Daughter, Lover, Superheroine Ch. 12

She, Debbie, could do more than just regulate and absorb everyone's pain levels, of course. There was definitely something she could do to help in a big way.

But they're right here... I hadn't wanted to reveal it like this. Oh Goddess, what will they think? What will they say?

Ashley suddenly threw her hands out to the sides, her hair rising up as if blown by a strong wind.

"Kruonis!

Goddess of the marching ages,

watcher of the waiting hours,

by quotidian time unbound:

shield from harm sagacious sages,

hinder our foes with your powers,

speed us up and slow them down!"

Something in the air shifted about them almost imperceptibly. Debbie knew this incantation for what it was - Ashley was something of the Club's resident expert on such magic. She had just propitiated the Lithuanian goddess of time, Kruonis, for aid, and the spell drew a tiny portion of the goddess's attention.

Such things were always tricky. Modern world religions, especially the Abrahamaic ones, sought to establish more "complete" relationships with one's deity of choice - a fool's wish, in Debbie's view. You never knew where you truly stood with a god, who was an order of being as far above you as you were to a gnat.

But the ancient magical orders were able to call upon the powers of all kinds of gods seemingly at will; the trick was to enter into specific compacts of limited scope. Rituals like that were of a basically transactional nature: supplicate a god or goddess appropriately, give them something they are known to want (in some cases merely calling upon them and acknowledging their demesne of power was sufficient), and receive a particular boon (the nature of which was often predetermined by long tradition). With clear stipulations predetermined, there was little chance of anything going awry, no matter how capricious the deity in question.

Now, as the first wave of the Warriors entered an invisible 50-foot hemisphere centered on Ashley McKnight, their movements suddenly slowed. Their eyes comically widened in surprise, but as long as they were within this globe they was nothing they could do. The five women had been included in the muttered prelude to the actual incantation made by Ashley, so they were immune.

"Debbie," Mercedes said, "it's about time, don't you think?" Her eyebrows waggled meaningfully.

Debbie swallowed hard. Her knees felt weak and her palms sweaty. But Mercedes was right - she needed to do this now. She needed to summon her demons.

**

With their movements slowed, the Warriors were easy targets for Cindy and Barbara, who began punching them, or grabbing them and slinging them away. The women's fists landed on the men's cheeks strangely: the hits struck them in real time, but their flesh deformed in slow motion, and their bodies flew through the air slowly as well, until they went beyond the protective hemisphere whereupon the normal laws of physics reasserted themselves. Within seconds, the place took on the character of a strange sort of carnival game, as if the floating bodies were in a zero-gravity bubble.

But then Odysseus entered the bubble, and his footsteps did not slow. Ashley's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in understanding.

"The Fists!" she hissed. The power of one deity could countervail that of another, sometimes. Her invocation of Kruonis had been one of the minor ones. This meant that barely a sliver of her attention was on them, which was all to the good: no exorbitant offering was needed. But the Fists of Vulcan were postulated to be the actual forge-gloves worn by the Greco-Roman smith god. The wearer could conceivably overcome the deleterious effects of Ashley's spell.

Before anyone else could respond to this threat, Barbara stepped towards him. Her lips were pursed, and her brow was furrowed. She looked... irritated.

"Why, hello!" Odysseus's face broke out in a grin, and he made as if to slick back his hair before recalling at the last instant that doing so would likely scorch his hair off. "Barbara! Battler Babe! It's good to see you!"

"I definitelycannot say the same, David," Barbara replied stiffly.

"Come on now. This is how you greet an old friend? Or should I say... old flame?" Odysseus chuckled, and favored Cindy with an avuncular grin. "I should've known your daughter would turn out to be as excellent a woman as you, Barbara. Cindy, was it? Fine work, Cindy. Of course Hector and these louts couldn't stand against you. You're Barbara's little girl, after all."

"Mom? You... know this guy?" Cindy looked nonplussed.

"Sort... sort of."

"You've never told her about me? Why, Barbara. I'm wounded. Your mother and I are old, old friends, Cindy. We go quite far back. Ah, the times we shared..."

"We arenot friends, David, and I wish I could take back every minute of the time I spent with you. Now take your... gang... and leave us in peace!"

"I can oblige, Barbara. I always was obliging, or don't you remember? All I ask is for a simple little trinket to be handed over, and we can all be about our business. Why, I'll even task my men with giving you safe escort back to the city proper! It would be just like old times, Barbara."

Meanwhile the Warriors kept trying to attack, leaping through the air over the heads of their fellows, trying to find a vulnerability in Ashley's sphere of time distortion. Each one that tried found his jaw dislocated by one of Cindy's uppercuts, but more and more of them were making the attempt.

"Mercedes? Any time now!" Ashley cried out.

"Almost... I need more time!"

"That's literally what I just gave you!"

"Well, I need more!"

David "Odysseus" Hill was still smiling, but his eyes narrowed and glinted dangerously. He crossed his fiery forearms in front of his ornate Grecian cuirass. "I will have the Crown of Glory today, Midnighters, one way or another. The easy way has you walking away unmolested; the hard way, I leave to your fertile imagination."

"Mom, let's trade places. You keep these guys away, I'll go punch that sleazeball in the face," Cindy offered. Her head turned from side to side as her gaze darted all over, trying to intercept the Warriors' maneuvers. It was getting to be a job and a half.

Barbara shook her head. "I'll handle him. Take care of the others!"

She stepped forward to bar Odysseus's way. "Leave, or I'll be forced to hurt you, David," she said quietly. "And tell your men to stand down."

He cocked his head and studied her. "We've both grown, Barbara," he remarked. His eyes travelled down to her bare chest. "And you've grownspectacularly,I must say. Aged well, like a fine vintage."

Barbara flushed, but held herself straight, keeping her fists planted firmly on her hips. As Cindy always said, no woman should ever have to be ashamed of baring her chest proudly. Society wasn't there, yet... but someday it might be.

"But we both know you can't possibly stand against me, Barbara. Save yourself some trouble. Stand aside, and let me pass."

"No."

"I would hate to have to hurt you or your lovely, strong daughter..."

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Very well then!" Odysseus snapped, clearly at the end of his patience. "So you will show me defiance! I still remember, Barbara, how you were only too happy to accept my many gifts and favors when we dated!"

"Have you forgotten that I returned most of them to you, and that I kept turning down your advances?" Barbara protested hotly. "You just didn't know how to take no for an answer!"

"You didn't turn down my donation to that children's charity organization on your behalf! And afterwards you certainly didn't tell me 'no' at the evening dinner and dance!"

"That wasn't a gift for me, that wascharity! It was very sweet of you at the time, I thought, but if that was meant to be some kind ofbribe...for myaffections...David Hill, you are a mean-spirited, petty little man, and I dearly wish I hadn't danced with you on that evening, much less gave you as much license as you took later!" Barbara cried, her face flushed with agitation as she recalled David's pawing grasp and drunken smooches from long, long ago.

She remembered that charity event all too well. She'd crushed bowling balls between her thighs, and lifted a car overhead, smiling winsomely at the generous patrons to win their pledges. She'd been single and unattached at the time - recently bereaved, in fact - and truthfully the attention from a certain David Hill had been somewhat flattering, especially coming from a kind and generous philanthropist... or so it'd seemed.

"You, sir, are no gentleman! You could buy whole hospitals with your, your filthy lucre, and it wouldn't mean a thing! It's not about making that kind of grand gesture - it's about the kind of person you really are every day! But men like you never seem to understand, you... rascal!"

Odysseus recoiled from this verbal excoriation as if slapped. "Why you... ungrateful..." He glared balefully. "You spurn my magnanimity yet again! It seems I'll have to teach you a painful lesson after all. You should've accepted my suit back then - but you never seem to know what's good for you!" He strode forward.

Barbara moved to head him off. In moments they stood face to face, and Barbara raised her arms just in time to catch Odysseus's wrists as he performed a double-handed fist clobber. The force of the impact made her knees buckle, but she stood firm, and pushed him away, making him stagger backwards.

Then she winced, and held her hands gingerly - the heat of those magical gauntlets was intense enough to hurt, even with her innate resistance to the elements!

"Mom!" Cindy cried, but she was too occupied with fending off the innumerable Warriors. Ashley looked green about the gills. Mercedes was chanting feverishly, working to trace a glowing pattern in the air, occasionally flinging invisible bolts of force at enemies that got too close. Debbie was beginning a chant of her own and looked deep in concentration. Barbara was on her own.

She squared her shoulders, and made ready to fight. Odysseus lunged for her. She intercepted his hands with her own. They clashed and grappled, swaying this way and that, and then settled into a test of strength.

Barbara moaned, despite herself. The heat from the Fists was truly intense. Her palms were blistering. It got increasingly difficult by the moment to focus her strength. Her arms, already fatigued from her exertion just minutes ago, shook violently.

Odysseus grunted with satisfaction as Barbara's muscular arms were forced back and to her sides, and she began giving up ground step by quivering step. "You've grown weak, Barbara. I suppose you must be out of practice with the whole Hero business. I don't believe you were cut out for it anyway. Think of it, Barbara! You could've beenmy wife instead. You'd have made a fine mother for our children, and been living in the lap of luxury, too."

He grinned lasciviously at her pained, struggling face. "There's still a chance, you know. Submit to me now, and we'll see if we can't come to some sort of arrangement. I'll make sure Cindy is well cared for - I'll find her a good husband from among my most loyal lieutenants." He leered. "And if you both wish to continue your personal... interactions... in private, why, I'm an open-minded man. As long as I get to... participate... from time to time."

The sheer gall of the scoundrel! Barbara's nostrils flared. "You... stay... far, far away... from..." The veins bulged all over her arms and chest, and thighs as well. She dug her heels in, resisting him with all the womanly, maternal strength in her body. "Me... and...my daughter!"

With that last yell she thrust powerfully, with all her motherly might. Odysseus went flying backwards to land in an undignified sprawl on the floor. He quickly scrambled to his feet, face contorted with rage, angrily swatting away the helping hands offered by the nearest Warriors.

"Yeah! Go Mom!" Cindy cheered from behind, before turning her attention back to perimeter defense.

Barbara's arms trembled. Sweat beaded her skin. The pain from her blistered flesh flared through her body. Her forearms looked like cooked lobsters.Perhaps he's right,she thought dully.Maybe I'm out of practice... or maybe this was never the best gig for me. But Cindy... she's right up there with the best of them. She can do this. And if she can... then I'll do my very best for her as long as I'm still able to move. I'm her mother. We're stronger together.

She balled her fists, ignoring the pain, and prepared for the next onslaught.

Then Debbie completed what she was doing. She flung her hands out to the sides. On her left and right, large glowing pentacles appeared in the ground. And from out of the fiery depths of Debbie's soul, her personal demoness guardians climbed out into the physical world.

First their flaming fists punched out into the air, made of living flame encrusted with crusted magma. Then they pulled themselves out and stood, tall and proud.

Barbara's jaw dropped. So did Cindy's.

**

"About bloody time!" Mercedes said huffily. "I'm almost done with my teleportation - tell your demons to keep these brutes off me!"

Debbie flushed, and looked at her feet. Her demons looked at her expectantly, awaiting orders. "Go. Hunt. Punch Warriors," she muttered.

I'm never going to live this down,she thought.

The two demonesses leaped into action, obeying Debbie's mental commands rather than her vague verbal ones. They were, of course, 10-foot-tall avatars of Cindy and Barbara, her personal heroines. Despite being essentially made of fire, the contours of their bodies and musculature were clear and very perceptible to the naked eye. Debbie had spent many, many hours lovingly crafting their visages in her mind, of course. When they took physical form, they were everything Debbie imagined Cindy and Barbara to be.

Demoness Cindy joined the real one and swatted Warriors out of the air, leaving trails of fire behind each sweeping movement of her mighty arms. The real Cindy stood and gaped with absolute amazement.

"Is that..." she whispered, "... me?"

"Well, it's certainly not me," Mercedes quipped.

"Obviously! I've never seen you lift a dumbbell like, ever," Ashley commented. "I have to say, Debbie is quite the mental sculptor. Very close to the real originals. I mean just look at those lifelike abs... and butt... and arms... gosh, I need to hit the gym or something. Real works of art, aren't they?"

"Now we know why Debbie never seems to sleep well at night," Mercedes chortled. "A slave to her craft, eh?" Despite her waxen complexion, Ashley found the energy to snicker appreciatively.

Debbie felt as though her entire body was burning with sheer embarrassment. But at the same time, she didn't want to let go of the emotions swirling in her. They powered her magic, allowed these demoness warriors to exist and fight on her behalf. Her nipples felt so hard she might have been able to cut glass with them. Her pussy was so wet that her panties were already soaked through.How am I going to look them in the eye after this?

Meanwhile, Barbara's fiery avatar had gone to join her. As Barbara stared, stunned into speechlessness, giant demoness Barbara drove Odysseus and his personal guard back with a flurry of furious swipes. Odysseus, however, was not the leader of the Warriors for nothing; he was the first to recover his wits and start fighting back. He stood his ground and blocked blow after fiery blow with his forearms, fighting fire with fire. Then he started to return some, engaging demoness Barbara in a ferocious bout of flaming fisticuffs.

"All right!" Mercedes shouted all of a sudden. "Gather up!" Her hands blazed blue and white. Her spell was finally complete.

"No!" Odysseus yelled, and redoubled his assault. He swung again and again with his massive Fists, each blow thudding into the abdomen of demoness Barbara, who groaned in convincing distress but stood firm. "Damn you... Barbara! Always...thwarting me! Attack! Attack! Secure the Crown! Don't let the women get away!Attack!"

"Sorry to disappoint, Odysseus. But the Crown of Glory isn't for the likes of you!" Mercedes laughed triumphantly as her magic took effect and the five women started to phase into intangibility. The demonesses melted away into thin air as well, as their summoner was effectively yanked to another physical location.

David "Odysseus" Hill glowered at their vanishing forms. "One day, Mercedes Sheldon," he growled, "I will avenge this humiliation. You will regret crossing me, sorceress." He raised a glowing fist and shook it. "You'll regret it!"

Then the cargo hold faded from view, and was replaced by a beach, below a cliff. In the distance, the women could see the ubiquitous War Walls separating the various districts of Paragon City, but also a highway bridge, and the comforting sight of a gigantic statue of a horned, hulking figure looking out to sea. It was the iconic and instantly recognizable statue of the fallen hero Talos, the gigantic "Terrific Titan" from yesteryear.

Mercedes had whisked them away to Talos Island. They were safe - or at least, out of immediate danger.

**

The two senior Midnighters slumped down onto the sand, back to back.

"That... was justhorrid," Mercedes groaned. "Absolutely beastly."

"Oh, gods below, let's never do that again," Ashley moaned with equal drama. "This shit, right here, this is why I stick to doing research and, uh, community outreach."

"You think Ilike gallivanting around, getting into tight scrapes?" Mercedes groaned, rubbing her temples. The ornate chest containing the Crown sat on her lap. "My talents are hardly suited for field operations."

"And yet you keep going along with Castanella's hare-brained adventures," Ashley remarked uncharitably. "I really do think you secretly love being a swashbuckling spellcaster, Mercedes. Maybe you should improve your basic fitness first, though. Try getting some exercise tips from our 'Musculature Core Paragons' over there, why don't you."

"That's actually not a bad idea, Ashley. I'm in if you are." Mercedes slumped further, her back sliding against her compatriot's. "I do hate sand," she groused. "It's coarse and rough and irritating..."

"And it gets everywhere," Ashley finished. "We should never have done all this. We shouldn't be here. Thatthingshouldn't even be here. And by that, you know I mean 'here in our world'. Is it really secure enough like that?"

"You helped with the runes. You ought to know."

"I was followingyour template. How am I to know for sure if your wards are enough to properly contain a conduit to the Well of the Furies?"

"I find your lack of faith disturbing, Ashley McKnight."

"Tell me that again the next time the Crown gets stolen and you need me to haul ass again halfway across the Eastern Seaboard to bail you out. Seriously, though... how's it looking?"

"It's incredible," Mercedes murmured with eyes closed. "I can stillsee it glowing, even like this. How did Cindy - Battleborn - even manage to touch it, let alone hold it so casually?"

"Yeah, that's a mystery all right. They're right over there. Wanna ask them?" Ashley looked over to where the other three members of their little party were standing.

"Mmm... not at the moment, I should think," Mercedes said after glancing over. "I'm sure our Debbie has got quite a bit of explaining to do."

The Midnighters shared a chuckle at their junior colleague's expense.

"She's come along quite nicely, hasn't she?" Mercedes remarked.

"I don't know much about that, I haven't done all that much with her. I'll take your word for it." Ashley sat with her arms propped on her knees. "I could teach her quite a bit, though, if she ever wanted to ask me. But she doesn't seem to like me much for some reason."