
Without hesitation, the Spaniel squeezed his arm around Erin's neck, crushing the air out of her windpipe. Erin put up her hands to fight back, but for the last time this fight, it was futile. She felt her grip on reality slowly slipping away, and then she watched as the floor came at her, nearer and nearer, until she fell unconscious.
On to Chapter Seven
June 19th, 9:12 AM
They told Erin to get dressed, so she did. They told her to put on makeup, and she had. They told her to stay still, and she obeyed them, and they clamped cuffs around her wrists and a collar around her neck. They pulled her by a chain attached to the collar, and she followed. They dragged her into a room, flicked on the lights, and Erin saw a boxing ring. They forced her into the ring, still holding her by the chain, and she waited.
She looked around. Like every other room in Sunny's complex, this one was spare, white-walled, and almost completely silent. The boxing ring was its the only interesting feature, and a big clue as to what these goons wanted Erin to do next.
"So be it," Erin thought. She was tired of being shackled up, force-fed, spanked, whipped, and otherwise defenseless. She knew the fight wouldn't be fair, that Sunny would find some way to tip the scales in favor of the Blue Lynx's foe. She didn't care. The opportunity to hit something, someone, anything, would be a satisfaction that Erin hadn't known for days. They'd allowed her to wear her complete Blue Lynx costume for the bout-- well, aside from her belt, of course (Erin knew there was no way they'd let her have that back)-- and just looking down at herself gave her a surge of superheroine confidence. She was going to make them pay. They were making a huge mistake.
"We placing bets?" one of the henchmen asked the other.
"On what?"
"How quickly the Blue Lynx goes down."
Erin turned her head around and scowled at the men, who both laughed.
"Yeah," the second henchman said. "I'm thinking she's done in... two minutes."
"Wow. Two minutes? Jesus. I was thinking more like thirty seconds. She just hasn't seemed so tough without her little secret identity."
Erin shook her head. "How about you guys unchain me now and take me on yourselves? If you're feeling so manly."
The thug pulled the chain, yanking Erin off of her feet. She collided with the thug's chest and bounced back, barely keeping upright. The thug placed his fingers under Erin's chin and hoisted it up, forcing her to look into his dark eyes.
"There is honestly nothing I'd like more," the henchman said. "I'd throw you all over this ring, Blue Lynx. And then I'd pull off that stupid little mask and crumple it up before your eyes. I would have you beg me for mercy. And just as you surrender, I'd tear off your clothes, and then the real match would begin."
Erin pulled her head away from the henchman's fingers. "Ugh," she said. "So do it, you coward."
"Maybe I will..."
Just as the thug was bending down, the door slammed open. Sunny came in, her expression as vibrant as her namesake. She looked at the trio standing in the ring, smiled, and raised her open palms into the air.
"Alright!" she said. "Let's do this!"
She snapped her fingers. Two more thugs marched into the room, one of them also holding a chain. The chain was connected to a collar that was fastened around a prisoner's neck. The prisoner was a tall man in a golden spandex outfit.
"Oh God," Erin thought.
"Recognize your first opponent, Blue Lynx?" Sunny said. She snapped her fingers again, and the thugs led the Spaniel up and into the boxing ring. "He's gone through a few changes since you last saw him."
Erin tried to meet his gaze, but the Spaniel refused to look at her. He didn't seem to be looking at anything at all, in fact-- just staring ahead, intensely, like a guard dog, his posture upright, his jaw rigid. Though there wasn't any major change in his appearance, something about him felt... Different. "A few changes?" What was Sunny talking about?
"What have you done to him?" Erin asked.
"Oh, nothing much," Sunny grinned. "A couple of injections here and there, a bit of brainwashing. You know. The usual stuff."
"Hey! Spaniel!" Erin cried. "Snap out of it!"
Sunny laughed. "He doesn't go by that name anymore, Blue Lynx. He's been re-christened. His name is Fido now. Right, Fido?"
The Spaniel craned his neck at Sunny. He stared at her in silence, and then gave her a small nod.
"Besides," Sunny continued. "He has no idea who you are. His memories of the Blue Lynx have effectively been wiped clean."
Erin blinked. "What?" She looked at the Spaniel, who was finally returning her gaze. He looked at her blankly, like he was examining a photograph of a missing girl. There was nothing there.
Erin's mind raced in two opposite directions. On one hand, this was an incredibly disturbing thing to see: in a matter of days, Sunny had turned a superhero into a zombie. Was he on drugs? Had he been hypnotized? Erin couldn't determine the cause, but the effect seemed real, and dangerous. Yet, on the other hand, a Spaniel without memories was a Spaniel who no longer knew the Blue Lynx's secret identity. In a flash, one of Erin's problems had been swept off the table. Or so she hoped.
"It's time to create some content!" Sunny announced. "Boys, unchain our two warriors and get out of the ring. I need several of you filming this."
The thugs uncuffed Erin. "Good luck," one of them sneered under his breath as he removed the collar from her neck.
Erin caressed her wrists. "Thanks," she said. "Though I think you're the one who's gonna need it."
The four thugs climbed through the ropes and settled onto the floor, leaving the Blue Lynx and the Spaniel alone in the ring. She looked at him pensively, anxiously; he looked at her with seemingly no emotion at all. Would they really be fighting each other, again?
"Ladies and gentlemen," Sunny said, looking into one of henchmen's phones. "You see before you the city's two greatest superheroes. One of them you might know as 'The Spaniel,' though he goes by 'Fido' now. They other, of course, is the mysterious and alluring Blue Lynx."
Erin took a deep breath. She hadn't quite figured out what Sunny was trying to do with all of this "content." But the fact that she was speaking "to" an audience was unnerving. Were people actually paying to watch the Blue Lynx imperiled, again and again?
"For months, these two vigilantes have had a rivalry going. Which one of them is the city's strongest, most agile, and overall most capable superhero? Today, we're going to find out. We're going to pit them against each other in hand-to-hand combat. May the best hero win."
Once again, Erin tried to get a read on the Spaniel. If they had "trained" him to respond to a new name-- if they'd "wiped clean" his previous life-- was he entirely under their control?
"I want everyone watching this to know that the Spaniel is not my enemy," Erin shouted. "Sunny is forcing him to fight me. She's the real danger to the city, and--"
"Enough talk!" Sunny yelled. "Fido! Get her!"
Erin had barely enough time to get her fists up before the Spaniel charged. He flung a heavy punch at her head, which Erin ducked. She tried to move around him but was blocked by a knee, which Erin pushed away from her stomach at the last moment. Now she attacked, bringing her hand up across the side of the Spaniel's head, knocking his body to the side. Erin rushed at him, striking him in the abdomen with three rapid jabs. He stumbled forward, and Erin spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to his chin, which sent him off of his feet and to the mat.
Erin took deep breaths as she watched the Spaniel struggle back to his feet. She was beating him. She could beat him. She just had to keep this up.
"Come on, Fido!" Sunny screamed. "Get the kitty cat! Get her!"
Once again, the Spaniel ran at her. He feigned a kick, forcing Erin off balance, and then brought his thick arms down on her, ensnaring her in a bearhug. Erin yelped as the Spaniel lifted her off her feet, continuing to tighten his hold on her lower back. She beat her wrists against his chest, but her arms were too squished against him to do much damage. Panicking, Erin thrust her head forward, connecting with the Spaniel's face. He cried out, dropped Erin, fell back. Erin zipped toward him and sunk her elbow into his stomach. He doubled over, and again, Erin wound up a roundhouse kick, which again proved effective. Twice in two minutes, she had taken the Spaniel down.
"I don't want to do this, Spaniel," Erin said, bending down toward her struggling foe. "But you leave me no choice."
"Fido!" Sunny screamed. She snapped her fingers twice. "The next level! Now!"
Suddenly, the Spaniel's hand shot out and snatched Erin by the boot. He wrenched it back and Erin flew off her feet, banging her back against the floor. Stunned, wincing, she tried to roll over, but the Spaniel wouldn't let her go. He was now standing, holding her by the ankle and dragging her across the mat.
"Dammit, Brian!" Erin said. "Let me go!"
The Spaniel's eyes flashed, but before he or Erin could make something out of a possibly rediscovered memory, she was in the air, her arms and legs flailing wildly. He had picked her up by the boot and was was dangling her in front of him. He giggled quietly as Erin bounced around.
Sunny clapped from the sidelines. "That's it!" she cried. "That's what our subscribers want to see!"
Erin flung her fists at the Spaniel's legs, but her awkward situation made it impossible to generate any force. So she drove her fist into the Spaniel's groin. Instantly, he released her, and both of them fell to the floor in respective, painful heaps. Jeers came from outside the ring as Erin clambered to her knees. "Oh, shut up," she muttered, watching the Spaniel digging into his crotch. She wasn't exactly proud of her tactics, either, but she also wasn't exactly in the middle of a fair fight. Which was why she had no second thoughts about running up to the Spaniel and striking him in his perfectly defenseless cheek.
The Spaniel toppled over, hands frantically moving from his face to his lower body. Now Erin was really winning, and she decided to keep piling on. She kicked him in the chest and stomach, savoring each blow, remembering all of the times when the Spaniel had gladly, mercilessly humiliated her.
"Come on!" she shouted, still thumping him with her hard toes. "Get up, Brian! Show me what you got!"
The Spaniel turned his head, gave Erin a broad smile, and winked.
"What the...?"
In a second, he was up, and on her. He was first deflecting her attacks and then quickly creating his own, countering her punches and kicks with even harder blows, gradually beating her back. Erin held up her wrists against the onslaught but the Spaniel was rapidly breaking down her defenses, sneaking jabs into her abdomen, whacking her against her sides, even getting a cheap shot in on her boob. Pain was starting to get to her, and soon her efforts were put toward gripping parts of her body, allowing the Spaniel to get even more hits in. She cried out and dropped to one knee, and the Spaniel immediately took the bait, knocking her across the chin with an uppercut. Erin soared backward, smashing against the floor with her upper back.
She could feel numbness overtaking her. Her muscles felt slack, and she was in no hurry to get up. She was flat on her back, her arms and legs spreadeagled, her eyes closed, her breathing unsteady.
"What... happened?" she thought.
She had been doing so well... And then... Like a bolt of lightning...
She felt thick fingers slipping down into her cleavage. The hand twisted the fabric of her spandex V-neck and pulled, taking Erin with her. She could feel her body hanging in the air, swinging in the clutches of her own superheroine outfit, as the Spaniel gripped her.
"Oh, that's good!" Sunny yelled. "Boys, you getting this?"
Erin opened her eyes. The Spaniel was staring at her with more curiosity than anger or perverse satisfaction. At the moment, he was beating her, badly, but he didn't seem to care. He was just a tool for Sunny's vile purposes, now.
"Brian..." Erin whispered, through pained gasps. "You... must... fight... this..."
"Fido!" Sunny called out. "Unmask her! For the camera!"
Erin instinctively tried to squirm away, but it was no use: with a flick of his wrist, the Spaniel brought her up and into his grasp. He held one arm tightly around her upper body, bracing his legs against hers, and let his other hand float freely in front of her face. Erin put every last ounce of her energy into breaking free, but she was much too exhausted to even budge the Spaniel's wrist. She felt small and pitiful in his clutches, and she looked that way, too, through the henchmen's cameras.
"Brian..." Erin moaned. "Please... don't... We're on the same side... Don't take off... my mask..."
"Now!" Sunny barked.
The Spaniel dropped his hand onto Erin's face and, with little interest in prolonging the effect, dug his fingers into the eyeholes of the Blue Lynx's mask. He gave it a single, assertive tug, and suddenly, Erin's face was bare.
"Augh!" Erin said, still unable to register her protest with any kind of physical force. "No!"
"Perfect!" Sunny said. The henchmen were both giving her the thumbs-up. "That will be a nice gift for our more dedicated customers!"
Looking out at Sunny and the thugs, all three of the gloating, and utterly helpless in the Spaniel's muscular grip, Erin felt a surge of despair. She dropped her head so that no one would see the tears she was desperately trying to fight back. They were making a mockery of her. She had lost all of her strength, but even worse, she had lost her power. They weren't scared of the Blue Lynx, anymore, or threatened by her any way. She existed only for their amusement.
"Fido!" Sunny yelled. "Put her out of her misery!"
Without hesitation, the Spaniel squeezed his arm around Erin's neck, crushing the air out of her windpipe. Erin put up her hands to fight back, but for the last time this fight, it was futile. She felt her grip on reality slowly slipping away, and then she watched as the floor came at her, nearer and nearer, until she fell unconscious.
On to Chapter Seven
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
June 21st, 11:03 PM
Margot sat in her car on the street outside of Hammerson's mansion, her binoculars trained on the ornate building's ornate door, and waited. What she was waiting for, she didn't really know-- she had no idea if Erin was being held here, and she still didn't know the extent of Sunny's involvement with the Blue Lynx's abduction. But as long as she had a clue, she would follow it. Erin's life depended on it.
She sighed. She'd been here for hours, just like she'd been last night. She had already put on her Black Bobcat outfit, assuming she'd want to be ready as soon as possible if in fact she saw Erin, Sunny, or any other shady characters milling about. She was prepared for a fight-- she desperately wanted to avenge whatever humiliations were being performed on Erin-- but there was nothing at Hammerson's house to suggest she would be fighting, tonight. Which wasn't to say she hadn't made some kind of progress: while she was sitting tight yesterday, she found a way to hack into Sunny's Donator page. Within minutes, she had shut the website down completely. There was nothing like putting your degree to use.
But even if the Blue Lynx's public embarrassment might have been (temporarily) prevented, the Blue Lynx herself was still missing. The questions of if she should ask for help haunted Margot. As far as she knew, she was the only one aware of the fact that Erin had been kidnapped. This wasn't like last time, with the Fearsome Five and the tape they had sent to the media. The cops, the public, Erin's dad: they were all completely in the dark regarding the Blue Lynx's fate. If Margot told them what was going on, or at least gave them a sort of head start, their combined resources would making finding Erin a cinch. But Margot knew that Erin would never, ever forgive her if she compromised the Blue Lynx's identity, even in a situation as dire as this. Erin's superheroine career was her life-- the only question was, would Erin have a life to live after this most perilous predicament?
A buzzing sound. Margot's phone was vibrating. She rummaged through her purse and pulled it out.
Erin was calling.
"Oh my God," Margot whispered.
She immediately put the phone against her cheek and answered. "Hey!" she said. "Are you okay?"
"Hello Margot."
The voice was low, sinister, menacing. And definitely not Erin's.
"Who the hell is this?" Margot asked, but she already knew.
A laugh crackled through the speaker. "Me? I'm the bad bitch who beat the Blue Lynx."
"Sunny," Margot growled.
"Bingo," Sunny said. "And since we're on a first name basis, I guess I should also be calling the Blue Lynx by her real name: Erin Steele."
Margot gasped. She had hoped against hope that somehow Sunny had delayed taking off the Blue Lynx's mask. Everything she had feared was now confirmed: she knew Erin's most closely guarded secret.
"How did you get this number?" she stuttered.
"Simple: I asked for the passcode to Erin's phone. And wouldn't you know, Miss Erin gave it to me." Sunny laughed. "Me and your friend Erin have been learning a lot about each other the past couple of days. She's really opening up to me. Really... Squealing."
Margot tried to ignore these comments. She had to stay focused. She took a deep breath. "What do you want?" she finally asked.
"Simple," Sunny replied. "I want you to reverse your stupid hack, that's all. I want you to put my Donator page back online."
"I'm not doing that."
"You will do that," Sunny said. "Or I'll do something to your little friend that's far worse than taking off her mask."
Margot heard an electric hum in the background, followed by the slightly muffled sound of a young woman screaming. Erin!
"Stop!" Margot yelled. "Don't hurt her!"
"Well, it's too late for that," Sunny said. "The question now is whether or not I kill Erin Steele. And you're going to determine the answer, MAR-GO."
Margot could feel her fingers squeezing into balls. She should've known her efforts would've attracted Sunny's attention. She had probably tortured Erin for hours, trying to get Margot's name and Erin's phone password. And now, Margot had to make an impossible choice... A choice with only one realistic option.
"Okay, okay," Margot muttered. "You win, Sunny. I'll put the page back online."
"You better," Sunny said. "If I'm not able to satisfy my paying customers by tomorrow evening, I'll put an end to the whole show. Permanently."
Margot sniffled. "You... bitch."
"I know," Sunny laughed. "Good night, Margot."
She hung up.
Margot threw the phone on the floor and slammed her hands into the steering wheel. "Damn it!" she screamed. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
The audacity of that... that... woman. Hammerson was awful, but at least he had a motive, a reason for his evil. Sunny seemed to only want to hurt Erin, to demean the Blue Lynx. To call her on Erin's phone... To use the Blue Lynx's own tools for her nefarious bidding... To...
Margot blinked. The tracker!
She scooped up her phone. Erin's phone was still on. Her location could be mapped!
Margot pressed a button, and a red dot appeared on her screen. The dot was not in front of her-- not in Hammerson's mansion-- but across town.
Margot wrote down the coordinates. She couldn't count on the phone being awake for long. But as long as Erin and Sunny stayed put...
"You're gonna pay, bitch," Margot said. "You should never called the Black Bobcat."
On to Chapter Eight
June 21st, 11:03 PM
Margot sat in her car on the street outside of Hammerson's mansion, her binoculars trained on the ornate building's ornate door, and waited. What she was waiting for, she didn't really know-- she had no idea if Erin was being held here, and she still didn't know the extent of Sunny's involvement with the Blue Lynx's abduction. But as long as she had a clue, she would follow it. Erin's life depended on it.
She sighed. She'd been here for hours, just like she'd been last night. She had already put on her Black Bobcat outfit, assuming she'd want to be ready as soon as possible if in fact she saw Erin, Sunny, or any other shady characters milling about. She was prepared for a fight-- she desperately wanted to avenge whatever humiliations were being performed on Erin-- but there was nothing at Hammerson's house to suggest she would be fighting, tonight. Which wasn't to say she hadn't made some kind of progress: while she was sitting tight yesterday, she found a way to hack into Sunny's Donator page. Within minutes, she had shut the website down completely. There was nothing like putting your degree to use.
But even if the Blue Lynx's public embarrassment might have been (temporarily) prevented, the Blue Lynx herself was still missing. The questions of if she should ask for help haunted Margot. As far as she knew, she was the only one aware of the fact that Erin had been kidnapped. This wasn't like last time, with the Fearsome Five and the tape they had sent to the media. The cops, the public, Erin's dad: they were all completely in the dark regarding the Blue Lynx's fate. If Margot told them what was going on, or at least gave them a sort of head start, their combined resources would making finding Erin a cinch. But Margot knew that Erin would never, ever forgive her if she compromised the Blue Lynx's identity, even in a situation as dire as this. Erin's superheroine career was her life-- the only question was, would Erin have a life to live after this most perilous predicament?
A buzzing sound. Margot's phone was vibrating. She rummaged through her purse and pulled it out.
Erin was calling.
"Oh my God," Margot whispered.
She immediately put the phone against her cheek and answered. "Hey!" she said. "Are you okay?"
"Hello Margot."
The voice was low, sinister, menacing. And definitely not Erin's.
"Who the hell is this?" Margot asked, but she already knew.
A laugh crackled through the speaker. "Me? I'm the bad bitch who beat the Blue Lynx."
"Sunny," Margot growled.
"Bingo," Sunny said. "And since we're on a first name basis, I guess I should also be calling the Blue Lynx by her real name: Erin Steele."
Margot gasped. She had hoped against hope that somehow Sunny had delayed taking off the Blue Lynx's mask. Everything she had feared was now confirmed: she knew Erin's most closely guarded secret.
"How did you get this number?" she stuttered.
"Simple: I asked for the passcode to Erin's phone. And wouldn't you know, Miss Erin gave it to me." Sunny laughed. "Me and your friend Erin have been learning a lot about each other the past couple of days. She's really opening up to me. Really... Squealing."
Margot tried to ignore these comments. She had to stay focused. She took a deep breath. "What do you want?" she finally asked.
"Simple," Sunny replied. "I want you to reverse your stupid hack, that's all. I want you to put my Donator page back online."
"I'm not doing that."
"You will do that," Sunny said. "Or I'll do something to your little friend that's far worse than taking off her mask."
Margot heard an electric hum in the background, followed by the slightly muffled sound of a young woman screaming. Erin!
"Stop!" Margot yelled. "Don't hurt her!"
"Well, it's too late for that," Sunny said. "The question now is whether or not I kill Erin Steele. And you're going to determine the answer, MAR-GO."
Margot could feel her fingers squeezing into balls. She should've known her efforts would've attracted Sunny's attention. She had probably tortured Erin for hours, trying to get Margot's name and Erin's phone password. And now, Margot had to make an impossible choice... A choice with only one realistic option.
"Okay, okay," Margot muttered. "You win, Sunny. I'll put the page back online."
"You better," Sunny said. "If I'm not able to satisfy my paying customers by tomorrow evening, I'll put an end to the whole show. Permanently."
Margot sniffled. "You... bitch."
"I know," Sunny laughed. "Good night, Margot."
She hung up.
Margot threw the phone on the floor and slammed her hands into the steering wheel. "Damn it!" she screamed. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
The audacity of that... that... woman. Hammerson was awful, but at least he had a motive, a reason for his evil. Sunny seemed to only want to hurt Erin, to demean the Blue Lynx. To call her on Erin's phone... To use the Blue Lynx's own tools for her nefarious bidding... To...
Margot blinked. The tracker!
She scooped up her phone. Erin's phone was still on. Her location could be mapped!
Margot pressed a button, and a red dot appeared on her screen. The dot was not in front of her-- not in Hammerson's mansion-- but across town.
Margot wrote down the coordinates. She couldn't count on the phone being awake for long. But as long as Erin and Sunny stayed put...
"You're gonna pay, bitch," Margot said. "You should never called the Black Bobcat."
On to Chapter Eight
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
June 21st, 11:15 PM
"Well, there you have it," Sunny said, with an annoying girlish giggle. "Looks like your friend Margot is going to come through for us after all."
Erin gave Sunny the most ferocious glare her compromised situation could muster. Not that she could muster much: once more she was bound across Sunny's sawhorse, her bare arms and legs roped to the table's wooden arms and legs, her speech impeded by a large red ball-gag. The thugs had garbed her in frilly pink lingerie, presumably to make her abject state that much more undignified. The outfit certainly hadn't reduced Sunny's desire to slap her upraised, vulnerable ass.
Sunny set the phone down on a desk next to Erin's other gear: her mask, her gloves and boots, her utility belt. All of her weapons were so tantalizingly close. She just needed one minute alone, one minute to get herself together, and she could break free. But after days in Sunny's captivity, the hope of escape had diminished to a small flicker. The thugs, the drugs, the bondage: they weren't giving the Blue Lynx an inch. It was like Sunny had been taking notes during their previous encounters. She wasn't going to screw this one up.
"I want to thank you again for being so forthcoming," Sunny said. "Seeing you fight to hold on to that password... Oh my God... It was almost too much to handle!"
Erin rolled her eyes. They had tried to beat her phone's code out of her, and it hadn't worked. Despite everything she'd been through, Erin stayed tough: she didn't want to get Margot involved in this, even if it meant her chances of freedom increasing. But once Sunny had injected her with the truth serum, her efforts to fight back were null. After raging against the effects of the drug for minutes, she finally broke down. The password came from her lips in halting, breathless syllables. It had made the thugs cheer. The bastards.
"I want to reward our subscribers for being so patient with us," Sunny said. "We've got about forty people who have signed up, you know? I think they deserve a special reward for their patronage."
Forty people? Erin hadn't heard Sunny give a number yet. It was probably a lie.
"So here's what's going to happen. Tomorrow: I'm going to fight you."
Erin looked up at her. This was the most intriguing thing Sunny had said in... days?
"That's right," Sunny continued. "I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm taking you on, Erin Steele, and I'm taking you down."
"Mmph mmph mmph," Erin said. She meant: fat chance.
"Sorry, I couldn't make that out," Sunny said. "You're going to have to speak up."
Erin sighed through the ball gag. Sunny smiled and picked up her walkie talkie. "Take her back to the cell," she barked.
Minutes later, two thugs burst through the door. They nodded at Sunny and began unwrapping the ropes around Erin's arms and legs. Erin didn't bother looking up, or trying to fight back: she'd been in this situation many times already, and knew there was no chance of escaping. They'd efficiently do their work, stopping only for seconds to ogle her chest or brush against her backside, and then they'd take her away, back to her cell, where once again she'd wait. And wait. And wait.
They lifted her from the table and posed her on the dolly, tying her arms behind the metal handle with the old rope. She coughed weakly as they removed the ball-gag and tossed it on the table alongside her weapons. She could smell their foul breath, hear their small chuckles, and almost taste their lust. These things were always awful: there was no getting used to them.
"Better rest up, Erin," Sunny said, as the guards pushed her out the door and into the brightly-lit hallway. "You've got another big day tomorrow."
"Yeah," one of the thugs whispered, once they were out of Sunny's range. "And an even bigger night tonight."
Erin blinked. She tried to turn around to face the man pushing the cart, but their wasn't enough give.
"What the hell does that mean?" she said.
The guards laughed together. "Come on," one of them said. "Use your imagination, Steele girl."
That was the precise thing that Erin did not want to do, at that moment.
"We've been doing this for half a week now," the other one said. "And I still don't think you remember us."
Erin shook her head. "Wait," she said, half-joking. "You guys are the same guys as before? Really?"
"We are," the thug continued. "And after tonight, you're never gonna forget it."
They arrived at the door of Erin's cell. One of the thugs punched in a keycode and pushed open the door. The other thug dragged the dolly in backward. He placed the cart and its prisoner in the middle of the room, so that Erin could see the men's faces. Truly, they looked exactly like every other henchman she'd ever encountered. Big, dumb, and ugly.
The man on her right swung the cell door shut.
"We should go back and get the costume," the left man said.
"What?" the right one replied.
"The costume. The Blue Lynx costume. This will be a lot hotter if we get her dressed up."
"You don't think she's hot enough as it is? In her little pink undies?"
"Well, she is. But she doesn't look like the Blue Lynx, you know? I want to fuck the Blue Lynx."
Erin's eyes flashed. She reflexively pulled against the ropes binding her to the dolly. The cart shook and tottered on the ground, but nothing came loose. The thugs grinned at her effort.
"Dammit man," the right one said. "You gave the game away."
"So, that's what's happening tonight? You're going to rape me?" Erin said. She kept her voice as stern as her racing heartbeat would allow. "I thought you said Sunny wouldn't like that."
"Do you think we care what she wants?" the left one said. "That bitch has been promising us things from the start. We haven't got nothing."
"It's time to take what we deserve," the right one said.
"You don't deserve me, you pathetic morons," Erin said. Her voice was beginning to crack. She knew that if they attacked her, she'd have no way of defending herself. Her body would be theirs to use, however they pleased. She gulped. She had to keep talking.
"Don't take your high school insecurities out on me," she cried.
The men were unfazed. They kept leering at her, standing just inches away from her chest, their hands at their sides. She didn't recognize their faces, but she recognized that look. They had exactly one thing in mind.
"She's just so goddamn cute when she's angry," the right one said.
"I'm gonna get the costume!" the left one said. "I just have to have her when she's the Blue Lynx."
"She already is the Blue Lynx, you idiot! It's the girl that matters, not the fucking spandex!"
"No, you're wrong. It's the girl in the spandex that counts. I'm getting it."
The left one scrambled out of the cell, slamming the door behind him. The remaining thug watched him go and then turned to once again face his captive.
"He's a real freak," he said, taking a step closer to Erin. "His fantasy is a little more complicated than mine." He placed his hand on Erin's hip, flicking at the lace-trim of her panties. Erin snorted in disgust. She tried to jiggle his fingers off, but her movement only tightened his grip.
"Don't," she whispered, looking up and into the thug's eyes. He was staring at her lower body, his face a ectastic mixture of delight and menace.
"As for me," the man said, licking his lips. "I'm more than happy to fuck you in your lingerie..."
But just as the thug's fingers had hooked around her panties, seconds before he yanked them down her thighs, the cell door burst open. The second thug flew through the entrance, screaming, his whole body about six feet off the ground, and crashed into the wall, a trail of Blue Lynx supplies-- blue spandex, mask, boots, and utility belt-- raining down after him. The first thug turned around to see the Spaniel walk in, wiping his gloves off with dramatic flourish.
Erin gasped.
"Oh shit!" the thug yelled.
The Spaniel brought his hands down on his shoulders, pinched him until he howled, and then, with one clean, fluid motion, threw him up into the ceiling. The thug collided with the hard top of the cell and fell back to the floor, banging against the cement ground. He was immediately unconscious.
"Spaniel!" Erin cried. "You! But... how?"
The Spaniel gazed at her, inspecting her from head to toe, but with none of the animal desire that had motivated the thugs.
"What's going on here?" he asked. "Who are you? What are they doing to you?"
Erin paused. He really didn't recognize her. How much had he forgotten? And how had he gotten free?
"Just untie me, first," Erin said. "And I'll try to explain."
On to Chapter Nine
June 21st, 11:15 PM
"Well, there you have it," Sunny said, with an annoying girlish giggle. "Looks like your friend Margot is going to come through for us after all."
Erin gave Sunny the most ferocious glare her compromised situation could muster. Not that she could muster much: once more she was bound across Sunny's sawhorse, her bare arms and legs roped to the table's wooden arms and legs, her speech impeded by a large red ball-gag. The thugs had garbed her in frilly pink lingerie, presumably to make her abject state that much more undignified. The outfit certainly hadn't reduced Sunny's desire to slap her upraised, vulnerable ass.
Sunny set the phone down on a desk next to Erin's other gear: her mask, her gloves and boots, her utility belt. All of her weapons were so tantalizingly close. She just needed one minute alone, one minute to get herself together, and she could break free. But after days in Sunny's captivity, the hope of escape had diminished to a small flicker. The thugs, the drugs, the bondage: they weren't giving the Blue Lynx an inch. It was like Sunny had been taking notes during their previous encounters. She wasn't going to screw this one up.
"I want to thank you again for being so forthcoming," Sunny said. "Seeing you fight to hold on to that password... Oh my God... It was almost too much to handle!"
Erin rolled her eyes. They had tried to beat her phone's code out of her, and it hadn't worked. Despite everything she'd been through, Erin stayed tough: she didn't want to get Margot involved in this, even if it meant her chances of freedom increasing. But once Sunny had injected her with the truth serum, her efforts to fight back were null. After raging against the effects of the drug for minutes, she finally broke down. The password came from her lips in halting, breathless syllables. It had made the thugs cheer. The bastards.
"I want to reward our subscribers for being so patient with us," Sunny said. "We've got about forty people who have signed up, you know? I think they deserve a special reward for their patronage."
Forty people? Erin hadn't heard Sunny give a number yet. It was probably a lie.
"So here's what's going to happen. Tomorrow: I'm going to fight you."
Erin looked up at her. This was the most intriguing thing Sunny had said in... days?
"That's right," Sunny continued. "I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I'm taking you on, Erin Steele, and I'm taking you down."
"Mmph mmph mmph," Erin said. She meant: fat chance.
"Sorry, I couldn't make that out," Sunny said. "You're going to have to speak up."
Erin sighed through the ball gag. Sunny smiled and picked up her walkie talkie. "Take her back to the cell," she barked.
Minutes later, two thugs burst through the door. They nodded at Sunny and began unwrapping the ropes around Erin's arms and legs. Erin didn't bother looking up, or trying to fight back: she'd been in this situation many times already, and knew there was no chance of escaping. They'd efficiently do their work, stopping only for seconds to ogle her chest or brush against her backside, and then they'd take her away, back to her cell, where once again she'd wait. And wait. And wait.
They lifted her from the table and posed her on the dolly, tying her arms behind the metal handle with the old rope. She coughed weakly as they removed the ball-gag and tossed it on the table alongside her weapons. She could smell their foul breath, hear their small chuckles, and almost taste their lust. These things were always awful: there was no getting used to them.
"Better rest up, Erin," Sunny said, as the guards pushed her out the door and into the brightly-lit hallway. "You've got another big day tomorrow."
"Yeah," one of the thugs whispered, once they were out of Sunny's range. "And an even bigger night tonight."
Erin blinked. She tried to turn around to face the man pushing the cart, but their wasn't enough give.
"What the hell does that mean?" she said.
The guards laughed together. "Come on," one of them said. "Use your imagination, Steele girl."
That was the precise thing that Erin did not want to do, at that moment.
"We've been doing this for half a week now," the other one said. "And I still don't think you remember us."
Erin shook her head. "Wait," she said, half-joking. "You guys are the same guys as before? Really?"
"We are," the thug continued. "And after tonight, you're never gonna forget it."
They arrived at the door of Erin's cell. One of the thugs punched in a keycode and pushed open the door. The other thug dragged the dolly in backward. He placed the cart and its prisoner in the middle of the room, so that Erin could see the men's faces. Truly, they looked exactly like every other henchman she'd ever encountered. Big, dumb, and ugly.
The man on her right swung the cell door shut.
"We should go back and get the costume," the left man said.
"What?" the right one replied.
"The costume. The Blue Lynx costume. This will be a lot hotter if we get her dressed up."
"You don't think she's hot enough as it is? In her little pink undies?"
"Well, she is. But she doesn't look like the Blue Lynx, you know? I want to fuck the Blue Lynx."
Erin's eyes flashed. She reflexively pulled against the ropes binding her to the dolly. The cart shook and tottered on the ground, but nothing came loose. The thugs grinned at her effort.
"Dammit man," the right one said. "You gave the game away."
"So, that's what's happening tonight? You're going to rape me?" Erin said. She kept her voice as stern as her racing heartbeat would allow. "I thought you said Sunny wouldn't like that."
"Do you think we care what she wants?" the left one said. "That bitch has been promising us things from the start. We haven't got nothing."
"It's time to take what we deserve," the right one said.
"You don't deserve me, you pathetic morons," Erin said. Her voice was beginning to crack. She knew that if they attacked her, she'd have no way of defending herself. Her body would be theirs to use, however they pleased. She gulped. She had to keep talking.
"Don't take your high school insecurities out on me," she cried.
The men were unfazed. They kept leering at her, standing just inches away from her chest, their hands at their sides. She didn't recognize their faces, but she recognized that look. They had exactly one thing in mind.
"She's just so goddamn cute when she's angry," the right one said.
"I'm gonna get the costume!" the left one said. "I just have to have her when she's the Blue Lynx."
"She already is the Blue Lynx, you idiot! It's the girl that matters, not the fucking spandex!"
"No, you're wrong. It's the girl in the spandex that counts. I'm getting it."
The left one scrambled out of the cell, slamming the door behind him. The remaining thug watched him go and then turned to once again face his captive.
"He's a real freak," he said, taking a step closer to Erin. "His fantasy is a little more complicated than mine." He placed his hand on Erin's hip, flicking at the lace-trim of her panties. Erin snorted in disgust. She tried to jiggle his fingers off, but her movement only tightened his grip.
"Don't," she whispered, looking up and into the thug's eyes. He was staring at her lower body, his face a ectastic mixture of delight and menace.
"As for me," the man said, licking his lips. "I'm more than happy to fuck you in your lingerie..."
But just as the thug's fingers had hooked around her panties, seconds before he yanked them down her thighs, the cell door burst open. The second thug flew through the entrance, screaming, his whole body about six feet off the ground, and crashed into the wall, a trail of Blue Lynx supplies-- blue spandex, mask, boots, and utility belt-- raining down after him. The first thug turned around to see the Spaniel walk in, wiping his gloves off with dramatic flourish.
Erin gasped.
"Oh shit!" the thug yelled.
The Spaniel brought his hands down on his shoulders, pinched him until he howled, and then, with one clean, fluid motion, threw him up into the ceiling. The thug collided with the hard top of the cell and fell back to the floor, banging against the cement ground. He was immediately unconscious.
"Spaniel!" Erin cried. "You! But... how?"
The Spaniel gazed at her, inspecting her from head to toe, but with none of the animal desire that had motivated the thugs.
"What's going on here?" he asked. "Who are you? What are they doing to you?"
Erin paused. He really didn't recognize her. How much had he forgotten? And how had he gotten free?
"Just untie me, first," Erin said. "And I'll try to explain."
On to Chapter Nine
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
June 21st, 11:50 PM
"This is just so insane. You're saying I'm... really... a superhero?"
Erin nodded.
"Wow. Amazing."
Erin nodded again. It was amazing, everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. The Spaniel had taken care of the thugs just seconds before they could really do nasty things to her. As he untied her, Erin had filled him in on the important things he had forgotten-- that he was the Spaniel, that she was the Blue Lynx, that they had both been captured by Sunny, that they had to escape. She left out all the parts about them being rivals, about him unmasking her, about how he had beaten and humiliated her. These were details that just didn't seem relevant, to Erin.
"When that man came at me in the hallway... I just knew... That he was bad. I knew I had to stop him."
"He's worse than bad," Erin said, gesturing at the thugs, both still unconscious. The Spaniel had tied them up using the ropes that had just recently bound Erin. "These people have been experimenting on you. Injecting you with drugs. They destroyed your memory and were trying to turn you into a slave. They wanted to do the same to me."
The Spaniel scratched his head. "Yeah, I remember that. That's the first thing I remember. A man putting a syringe into me. And I... broke free... attacked him. And then I went into the hallway. Found that man. And now I'm talking to you."
"Could you turn around for a second?" Erin said. "I want to get dressed."
"Oh, sure."
The Spaniel did as she asked while Erin removed her sweat-soaked bra and panties. She tossed the lingerie into the corner and gathered her Blue Lynx stuff: her mask, her bodysuit, her gloves, her boots, her belt.
"So what's your deal?" the Spaniel asked, still facing the wall. "You said you're a superhero, too?"
"Yeah," Erin said, stepping into the legholes of her outfit and pulling it up her body. "The Blue Lynx. I've been fighting crime for a couple years now."
"You're good at it?"
Erin laughed. It was an odd question. She pushed her arms through her spandex sleeves. "Yeah. I'm great at it."
"So, what were you doing in... lingerie, if I can ask?"
Erin blushed. She sat down on the cell bed and began to lace up her boots. "Well, umm, you see, it's... I mean, they captured me. And you know how men are."
"And they unmasked you? So they know your secret identity?"
"They... uh... They don't," Erin mumbled. "No. I mean, they unmasked me, but they don't know who I am. Because I'm just some girl."
She stood up, put on her gloves, clipped her belt around her waist, and applied the finishing touch, setting the blue mask delicately on the bridge of her nose.
"That's got to be scary, though," The Spaniel said. "Having your secret identity revealed."
"It is," Erin said, shaking her head. "But let's not talk about that anymore. We've got to find Sunny and defeat her. And then we've got to get out of here."
"Okay," the Spaniel said. "Just tell me where to go."
Erin nodded. "Good boy," she thought.
She walked toward the cell door and gripped the handle. Her legs shook. She felt slightly dizzy. But being back in costume-- on her own terms-- and having the Spaniel by her side-- also on her own terms-- filled her with a surge of power. She was, once more, the Blue Lynx. And the Blue Lynx could do anything.
She opened the door and strutted into the hallway. At the other end, maybe fifty yards away, she could see three thugs, all dressed in black tank-tops and camo pants, milling around. They were opening doors and slamming them shut. They were looking for something, or someone.
"Oh boysss!" she cooed. "Can I help you find something?"
The thugs looked up. "Fuck!" one of them yelled. "She's free!"
"And there he is! The Spaniel!"
"Get them!"
The thugs charged down the hallway. Erin smiled, squeezed her fists, and braced herself. She estimated she was at maybe forty or fifty percent. But that would be more than enough with clowns like these.
On to Chapter Ten
June 21st, 11:50 PM
"This is just so insane. You're saying I'm... really... a superhero?"
Erin nodded.
"Wow. Amazing."
Erin nodded again. It was amazing, everything that had happened in the past twenty minutes. The Spaniel had taken care of the thugs just seconds before they could really do nasty things to her. As he untied her, Erin had filled him in on the important things he had forgotten-- that he was the Spaniel, that she was the Blue Lynx, that they had both been captured by Sunny, that they had to escape. She left out all the parts about them being rivals, about him unmasking her, about how he had beaten and humiliated her. These were details that just didn't seem relevant, to Erin.
"When that man came at me in the hallway... I just knew... That he was bad. I knew I had to stop him."
"He's worse than bad," Erin said, gesturing at the thugs, both still unconscious. The Spaniel had tied them up using the ropes that had just recently bound Erin. "These people have been experimenting on you. Injecting you with drugs. They destroyed your memory and were trying to turn you into a slave. They wanted to do the same to me."
The Spaniel scratched his head. "Yeah, I remember that. That's the first thing I remember. A man putting a syringe into me. And I... broke free... attacked him. And then I went into the hallway. Found that man. And now I'm talking to you."
"Could you turn around for a second?" Erin said. "I want to get dressed."
"Oh, sure."
The Spaniel did as she asked while Erin removed her sweat-soaked bra and panties. She tossed the lingerie into the corner and gathered her Blue Lynx stuff: her mask, her bodysuit, her gloves, her boots, her belt.
"So what's your deal?" the Spaniel asked, still facing the wall. "You said you're a superhero, too?"
"Yeah," Erin said, stepping into the legholes of her outfit and pulling it up her body. "The Blue Lynx. I've been fighting crime for a couple years now."
"You're good at it?"
Erin laughed. It was an odd question. She pushed her arms through her spandex sleeves. "Yeah. I'm great at it."
"So, what were you doing in... lingerie, if I can ask?"
Erin blushed. She sat down on the cell bed and began to lace up her boots. "Well, umm, you see, it's... I mean, they captured me. And you know how men are."
"And they unmasked you? So they know your secret identity?"
"They... uh... They don't," Erin mumbled. "No. I mean, they unmasked me, but they don't know who I am. Because I'm just some girl."
She stood up, put on her gloves, clipped her belt around her waist, and applied the finishing touch, setting the blue mask delicately on the bridge of her nose.
"That's got to be scary, though," The Spaniel said. "Having your secret identity revealed."
"It is," Erin said, shaking her head. "But let's not talk about that anymore. We've got to find Sunny and defeat her. And then we've got to get out of here."
"Okay," the Spaniel said. "Just tell me where to go."
Erin nodded. "Good boy," she thought.
She walked toward the cell door and gripped the handle. Her legs shook. She felt slightly dizzy. But being back in costume-- on her own terms-- and having the Spaniel by her side-- also on her own terms-- filled her with a surge of power. She was, once more, the Blue Lynx. And the Blue Lynx could do anything.
She opened the door and strutted into the hallway. At the other end, maybe fifty yards away, she could see three thugs, all dressed in black tank-tops and camo pants, milling around. They were opening doors and slamming them shut. They were looking for something, or someone.
"Oh boysss!" she cooed. "Can I help you find something?"
The thugs looked up. "Fuck!" one of them yelled. "She's free!"
"And there he is! The Spaniel!"
"Get them!"
The thugs charged down the hallway. Erin smiled, squeezed her fists, and braced herself. She estimated she was at maybe forty or fifty percent. But that would be more than enough with clowns like these.
On to Chapter Ten
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
June 22nd, 12:12 AM
Erin drove her elbow into the henchman's face. He squealed, stumbled backward, and Erin brought her fist across his cheek. He spun around and to the ground. Unconscious.
Another one down.
"How many is that?" the Spaniel asked, examining the inert bodies laying around them. "Twenty? Twenty one?"
"Something like that," Erin replied, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She exhaled. It had been a while since she'd seen such superheroine action. Once again, she was winning-- actually winning-- and the thrill was total. But it was also, she admitted to herself, exhausting. She wasn't nearly well enough to continue fighting at this pace. Good thing all the thugs so far had been little weaklings, mere specks of dust that had no business calling themselves criminals. And having the Spaniel by the Blue Lynx's side made things that much easier.
The sound of his knuckles cracking echoed through the hallway. "This superheroine stuff is pretty fun," he said, with a small laugh.
Erin smiled. "It's the best feeling in the world, isn't it?"
They marched together with quick, confident steps until they reached a red door at the end of the corridor. Erin recognized the color... She had been taken here at least once, for some reason... That she couldn't remember...
"I know this place," the Spaniel said, more quietly than before. "This is where... They injected me... With all those drugs."
"Of course," Erin said. "That's right. This is Sunny's lab."
"Do you think she's inside?"
Erin tensed her muscles. "There's only one way to find out," she said, pushing the door open.
They entered a large room with enamel floors and white stucco walls, its four walls lined with countertops and cabinets, its center filled with long tables covered in a variety of equipment: test tubes, beakers, burners, and scales, but also knives, guns, tasers, and a couple of baseball bats. On its far wall were a pair of menacing torture racks, each one grouped with a small table layered with syringes and pill bottles. To the right of the racks was a large black desk with a laptop and a rolling chair. Sitting in the rolling chair, her boots propped up on the desk's surface, was Sunny.
"There you are!" Sunny said, her face beaming. She picked at her teeth with a long fingernail. "I was wondering when the hell y'all were gonna get here."
Erin put her hands on her hips and glared at her foe. "So you were expecting us?"
"Well, sort of," Sunny replied, sweeping her boots off the desk and standing up from the chair. "I'll admit that I wasn't expecting the big boy to escape. But when life gives you lemons..."
"You're not getting any lemonade today, Sunny," Erin spat. "This game is over."
Sunny chuckled maniacally. "Over? I'm afraid you've got it all backward, Erin Steele. I have your precious little secret. If anything is over, it's you and your joke of a superheroine career."
Hearing Sunny's words made Erin feel lightheaded. Fighting thugs had allowed her to forget that until she beat Sunny, until she somehow came up with a plan to prevent Sunny from squealing, her secret identity was just a click away from being publicly revealed.
"You can't beat us," Erin declared. "We just wiped out twenty of your thugs. You're nothing compared to us, Sunny."
"You're probably right," Sunny said, stepping around her desk. "I don't think I could beat the two of you. The good thing is I don't have to. Isn't that right... Fido!"
From the corner of her eye, Erin could see the Spaniel shoot up straight, his body suddenly becoming completely rigid.
"Fido!" Sunny called out, snapping her fingers. "Go and get the cat!"
Before she could even turn to face him, the Spaniel had brought his bicep across Erin's face, pushing her off her feet with a brutal clothesline. Erin hit the floor with her upper back and a loud "Unghh!" When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the Spaniel, who was rotating above her in a blurry, nauseating circle.
"Brian..." she whispered. "Why..."
As Erin felt the Spaniel's arms gather up her limp body and set her atop his meaty shoulder, she heard Sunny call out with loud shrieks. "He only listens to me, Erin! Don't you understand? He's my pet now! Not yours! Bring her to the rack, Fido!"
Erin bounced powerlessly on the Spaniel's body as he walked across the lab. They stopped, and once again Erin felt the hero's hands picking her up like she was a kitten, taking her off his shoulder and placing her back-first against a hard wooden surface.
"Turn her around, Fido," Sunny commanded. "I want to really teach her a lesson, this time."
With a frustrating lack of effort, the Spaniel rolled Erin over, pushing her stomach against the slab, and then strapping her wrists and ankles to the table with leather restraints. Erin had to turn her head to the side in order to breathe. From this position, she could see Sunny, who had moved near enough to the torture rack for Erin to see her broad, insane smile.
"Comfy?" Sunny asked.
Erin didn't have anything close to the will it would've taken to respond to such an absurd question. She could only stare at Sunny with the purest look of hatred she had ever given. She despised Sunny, hated Hammerson, couldn't believe she had to routinely square off against villains who were so annoying. That they were so pathetic only added to her sense of embarrassment. How could she lose to idiots like these? How could she have gotten so close to victory only to have it snatched away by a dog at the last minute?
"As I was saying before," Sunny said, walking out of Erin's field of vision, "We didn't want the Spaniel to escape. But once he did, I saw it as an opportunity. Let's see just how loyal Fido is, I thought. Let's get him to work with the Blue Lynx, maybe even give the Blue Lynx an utterly false sense of hope for ten minutes, and then have him betray her. Fido is a good boy. He passed his final test with flying colors."
Erin could hear the sound of Sunny patting the Spaniel on the head. Ugh.
"You rotten... bitch," Erin said. "You brainwashed him. You're sick. You're..."
Sunny yawned. "Heard it all before, Blue Lynx, sorry." She stepped in closer to Erin, placing her fingernails on the small of her captive's back. "I think you're just upset that your Hollywood ending wasn't meant to be. You probably thought that you were going to escape, didn't you, that you were going to beat me and send me to jail and everything would be fine, again, yes?" She dropped her hand down a few inches and squeezed Erin's butt cheek. "Silly girl."
Sunny released Erin's rear and clopped along the floor. There was the sound of metallic clinking, of rummaging.
"Where the hell is that... Fido."
"Yes ma'am."
"Can you find that little orange syringe we stuck you with so many times? The mindwipe one?"
"Yes ma'am."
Erin took a deep breath. She heard the sound of the Spaniel lumbering away. Seconds later, she felt Sunny's cool breath on the back of her neck.
"You know, if you weren't such a cocky bitch, I'd feel sorry for you," Sunny hissed. "We've really fucked you up, the last week. You've gotten through every torture and humiliation I can think of without really breaking." She paused. "But that streak ends now."
"Sunny," Erin whispered. "You can't do this. You can't just... Wipe..." Her voice choked. "My mind."
"I'm going to, Erin Steele," Sunny giggled. "I'm going to. And your last moment as Erin Steele, as the Blue Lynx, is going to be me, smacking your ass again and again, while you weep for mercy."
Erin reacted immediately, shaking her body as hard as she could, rattling the chains of the torture rack, kneeing and elbowing the hard wooden surface, screaming out loud with wordless, terrified howls. Sunny watched her frantically struggling prisoner and laughed along with the clanging, banging sounds.
"Pretty scary stuff, I know," Sunny cooed, with false sincerity. "Maybe if you focus on something else, it will help."
She struck Erin's bottom with a loud, echoing smack. "Aughhh!" Erin cried.
"Yes, let it all out," Sunny said. She whacked Erin's ass again, and Erin emitted an even louder cry of pain.
"Again!" Sunny said. "And again! And again!"
She hit Erin with dramatic, open-handed slaps.
"AUGHHH! AUUUUUGHHH!! AUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!"
Erin had never cried out so loudly in her life. The spanking was intense, even for Sunny, who had administered more than a few thrashings to Erin's rear. What made it even worse was the fear, which seemed to get more real with every slap, that this was truly the end, that once the Spaniel found that drug, and Sunny injected it into Erin's bloodstream, her life would no longer be hers.
"You're getting pretty pink, back here," Sunny said. "Let's try to get it bright red."
Erin felt her entire lower body shake and shiver with each smack. She could feel whatever remaining strength she had draining from her core, as if each spank somehow came with a small syringe of sedative. She couldn't do this... Anymore... She couldn't break free... She had to just...
"Found it!" the Spaniel said. He galloped back to the torture rack. "Your orange drug."
Sunny stepped back, letting Erin's ass rest for a few merciful seconds. "Oh yes," she said. "This is it. Good boy, Fido."
Erin gulped. Oh God.
"Well, Erin Steele, it's been fun," Sunny said, her body once again inches away from Erin's, her free fingers once more cupping Erin's backside. "We had a good rivalry there. But I simply can't have you messing with Mr. Hammerson's business any longer. So, you're joining us, like it or not."
"No..." Erin mumbled. "No... No..."
"Mr. Hammerson will be so grateful to have you on our side. Trust me, honey... He's actually a great guy once you get to know him. And he will be getting to know you... In more ways than one."
"No... No..."
"You'll be his little pussycat. You'll do whatever he wants, whenever he wants."
Erin felt Sunny's fingers smoothing the skin on the exposed part of her ass, looking for an injection point.
"You're going to feel one more prick of pain," Sunny said. "And then... Well, you'll never know."
"Sunny..." Erin whispered. "Please..."
"Good night, forever, Blue Lynx."
And just as the needle hovered a centimeter over Erin's butt, there was an explosion, and the room was suddenly covered in smoke.
On to Chapter Eleven
June 22nd, 12:12 AM
Erin drove her elbow into the henchman's face. He squealed, stumbled backward, and Erin brought her fist across his cheek. He spun around and to the ground. Unconscious.
Another one down.
"How many is that?" the Spaniel asked, examining the inert bodies laying around them. "Twenty? Twenty one?"
"Something like that," Erin replied, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She exhaled. It had been a while since she'd seen such superheroine action. Once again, she was winning-- actually winning-- and the thrill was total. But it was also, she admitted to herself, exhausting. She wasn't nearly well enough to continue fighting at this pace. Good thing all the thugs so far had been little weaklings, mere specks of dust that had no business calling themselves criminals. And having the Spaniel by the Blue Lynx's side made things that much easier.
The sound of his knuckles cracking echoed through the hallway. "This superheroine stuff is pretty fun," he said, with a small laugh.
Erin smiled. "It's the best feeling in the world, isn't it?"
They marched together with quick, confident steps until they reached a red door at the end of the corridor. Erin recognized the color... She had been taken here at least once, for some reason... That she couldn't remember...
"I know this place," the Spaniel said, more quietly than before. "This is where... They injected me... With all those drugs."
"Of course," Erin said. "That's right. This is Sunny's lab."
"Do you think she's inside?"
Erin tensed her muscles. "There's only one way to find out," she said, pushing the door open.
They entered a large room with enamel floors and white stucco walls, its four walls lined with countertops and cabinets, its center filled with long tables covered in a variety of equipment: test tubes, beakers, burners, and scales, but also knives, guns, tasers, and a couple of baseball bats. On its far wall were a pair of menacing torture racks, each one grouped with a small table layered with syringes and pill bottles. To the right of the racks was a large black desk with a laptop and a rolling chair. Sitting in the rolling chair, her boots propped up on the desk's surface, was Sunny.
"There you are!" Sunny said, her face beaming. She picked at her teeth with a long fingernail. "I was wondering when the hell y'all were gonna get here."
Erin put her hands on her hips and glared at her foe. "So you were expecting us?"
"Well, sort of," Sunny replied, sweeping her boots off the desk and standing up from the chair. "I'll admit that I wasn't expecting the big boy to escape. But when life gives you lemons..."
"You're not getting any lemonade today, Sunny," Erin spat. "This game is over."
Sunny chuckled maniacally. "Over? I'm afraid you've got it all backward, Erin Steele. I have your precious little secret. If anything is over, it's you and your joke of a superheroine career."
Hearing Sunny's words made Erin feel lightheaded. Fighting thugs had allowed her to forget that until she beat Sunny, until she somehow came up with a plan to prevent Sunny from squealing, her secret identity was just a click away from being publicly revealed.
"You can't beat us," Erin declared. "We just wiped out twenty of your thugs. You're nothing compared to us, Sunny."
"You're probably right," Sunny said, stepping around her desk. "I don't think I could beat the two of you. The good thing is I don't have to. Isn't that right... Fido!"
From the corner of her eye, Erin could see the Spaniel shoot up straight, his body suddenly becoming completely rigid.
"Fido!" Sunny called out, snapping her fingers. "Go and get the cat!"
Before she could even turn to face him, the Spaniel had brought his bicep across Erin's face, pushing her off her feet with a brutal clothesline. Erin hit the floor with her upper back and a loud "Unghh!" When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the Spaniel, who was rotating above her in a blurry, nauseating circle.
"Brian..." she whispered. "Why..."
As Erin felt the Spaniel's arms gather up her limp body and set her atop his meaty shoulder, she heard Sunny call out with loud shrieks. "He only listens to me, Erin! Don't you understand? He's my pet now! Not yours! Bring her to the rack, Fido!"
Erin bounced powerlessly on the Spaniel's body as he walked across the lab. They stopped, and once again Erin felt the hero's hands picking her up like she was a kitten, taking her off his shoulder and placing her back-first against a hard wooden surface.
"Turn her around, Fido," Sunny commanded. "I want to really teach her a lesson, this time."
With a frustrating lack of effort, the Spaniel rolled Erin over, pushing her stomach against the slab, and then strapping her wrists and ankles to the table with leather restraints. Erin had to turn her head to the side in order to breathe. From this position, she could see Sunny, who had moved near enough to the torture rack for Erin to see her broad, insane smile.
"Comfy?" Sunny asked.
Erin didn't have anything close to the will it would've taken to respond to such an absurd question. She could only stare at Sunny with the purest look of hatred she had ever given. She despised Sunny, hated Hammerson, couldn't believe she had to routinely square off against villains who were so annoying. That they were so pathetic only added to her sense of embarrassment. How could she lose to idiots like these? How could she have gotten so close to victory only to have it snatched away by a dog at the last minute?
"As I was saying before," Sunny said, walking out of Erin's field of vision, "We didn't want the Spaniel to escape. But once he did, I saw it as an opportunity. Let's see just how loyal Fido is, I thought. Let's get him to work with the Blue Lynx, maybe even give the Blue Lynx an utterly false sense of hope for ten minutes, and then have him betray her. Fido is a good boy. He passed his final test with flying colors."
Erin could hear the sound of Sunny patting the Spaniel on the head. Ugh.
"You rotten... bitch," Erin said. "You brainwashed him. You're sick. You're..."
Sunny yawned. "Heard it all before, Blue Lynx, sorry." She stepped in closer to Erin, placing her fingernails on the small of her captive's back. "I think you're just upset that your Hollywood ending wasn't meant to be. You probably thought that you were going to escape, didn't you, that you were going to beat me and send me to jail and everything would be fine, again, yes?" She dropped her hand down a few inches and squeezed Erin's butt cheek. "Silly girl."
Sunny released Erin's rear and clopped along the floor. There was the sound of metallic clinking, of rummaging.
"Where the hell is that... Fido."
"Yes ma'am."
"Can you find that little orange syringe we stuck you with so many times? The mindwipe one?"
"Yes ma'am."
Erin took a deep breath. She heard the sound of the Spaniel lumbering away. Seconds later, she felt Sunny's cool breath on the back of her neck.
"You know, if you weren't such a cocky bitch, I'd feel sorry for you," Sunny hissed. "We've really fucked you up, the last week. You've gotten through every torture and humiliation I can think of without really breaking." She paused. "But that streak ends now."
"Sunny," Erin whispered. "You can't do this. You can't just... Wipe..." Her voice choked. "My mind."
"I'm going to, Erin Steele," Sunny giggled. "I'm going to. And your last moment as Erin Steele, as the Blue Lynx, is going to be me, smacking your ass again and again, while you weep for mercy."
Erin reacted immediately, shaking her body as hard as she could, rattling the chains of the torture rack, kneeing and elbowing the hard wooden surface, screaming out loud with wordless, terrified howls. Sunny watched her frantically struggling prisoner and laughed along with the clanging, banging sounds.
"Pretty scary stuff, I know," Sunny cooed, with false sincerity. "Maybe if you focus on something else, it will help."
She struck Erin's bottom with a loud, echoing smack. "Aughhh!" Erin cried.
"Yes, let it all out," Sunny said. She whacked Erin's ass again, and Erin emitted an even louder cry of pain.
"Again!" Sunny said. "And again! And again!"
She hit Erin with dramatic, open-handed slaps.
"AUGHHH! AUUUUUGHHH!! AUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!"
Erin had never cried out so loudly in her life. The spanking was intense, even for Sunny, who had administered more than a few thrashings to Erin's rear. What made it even worse was the fear, which seemed to get more real with every slap, that this was truly the end, that once the Spaniel found that drug, and Sunny injected it into Erin's bloodstream, her life would no longer be hers.
"You're getting pretty pink, back here," Sunny said. "Let's try to get it bright red."
Erin felt her entire lower body shake and shiver with each smack. She could feel whatever remaining strength she had draining from her core, as if each spank somehow came with a small syringe of sedative. She couldn't do this... Anymore... She couldn't break free... She had to just...
"Found it!" the Spaniel said. He galloped back to the torture rack. "Your orange drug."
Sunny stepped back, letting Erin's ass rest for a few merciful seconds. "Oh yes," she said. "This is it. Good boy, Fido."
Erin gulped. Oh God.
"Well, Erin Steele, it's been fun," Sunny said, her body once again inches away from Erin's, her free fingers once more cupping Erin's backside. "We had a good rivalry there. But I simply can't have you messing with Mr. Hammerson's business any longer. So, you're joining us, like it or not."
"No..." Erin mumbled. "No... No..."
"Mr. Hammerson will be so grateful to have you on our side. Trust me, honey... He's actually a great guy once you get to know him. And he will be getting to know you... In more ways than one."
"No... No..."
"You'll be his little pussycat. You'll do whatever he wants, whenever he wants."
Erin felt Sunny's fingers smoothing the skin on the exposed part of her ass, looking for an injection point.
"You're going to feel one more prick of pain," Sunny said. "And then... Well, you'll never know."
"Sunny..." Erin whispered. "Please..."
"Good night, forever, Blue Lynx."
And just as the needle hovered a centimeter over Erin's butt, there was an explosion, and the room was suddenly covered in smoke.
On to Chapter Eleven
Rival Hero: Sunny's Delight: Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
June 22nd, 12:47 AM
Panic ensued. Erin, Spaniel, and Sunny coughed as the smoke rose around them. A table tipped over, its contents clattering against the tile floor. "Fido!" Sunny screamed. "Fido! What the fuck is going on!"
Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "There's no way," she thought. "It can't be..."
"FIDO!" Sunny hollered. "SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE--"
Suddenly, a cry of pain. Then, the sound of a body toppling to the ground. Something skittering across the floor. And finally, a small, familiar voice in Erin's ear.
"Blue Lynx, it's me," Margot said. "I'm here to save you."
Erin almost screeched with joy. "Mar-- Black Bobcat!"
The smoke was clearing, and as Erin turned her head, she could see her friend, looking confident, athletic, and capable in her dark costume and mask.
"Surprised?" Margot said. "I was able to track you after Sunny called me. The stupid bitch."
Erin's grin quickly turned to a look of consternation. "Quick, Bobcat! You have to get me out of this thing!"
As Margot stepped in to loosen the leather straps, Sunny's pained voice called out from the floor.
"Dammit, Fido! Stop her! Get her! Get the other kitty!"
Erin turned her head as far as she could. In her peripheral vision, she could see the Spaniel charging at Margot. But just as he was closing in on her, Margot produced a taser from her utility belt. She sunk it into the Spaniel's abdomen, and the hero jolted with electricity. He yelped, stepped backward, and fell onto his ass.
"Great work!" Erin cried. "Now help me! Quick!"
Margot ripped through the first leather cuff, and then reached down to work at Erin's left boot. Seconds later, Erin had half her body free, and she was able to muscle her way out of the remaining restraints, finally pushing herself from the torture rack and landing on her feet.
She spun around to face Margot. "I just can't believe you're here," Erin said, on the verge of tears. "I thought I was... a goner..."
Margot smiled. "It's okay, babe. This is what I've been training for, and..."
"MARGOT!" Erin yelled. "BEHIND YOU!"
The Spaniel was up again, and before she could react, his arms were around Margot's body, lifting her off her wildly kicking feet. Thinking quickly, Erin went to her utility belt to retrieve her taser. But just as she removed it from its buttoned pouch, Sunny grabbed her wrist.
"No you don't!" she barked, throwing Erin's body against the wall. The stunned superheroine dropped her taser, instinctively bringing her hand to her head. The move exposed her abdomen, which Sunny instantly attacked with four rapid jabs. Her strength once more ebbing away from her, Erin slid down the wall, looking up at the Spaniel hugging Margot close, squeezing her, forcing her to scream.
"You are such an embarrassment," Sunny said. She moved in front of Erin and snatched her by the Blue Lynx's V-neck, dragging her back up and into a semi-standing position. "All this luck, and no idea what to do with it."
She socked Erin in the stomach, doubling her over. Erin tried to trip away from the wall, but Sunny anticipated the move and grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back to where she was.
"God, I wish we were filming this," Sunny said, keeping Erin's body in place with her hands. "The final defeat of the Blue Lynx."
Margot was howling now, her body bobbing against the Spaniel's, her legs losing their willingness to kick. "Blue Lynx!" she cried, breathlessly. "I'm sorry!"
"It's not your fault, kid," Sunny said. "Erin Steele's got no one to blame but... HERSELF!" With that last word, Sunny brought her knee up into Erin's groin. Erin made a loud, keening noise, dropped her hands to her lower body, and rolled to the floor, where Sunny now allowed her to go.
"Now," Sunny said, slapping her hands together. "Where did that damn syringe roll off to?"
Erin wheezed, curled up in a ball, clutched at her groin. Sunny was... Right. Margot had saved the day... And the Blue Lynx had un-saved it. Through her carelessness, through her weakness, through her arrogance. After a long, excruciating struggle, this was how it was going to end. It was all her fault.
"Here it is," Sunny said, dropping to the ground and picking up something small. She strutted back to Erin and bent down to look her struggling nemesis in the eye. "You ready?"
She held the syringe upright by its plunger with two delicate fingers. It seemed... Reckless. It seemed...
Light suddenly flashed in Erin's eyes.
"I don't know, Sunny," she said, with a small, pained grin. "Are you?"
And then, with as much speed as she as she could muster, Erin drove her knee into Sunny's leg, pushing her body over. As Sunny winced, Erin shot her hand up, grabbed Sunny's hand, and plunged the syringe down and into the villain's chest.
Sunny gasped, her fingers falling away from the drug. "Wha-- Ahh....??"
Her eyes wide, her mouth gaping open, her arms swinging wildly, Sunny crashed to the ground, the syringe still standing tall just north of her right breast. Her body convulsed for several seconds, and then suddenly stopped. Her arms and legs fell around her limply. She was unconscious.
Just as Sunny's eyes closed, the Spaniel released Margot. He stumbled backward, catching himself on a nearby table. He held his head, sneering, as the two superheroines, Margot on her feet, and Erin still on the floor, watched his next move.
"What..." he said, rocking himself back up on his feet. "What happened?"
Erin rolled over onto her knees, pushing her body up from the floor. "Sunny..." she said, pointing at her knocked-out opponent, "She had you in a trance."
"I don't remember anything," he said, his hands racing back to his head. "It's all... a blur."
Margot looked at Erin and winked. "Good," she seemed to say.
"Who the hell is... Sunny?" the Spaniel said, now walking over to where she lay.
Erin clambered to her feet, her body feeling like a massive bruise. "She's a horrible person," she said. "But I don't know if she'll remember that, now."
"Do you think it'll work on her?" Margot asked. "Do you think... She'll forget... Who you are?"
Erin shrugged. "We can hope. We'll stick around for a bit. When she wakes up, we'll interrogate her."
"Wait," the Spaniel said, looking at Erin and Margot, completely puzzled. "Who are you people, anyway?"
"We're superheroines," Margot said, placing her hands on her hips.
"That's the Black Bobcat," Erin said, copying Margot's pose, which Margot had learned so long ago from her. "And me?
Erin looked around at the empty laboratory, at Sunny's lifeless body, at the toppled over tables, at the counters full of Hammerson's drugs, at the door leading into the hallway where she had been tortured for days. She took it all in, cleared her throat, and smiled.
"You can call me the Blue Lynx."
THE END
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June 22nd, 12:47 AM
Panic ensued. Erin, Spaniel, and Sunny coughed as the smoke rose around them. A table tipped over, its contents clattering against the tile floor. "Fido!" Sunny screamed. "Fido! What the fuck is going on!"
Erin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "There's no way," she thought. "It can't be..."
"FIDO!" Sunny hollered. "SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE--"
Suddenly, a cry of pain. Then, the sound of a body toppling to the ground. Something skittering across the floor. And finally, a small, familiar voice in Erin's ear.
"Blue Lynx, it's me," Margot said. "I'm here to save you."
Erin almost screeched with joy. "Mar-- Black Bobcat!"
The smoke was clearing, and as Erin turned her head, she could see her friend, looking confident, athletic, and capable in her dark costume and mask.
"Surprised?" Margot said. "I was able to track you after Sunny called me. The stupid bitch."
Erin's grin quickly turned to a look of consternation. "Quick, Bobcat! You have to get me out of this thing!"
As Margot stepped in to loosen the leather straps, Sunny's pained voice called out from the floor.
"Dammit, Fido! Stop her! Get her! Get the other kitty!"
Erin turned her head as far as she could. In her peripheral vision, she could see the Spaniel charging at Margot. But just as he was closing in on her, Margot produced a taser from her utility belt. She sunk it into the Spaniel's abdomen, and the hero jolted with electricity. He yelped, stepped backward, and fell onto his ass.
"Great work!" Erin cried. "Now help me! Quick!"
Margot ripped through the first leather cuff, and then reached down to work at Erin's left boot. Seconds later, Erin had half her body free, and she was able to muscle her way out of the remaining restraints, finally pushing herself from the torture rack and landing on her feet.
She spun around to face Margot. "I just can't believe you're here," Erin said, on the verge of tears. "I thought I was... a goner..."
Margot smiled. "It's okay, babe. This is what I've been training for, and..."
"MARGOT!" Erin yelled. "BEHIND YOU!"
The Spaniel was up again, and before she could react, his arms were around Margot's body, lifting her off her wildly kicking feet. Thinking quickly, Erin went to her utility belt to retrieve her taser. But just as she removed it from its buttoned pouch, Sunny grabbed her wrist.
"No you don't!" she barked, throwing Erin's body against the wall. The stunned superheroine dropped her taser, instinctively bringing her hand to her head. The move exposed her abdomen, which Sunny instantly attacked with four rapid jabs. Her strength once more ebbing away from her, Erin slid down the wall, looking up at the Spaniel hugging Margot close, squeezing her, forcing her to scream.
"You are such an embarrassment," Sunny said. She moved in front of Erin and snatched her by the Blue Lynx's V-neck, dragging her back up and into a semi-standing position. "All this luck, and no idea what to do with it."
She socked Erin in the stomach, doubling her over. Erin tried to trip away from the wall, but Sunny anticipated the move and grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back to where she was.
"God, I wish we were filming this," Sunny said, keeping Erin's body in place with her hands. "The final defeat of the Blue Lynx."
Margot was howling now, her body bobbing against the Spaniel's, her legs losing their willingness to kick. "Blue Lynx!" she cried, breathlessly. "I'm sorry!"
"It's not your fault, kid," Sunny said. "Erin Steele's got no one to blame but... HERSELF!" With that last word, Sunny brought her knee up into Erin's groin. Erin made a loud, keening noise, dropped her hands to her lower body, and rolled to the floor, where Sunny now allowed her to go.
"Now," Sunny said, slapping her hands together. "Where did that damn syringe roll off to?"
Erin wheezed, curled up in a ball, clutched at her groin. Sunny was... Right. Margot had saved the day... And the Blue Lynx had un-saved it. Through her carelessness, through her weakness, through her arrogance. After a long, excruciating struggle, this was how it was going to end. It was all her fault.
"Here it is," Sunny said, dropping to the ground and picking up something small. She strutted back to Erin and bent down to look her struggling nemesis in the eye. "You ready?"
She held the syringe upright by its plunger with two delicate fingers. It seemed... Reckless. It seemed...
Light suddenly flashed in Erin's eyes.
"I don't know, Sunny," she said, with a small, pained grin. "Are you?"
And then, with as much speed as she as she could muster, Erin drove her knee into Sunny's leg, pushing her body over. As Sunny winced, Erin shot her hand up, grabbed Sunny's hand, and plunged the syringe down and into the villain's chest.
Sunny gasped, her fingers falling away from the drug. "Wha-- Ahh....??"
Her eyes wide, her mouth gaping open, her arms swinging wildly, Sunny crashed to the ground, the syringe still standing tall just north of her right breast. Her body convulsed for several seconds, and then suddenly stopped. Her arms and legs fell around her limply. She was unconscious.
Just as Sunny's eyes closed, the Spaniel released Margot. He stumbled backward, catching himself on a nearby table. He held his head, sneering, as the two superheroines, Margot on her feet, and Erin still on the floor, watched his next move.
"What..." he said, rocking himself back up on his feet. "What happened?"
Erin rolled over onto her knees, pushing her body up from the floor. "Sunny..." she said, pointing at her knocked-out opponent, "She had you in a trance."
"I don't remember anything," he said, his hands racing back to his head. "It's all... a blur."
Margot looked at Erin and winked. "Good," she seemed to say.
"Who the hell is... Sunny?" the Spaniel said, now walking over to where she lay.
Erin clambered to her feet, her body feeling like a massive bruise. "She's a horrible person," she said. "But I don't know if she'll remember that, now."
"Do you think it'll work on her?" Margot asked. "Do you think... She'll forget... Who you are?"
Erin shrugged. "We can hope. We'll stick around for a bit. When she wakes up, we'll interrogate her."
"Wait," the Spaniel said, looking at Erin and Margot, completely puzzled. "Who are you people, anyway?"
"We're superheroines," Margot said, placing her hands on her hips.
"That's the Black Bobcat," Erin said, copying Margot's pose, which Margot had learned so long ago from her. "And me?
Erin looked around at the empty laboratory, at Sunny's lifeless body, at the toppled over tables, at the counters full of Hammerson's drugs, at the door leading into the hallway where she had been tortured for days. She took it all in, cleared her throat, and smiled.
"You can call me the Blue Lynx."
THE END
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