Before The Storm

"Please let me help you," the voices continued. "I am your friend, your one true love. Lovers have no need for secrets between each other. Share them with me, and then we can be together always."

Madeline suddenly felt the press of the Japanese woman's lips against her own. The softness and passion of them, joined by the fervor of her tongue as it pressed into her mouth, caused the last barrier of defiance to crumble. Surrendering to her desires, the American opened her body and her mind to the Axis agent.

A broad smile filled Lady Lotus' face as she felt Madeline respond to her ministrations. In that moment she knew she had won and that the information her government had ordered her to assist the Germans in getting was now hers for the taking. But there would be time enough for that later, she told herself. For now, she would see to her own pleasure and totally reduce the American, whom she considered as much a barbarian as the Germans, to a helpless slave. Still, she was a beautiful woman, something the Japanese woman always had an appreciation for.

Kissing Madeline once more, Lady Lotus lowered her mouth down to the valley between the American's large breasts. She kissed the soft flesh found there, moving her way to the hard pink nipples that capped each rounded globe. A loud gasp escaped Madeline's lips as she felt the wet embrace of Lady Lotus' mouth against her flesh.

In no time at all, what had begun as a small fire between Madeline's legs, blossomed into a blazing conflagration. Tremors again began to rock her body, but this time they were born of delight not fear. Every aspect of her being concentrated on the sensations ripping through her, until they abruptly exploded with a ferocity that the American wouldn't have imagined possible in her weakened condition.

"Hai!" the Japanese woman screamed into the mental link she had established, as the bond allowed her to share Madeline's orgasm. She knew that after this joining of their minds and hearts, there was nothing that the American would not do to please her.

"Oh God," Madeline gasped as her body collapsed beneath the riptides that surged through her. Torrents that washed away even the small bits of energy she had been able to rebuild. If there was a place beyond exhaustion, she had finally reached it.

"You sleep now my pet," Lady Lotus said as Madeline's eyes reflected her fatigue. "Rest and when you awaken, we shall have a talk long overdue."

"Yes, mistress," Madeline meekly replied, reflecting the commands that had been implanted within her subconscious without her even noticing it.

Reattaching her bonds, Lady Lotus flashed a smile of triumph. To her, the outcome had never been in doubt. The interfering German bitch would indeed have broken the American's body, but never her spirit. Brute force was all she understood, like most of her mongrel race. Never would the German woman have understood the subtleties of her plan. Of how, after breaking down the American's strength, she had placed her in a position of peril at the hands of the loutish Master Man. Only to be saved by one whom she would now see as her rescuer and lover.

It had been simplicity itself to place the compelling suggestion in the mind of the Ubermensch to act out his role, playing on his own failings and weakness. Amplifying the fears of the American to the point where she could be broken proved more difficult due to her stronger strength of will, but Lady Lotus never had any doubt that she would be able to do it. Now, not only would the Japanese agent complete her mission, but she would also be left with the bonus of having the famous Miss America as her servant.

The thought of the American heroine as her virtual slave, attending to her every wish and desire pleased Lady Lotus to no end. She was already looking forward to the nights she would spend with the auburn haired beauty between her legs, bringing her mistress the pleasures that she so richly deserved.

A sudden sharp sound from beyond the thick castle walls interrupted Lady Lotus' moment of triumph. At first, she thought it was just the sound of the storm crashing against the battlements. Then, as it repeated a second, third, and finally a fourth time in a matter of seconds, she realized it was the sound of automatic weapons fire.

"What is happening?" she said to the empty air in her native Japanese.

The possibilities flashed through her mind. It could be a raid by the underground, rare but not unheard of in a country where despite the presence of the Gestapo, people still fought against their government. Or it could be a commando raid, something that happened more and more frequently as the Allies made ready to invade Hitler's Fortress Europe.

"But why this castle?" the Japanese operative asked herself, thinking that as far as anyone knew, it was abandoned.

The answer to her question came a short heartbeat later, and it proved to be far worse than she had imagined. The large window through which Miss America had watched the building storm abruptly exploded inward, sending a shower of glass across the room. With it came a blue-garbed body that crashed onto the hard stone floor with a resounding thud.

Master Man sluggishly lifted his head, then gave into the pain filling his body and collapsed. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, outlining an even more powerful figure now standing in the jagged opening.

As tall as both Warrior Woman and her unwanted husband, the black haired man was clad only in a pair of green swimming trunks and a gold belt. If she were to look closely, Lady Lotus would've noticed a sharp point to the tip of his ears and tiny wings at his ankles that amazingly allowed him to fly. The hard, wind-driven rain splashed harmlessly off his skin, befitting one more at home in the ocean's depths. His name was Namor, the Axis agent knew all too well, and he was Prince of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. More importantly to her right now, the Sub Mariner, as he was also known, was a charter member of the Invaders. They had come for one they considered their own, and not all the forces of the Reich would stand in their way.

The doors to the room crashed open at the moment, as a dozen armed storm troopers rushed inside, led by the Valkyrie-like Warrior Woman. The soldiers immediately opened fire on the Invader, only to watch their bullets have no more effect against his skin than the rain.

Pivoting in mid-air, Namor dove down at the still firing soldiers, scattering a half score in one sweep before reversing himself and barreling down the hall to head off any other reinforcements. Lady Lotus was surprised that his first response hadn't been to see to Miss America's safety. Then, as she looked up again at the shattered window, the Japanese woman was reminded that the Atlantian had not come alone.

Even before the Sub Mariner had left the room, a second figure appeared inside the chamber. To the uninitiated, it looked like the man who had taken Namor's place was on fire and only seconds away from death. In reality, he was the master of the flames and known to the world as the Human Torch, even if he was the world's first artificial life form and not quite human.

The tallest Invader at six foot three, the Torch had such absolute control over his powers that he was able to glide down to a still bound Madeline and shut down the flames around his hands as not to burn her. Enough residual heat remained for him to be able to quickly melt her free, dropping the now soft metal to the ground.

Of all the Invaders, this was the one Lady Lotus feared most as she had once used her psi-powers to enslave him, making him believe he had loved her. When he had been freed from her dominance, the android had sworn revenge on the Japanese agent. Her only chance was to try and control his artificial mind as she had done before.

"Jim-San," she called out, using the name the Torch had created as a human identity to catch his attention and make eye contact.

Automatically, the flaming hero turned in her direction and a renewed sense of triumph filled her as their eyes made contact. Concentrating her abilities into a single effort, she reached deep into his mind. All she needed was a few seconds and she would have an awesome weapon at her disposal once again.

"Not this time," the Torch said angrily as his entire body erupted into a burst of white light as he mentally increased the intensity of his flames.

The searing wave of heat hit Lady Lotus head on, blinding her and breaking her contact with the android's mind. Blisters erupted on her skin as she suffered second-degree flash burns and collapsed on the floor in pain. Having once been turned against his friends while under her control, the Invader wasn't inclined to be gentle when faced with that prospect again.

In the seconds it had taken the Torch to subdue Lady Lotus, Madeline had awakened and, no longer held in place by the bindings, began to fall to the floor. She only fell a few inches when a tall, blond haired woman in a red and yellow bodysuit caught her. A woman that hadn't been there a second before.

"Easy, Madeline," the woman known as Spitfire said reassuringly. "We have you now."

"Jacqueline?" Madeline said in a confused voice, only beginning to understand that her friends had come for her.

Daughter of the original Union Jack, the British hero of the First World War, Jacqueline Falsworth had gained blinding speed from the combination of a transfusion from the Human Torch and the bite of the vampire, Baron Blood. She continued what had become a family tradition, her brother being first the Mighty Destroyer and then the second Union Jack. Her code name had come from the famous fighter plane.

"You're safe," Jacqueline said, pulling a sheet from one of the nearby tables and wrapping it around her friend's near-naked form. "We're taking you home."

"Home," Madeline repeated as she looked down at the unconscious body of Lady Lotus. A small feeling of regret filled her, partially fueled by the after effects of the Japanese woman's control.

"Time to go people," a powerful voice carried over the sounds of battle. "We've got a Panzer division just down the road that just went on alert."

The voice belonged to the acknowledged leader of the Invaders. Dressed in a red. white and blue costume known the world over, Steve Rogers was quite possibly the most perfect human being in the world. Rebuilt by the American super-soldier formula, he was everything a man was capable of being.

"No, it's time for you to die!" Warrior Woman yelled out as she reached out and struck Captain America with her whip, only to have it bounce harmlessly off the chain mail of his shirt.

"Not today, Nazi," the star spangled hero replied as he whirled about and sent his shield hurling into the midsection of his female German counterpart.

Made of an almost indestructible metal, the round shield, which had become almost a living part of the American, rebounded off its target and bounced again off the far wall to return to the Captain.

"Like I said, it's time to go," he repeated as the Nazi Superwoman crumbled to the ground, dropping not far from where her already unconscious husband had fallen.

One by one, the Invaders left the now shattered castle, with Namor clearing a path for Jacqueline as she carried a now unconscious Miss America and the Torch heading down the road to leave a few firebreaks to delay the Panzers. Captain America was the last to leave, but not before pausing to deliver a message to those guards still alive and conscious.

"Tell your Fuhrer that we'll be back," he called out in impeccable German, "and the next time, we'll be bringing lots of friends."

As he raced across the barren ground to where they had left the Atlantian airship that could outrace anything the Luftwaffe put in the air, Steve Rogers considered the impact of his parting words. He knew the invasion of Europe by the Allies was only a few months away. The next time they returned to these troubled shores, they would indeed not be alone.

Part Two

Two weeks after the rescue mission and once again donning the mantle of Miss America, Madeline found herself at a meeting of the Invaders, held in their secret headquarters inside the Big Ben clock tower. In addition to the team that gone into Germany the previous month, they had been joined by Union Jack II and Bucky and Toro, the teen sidekicks of Captain America and the Human Torch.

"Well, that just about covers any urgent business," Steve Rogers said as he shuffled the small pile of papers in front of him. "Unless anyone has anything else, I think we can call it a morning."

Captain America paused a moment as he looked around the table at each of the Invaders, giving them the chance to add anything if they wanted. As meetings went, this one had gone pretty well, considering that with the divergent personalities involved, many gatherings turned into arguments.

"I have a question," Namor said, the tone of his voice showing that he was obviously angry at something.

"Fire away, Namor," the blond haired leader said, wondering what might've set off the volatile amphibian this time.

"I would like to know how long we are going to let ourselves be subjected to the ridicule of the so-called press," Namor said, obviously making reference to something he had read in the newspaper in his hand.

"I wasn't aware that we were being ridiculed," the Captain replied, thinking that Namor often took umbrage at things that no one else gave a second thought to.

"I find that surprising as you are one of the two parties that some reporter's comments have been directed at," Namor went on, still holding the paper tightly in his fists.

"What exactly are you referring to?" The Human Torch asked, wondering how anyone could find anything negative to say about Captain America. You might as well try to degrade the flag itself, so closely did he live up to the ideas it represented.

"This," the fleet footed Invader said as he tossed the paper on the table, open to the article that had bothered him so.

All eyes tried to read what had been written in the tabloid, but only the few on the right side of the table could make it out. Captain America was one of them and what it said caused a broad smile on his face.

"Namor, this is a gossip column," he said, trying not to laugh.

"It is a column of lies," Namor retorted.

"What's it say?" Bucky asked his senior partner as he wasn't in a position to read it himself.

"It suggests that there is something immoral between the Captain and our guest, Miss America," Namor answered.

"What?" Miss America said, entering the conversation at the mention of her name.

"It merely suggests that there might be a romantic link between us," Rogers quickly clarified, not wanting Madeline to think it was anything worse. We've seen this sort of thing before, it's nothing to even pay attention to."

"Unless it's true," Toro said under his breath, but loud enough for the sharp ears of most of those around the table to pick up.

"Which it's not!" Captain America said in a strong voice of command, causing the junior Torch to blush in embarrassment.

A month before, Miss America had joined the Invaders on a temporary basis at the request of the War Department's Press Office back in Washington. It had been brought to their attention that the only female Invader, Spitfire, was a British subject. It would be a great idea, they reasoned, to have an American as well. Someone millions of American women could identify with.

With her sudden appearance in their ranks, coupled with her sharing with Rogers a red, white and blue image, the rumors had begun to generate almost from day one. That Madeline was his girlfriend, come to England to be with him, was the least offensive of the stories. The Captain had simply ignored such gossip, never thinking that anyone would give it much credence in the first place.

The younger Invader had obviously thought otherwise. Truth be told, Cap's own partner, Bucky had also entertained a few thoughts in that direction. That Madeline was beautiful was obvious, even to anyone who had only seen her in the costume and skullcap that left only her face uncovered. What she might look like out of that costume was also a question he'd considered. What teenage boy could look at that body and not think such thoughts, especially given the quite impressive bust that strained against her form fitting uniform.

"I hadn't realized that anyone took this seriously," Captain America said, more as a sop to Namor's ego than anything else. "In light of it, perhaps we should change the line up for the personal appearances we have scheduled for this afternoon. Instead of Madeline and I appearing at the Ladies Auxiliary in Dartford, it might be better if Jacqueline goes with her instead. I'll take Spitfire's place at the parachute factory up over in Maidenhead. Any objection?"

The two female Invaders looked to each other, then back at the Captain. With Miss America the newest Invader, they had been making it a point to have her appear with one of the other members, rather than the solo appearances the rest made. That way the photos that went out on the wire services would clearly identify her as one of the Invaders rather than one of the lesser groups she had previously been associated with.

"No problem here," Spitfire quickly replied, thinking it would give her and Madeline a chance to talk afterward. Something they had little time to do in the two weeks since they returned from Germany.

Miss America didn't say a word, a silence the Captain took as acquiesce. Considering the matter settled, he brought the meeting to a close, reminding his fellow Invaders how much these personal appearances meant both to the people who attended these events, as well as the people who only got to see newsreels of them in the movie theaters or read about them in the papers and news magazines.

With that reminder in mind, the Invaders split into small groups that would spread out across the British Isles. Namor would use his airship to drop off those without the ability to fly, while the Torch and Toro would get to their destinations under their own power. The destination now assigned to Spitfire and Miss America was in London itself, within easy driving distance.

-=-=-=-=-

Aside from a not small measure of disappointment from the mostly female lunch time crowd at the absence of Captain America, the appearance of the two Invaders at Dartford was an unqualified success. After the standard speech the Ministry of War had supplied, highlighted by a few details that the crowd could identify with, Miss America and Spitfire agreed to pose for some photographs and answer a few questions.

Most of the questions were pretty routine, the sort of thing reporters usually asked. Then, just as they were bringing the impromptu press conference to a close, one of the female reporters asked the question that had led to the change in the appearance schedule in the first place. Madeline was sure that if Captain America had been here as originally planned, no one would've had the nerve to actually ask it.

"There's been a lot of rumors about a relationship between you and Captain America," the woman said, much to the surprise of some of her colleagues. "Would you care to comment on them?"

Thankfully, the question had been so much on Madeline's mind over the last few hours that she had an answer ready to go. Even so, Spitfire could almost feel Miss America tense up before answering.

"Of course I have the greatest admiration for Captain America, as I'm was sure that everyone here does," she replied, making it as short and to the point as she could, "but any relationship between the two of us is purely professional."

The answer didn't seem to satisfy the reporter who quickly asked a follow up question. This time, it was directed to both heroines, inquiring if either of them found it possible to have a love life out of costume.