Sun Lin, the Jade Dragon, vaulted easily to the rooftop of the building where she suspected the kidnapped girl was being held. She had followed a trail of clues to this very spot. But she was wary of a trap. It had been too easy, almost as if she was being set up. As a result, she had brought along her companions, the Blue Avenger, and Nova to back her up. There was no sense in taking chances. She had been trapped by villains on several occasions before and had paid a painful price for her carelessness. She had no wish to repeat the experience. Her friends had given her half an hour to check out the building. Then they would come in after her. Still a third companion, the Scarlet Falcon, was waiting at home, ready to call the police if she did not hear from any of them in an hour.

She moved stealthily across the rooftop. She trod lightly, anticipating some sort of trap. Many attempts had been made on her life and caution was second nature to her now. That is why she usually chose to move about at night. On this mission, however, she was out in daylight. That was always more risky, because it increased her chances of being seen. As a vigilante, she was none too popular with the police and private citizens might mistake her for a criminal. However, the nature of the criminal she was tracking had forced her out into daylight. A young girl had been kidnapped. Given the tendency of many kidnappers to kill their victims she could not afford to wait until darkness. She had received a tip from one of her network of informants and had acted on it immediately.

She approached the rooftop skylight. That was a possible way in, but it was almost too obvious. It was an open invitation to walk into a trap. She looked about for something better. Maybe it would be better if she swung over the side of the building and entered through a window. That might not be expected. Of course, there was always the danger of being seen from the street, but it was unusual for most people to look up, so she should be fairly safe.

She hooked a grapple into the edge of the roof and dropped into space. She could just smash through the window by swinging into it, but she wanted to be quiet, so she took a glasscutter from her utility belt and removed part of the pane she was next to. After that it was a simple matter to reach in and unlock the window. Raising the window, she swung in and found herself in a small deserted room. She crossed to the door. There was no sound from the hall outside and so she slowly opened the door and stepped into the corridor. She moved even more cautiously now. A corridor was a perfect place for a trap. She and her companions had been trapped on several occasions by sliding doors that sealed off escape while in corridors similar to this one. Her entrance into the lair of the kidnappers had been too easy. It was, of course, possible that she was up against criminals who were less than competent. She had come across many criminals like that. However, she checked her back. As long as the door to the room she had come through remained open there would be a way out. She proceeded down the corridor.

The corridor made a sharp turn to the right. The Jade Dragon followed it around. Now she was in a long narrow hallway without doors. At the far end there was a door. She could just make out a glimmer of light shining under the bottom of the door. This looked more promising, but it was also more dangerous. However, she would not be much of a crimefighter if she shied away from danger. She headed for the door. She had hardly taken more than a dozen steps before a section of the ceiling descended behind her. She whirled about only to hear the sound of a second panel sealing off the section of the hallway that she had been heading toward. She was now trapped!

There was no panic. She had been expecting something of this sort. She approached the panel that had closed behind her. A quick examination showed that it was constructed of ceiling panels backed by steel. It was much too strong for her to break through, however, she was prepared for just such an eventuality. Reaching into her utility belt she removed a small torch and two tiny gas cylinders. One of the cylinders contained acetylene, the other oxygen. In a few seconds she had assembled a miniature acetylene torch. Quickly, she ignited the torch and adjusted the flame. She had no time to waste. It was unlikely that whomever had set off the trap would leave her alone for very long.

The flame burned easily through the metal. It was only about a quarter of an inch thick. It was strong enough to hold her, however, unless she got through it in a hurry. Suddenly, however, she was aware of a strange hissing sound. Gas! She held her breath, trying to finish the cutting job before the gas overcame her.

The Jade Dragon had excellent control over her breathing. Holding her breath for the duration of the job would not be a problem, except for one thing. She had heard the sound of the gas too late. She had already been breathing it for a number of seconds. As a result she was already woozy. She was unable to hold her breath for more than a few seconds before giving in. She needed to breathe. Her bosom heaving, she struggled to keep going. Just a few more seconds. But the gas was powerful stuff. He vision was blurring. She could hold out no longer. Gasping she released her breath and took in a great gulp of air. The anesthetic gas filled her lungs. She stumbled forward, falling to her knees. Her eyes closed and she slumped to the floor. The gas had beaten her.

Almost immediately, the sliding panel that had descended behind her slid back up into the ceiling. Behind it were two shapely young women dressed in skintight black costumes, and a tiny gnome-like man in a white lab coat. "You see," the little man said, " I told you my trap would work. These superheroines aren’t too smart. "They fall for the same trick every time."

The two young women stepped forward. "We better take her to the Black Leopard," one of them said. "She will have something special planned for this one." Placing one arm under each of the Jade Dragon’s arms the two female cronies dragged her the length of the hall and through the door at the end. They entered a large well-lit room, the very room where poor Violet Chambers was chained to the wall. In the middle of the room was the petite, but somehow imperious form of the Black Leopard. Her costume was identical to that of her followers with the exception that it was trimmed in yellow and emblazoned with a small golden leopard over her left breast. Her head was, of course, covered by a cowl with two tiny points on it that symbolized the ears of the member of the cat family from which she derived her name. She smiled a slow, cruel smile as the Jade Dragon was dragged into the room.

"Ah," she exclaimed, "I finally get to meet the famous Jade Dragon. She doesn’t look nearly as terrifying as I thought she might. When I’m through with her she’ll wish she had never met me."

She stepped over to the prostrate from of the sleeping heroine and lifted her head. "Maybe I should unmask her now," she said. "No, that’s no fun. I want to torture her a bit first. Alright Pussies, chain her to the wall."

There were four of the Black Leopard’s hirelings in the room. They all came forward at once, carrying lengths of chain and handcuffs. They intended to do a good job of immobilizing the Jade Dragon.

Two of the Pussies grabbed hold of the Jade Dragon’s arms and began to pull them behind her back, and then the supposedly unconscious heroine seemed to explode. Her powerful legs kicked out, catching the two Pussies who were holding her square in their midsections. So great was the impact that the two women were hurled completely across the room. Then the Jade Dragon leaped to her feet and with a series of devastatingly quick kicks and punches hammered the two remaining Pussies into insensibility. In less than twenty seconds the Jade Dragon had eliminated almost all of her opponents. There remained just two: the diminutive mad scientist, and the Black Leopard herself.

The Jade Dragon faced her last opponent. The Black Leopard was impressed by the Jade Dragon’s quick victory over her cohorts, but she was equally confident of her own skills in the martial arts. She was, however, amazed at the swift recovery of her supposedly senseless prisoner.

"How did you…?" began the Black Leopard.

"How did I wake up so fast?" interrupted the Jade Dragon. "I was never asleep. My cowl incorporates tiny filters that protect me from gas. I let you think that I was overcome in order to get in here more easily. Your attack was hardly a surprise."

The Black Leopard was angry. She did not like that fact that her trap had been so easily avoided. It made her look amateurish. "I’ll teach that green harlequin a lesson she won’t forget," she thought. "No one makes a fool of me."

The black clad villain stood confidently in the center of the room. She had never met anyone that she could not beat in one-on-one combat. But she had never encountered anyone like the Jade Dragon. The green and black clad heroine was more than just a martial arts expert. She had reached a point in her training where her physical skills were fully amplified by mental powers that gave her almost superhuman qualities. Unaware of how badly she was overmatched, the Black Leopard launched her attack.

She struck with lighting speed, intending to land a combination of kicks and punches that would quickly put her goody-two-shoes opponent away. But not a single blow found its mark. It was almost as if the Jade Dragon was simply not there. Her beautiful combinations struck only empty air. And then the Jade Dragon struck back. She was in no mood to dally with the arch villain who only a few short months ago had humiliated and beaten her friend and companion the Scarlet Falcon (Read Episode 3 The Jade Dragon’s Subjugation), and who had chained a helpless young girl to the wall. The Black Leopard saw the strike coming. It was delivered in the form of a kick toward her head from an antagonist that seemed to be floating seven feet off the floor. The blow came with blinding speed. Even the Black Leopard’s quick reflexes could not save her from it. She was able to move her head just enough to avoid the full force of the blow, but even so the impact knocked her ten feet across the room and into the wall. Stunned, the Black Leopard felt her legs turn to rubber. She sank to her knees and then pitched forward onto her face. In a instant her opponent was upon her, handcuffing her hands behind her back, and then bending her knees and locking another set of cuffs onto each ankle so that her ankles were tightly linked to her wrists.

Then the Jade Dragon went to the trembling girl still chained to the wall of the room. It took but a few seconds to use her lock pick to release the girl from her manacles. Noticing her look of fear, the Jade Dragon spoke reassuringly. "Don’t worry. You are safe now. Soon the police will be here and you will be on your way home."

She led the girl to a chair and helped her to sit down. Then she picked up a phone that was sitting on a side table and spoke into it. "Operator, give me the police, this is an emergency." In a few minutes she had filled in the police on the details. Then she spoke to the girl again. "I’ll leave you here. I have to find that little scientist, and the police and I don’t exactly get along. You won’t have to wait long, I can hear their sirens already." And indeed the sound of police cars racing toward the building could be clearly heard. The Jade Dragon then gathered up the fallen bodies of the Black Leopard’s Pussies and handcuffed them together by shackling the wrist of each of the unconscious women to the one lying next to her so that they were linked in a complete circle. Then without further ado the Jade Dragon exited the room and disappeared in the direction she had seen Retinoff take. He had a bit of a head start, but she might still catch him.

The Black Leopard shook her head. What the hell had happened to her? Then she remembered. Suddenly alarmed, she tried to get up, but found her wrists and ankles were manacled. She swore aloud in Chinese. She should never have depended on Retinoff. The little bastard’s trap had not worked and had lulled her into a false sense of confidence. The Jade Dragon was a much more formidable opponent than she had reckoned on. The sound of sirens blared in her ears. They were coming closer and closer. "Damn these handcuffs," she thought. She was caught like a rat in a trap. "I’ve got to find a way out of this. I can’t let them lock me up!"

She tried to twist around, but with her ankles shackled to her wrists she could hardly move. She was still struggling when the door crashed open and several police officers charged into the room. "Well, what have we here," said a beefy redheaded cop. "Looks like a cat house."

"It’s that Black Leopard bitch, Bull," chimed in one of the other cops. The one who has been doing all the burglaries."

"Looks like she decided to move up to kidnapping," said Bull.

Violet Chambers ran toward the police officers. "Thank goodness you’re here," she said.

"You the one that made the phone call?" asked Bull. "How’d you manage to get away."

"It wasn’t me. It was that masked heroine – you know, the Jade Dragon. She broke in here and captured the whole bunch. Then she took off."

"Oh yeah – her," replied Bull. There was no love lost between the police and the costumed vigilantes of Metro City. The superheroines were constantly making the police look bad. Not only that, they didn’t accept bribes, and sometimes captured crooks who had paid the cops to leave them alone. Bull, whose real name was Dennis Riley, had lost a couple of profitable payoffs himself that way. "Well, don’t worry darlin’," he said, "we’ll look after you now." He guided her toward one of the younger officers. "Take this young lady down to the squad car. I’ll look after the rest of this lot."

He moved over to the Black Leopard, who was still struggling to get loose. "Looks like you met your match, darlin’. Bit off a little more than you could chew." He raised her head and pulled off her cowl.

The Black Leopard’s silken black hair spilled loose cascading over her shoulders. She was now revealed as Li Mei, born in China, trained in the martial arts, and who had entered the United states as an illegal immigrant at age fifteen. The police, however, know her only as the Black Leopard, a notorious cat burglar. They knew nothing of her alter ego.

What Bull Riley saw, however, was an astonishingly beautiful face. Li Mei’s dark almond eyes looked up at him with wide-eyed helplessness. It was a look she had cultivated. It had often helped get her out of difficult situations. Bull, however, was not deceived. Although impressed by the helpless woman’s incredible beauty he also knew that she had on occasion beaten up several police officers who had made the mistake of tangling with her. And she did not pay bribes, and that was a very serious mistake.

She was, however, very easy to look at. He ran his eyes over her body. Her skintight costume revealed every curve in her luscious body. His gaze came to rest on her gently heaving breasts. The outline of her nipples could be clearly seen through the sheer material that covered them. He licked his lips. He was beginning to get an idea. Prison could wait. It was time to get some personal satisfaction out of this bitch.

He looked over his shoulder. The remaining cops were helping the other women prisoners to stand. He exchanged a glance with his long time partner "Fish" Malone. He looked back to the Black Leopard and then back to Fish again. He winked. Fish nodded. They needed no further communication. They had played this game before. The last time had been when he and Fish had raided a brothel. The Black Leopard’s hideout wasn’t a brothel, but it would do.

Bull stood up. "The rest of you check out the remainder of the building. Start with the floor below this one and work your way down to the basement. "Don’t miss anything," he said, addressing the other cops. "I want as much evidence as you can find. Fish and me will look after this bunch."

The other cops looked a little disappointed. The Black Leopard’s Pussies were a comely bunch. They had been looking forward to patting then down and escorting them sown to the paddy wagon. But they went. No one in the department argued with Bull Riley, not even senior officers.

Bull waited until his fellow officers were out of sight. The errand he had sent them on would keep them busy for hours. He turned his attention back to Li Mei. He pulled her upright by grabbing the front of her costume. Then putting a good deal of force into it he struck her hard on the jaw. The blow caught Li Mei completely by surprise. She had thought she was getting through to the big cop. The punch was unexpected and it knocked her out cold.

Bull picked up the unconscious villainess and carried her into the next room. He had noticed through the open door when he had entered the Black Leopard’s lair that there seemed to be a suite of rooms there. Probably the Black Leopard’s living quarters, and where there was a living quarters there was probably a bed.

He was not disappointed. He entered a luxurious apartment. The Black Leopard obviously enjoyed a rich lifestyle. Through another doorway was her bedroom and in the center of the room was a deluxe bed large enough for four people to make love in at once. Bull dumped the body of the Black Leopard onto the bed. Then, checking first to make sure she was still unconscious, he removed the handcuffs from her ankles. Very conveniently the Jade Dragon had left the keys prominently displayed by the door of the lair. That made things so much easier. He took one of the sheets from the bed and ripped it into two long strips. Removing the Black Leopard’s boots he tied one ankle with one strip of cloth and then tied it to the leg of the bed. He repeated the process with the other leg. Li Mei was now nicely spread. It was time to enjoy her.

The Black clad villainess stirred. She was regaining consciousness. Li Mei opened her eyes. To her consternation she found that she was spread-eagled on her own bed, her hands still handcuffed behind her. Standing at the foot of the bed was the impressive figure of Bull Riley. He was slowly removing his clothing. As he dropped his pants and drawers she suppressed a little gasp. He was not called "Bull" simply because of his personality.

"Looking forward to this darlin’?" said Bull and he stroked his thick, heavy male organ.