Love it? Hate it? Questions? Send them all to sigma72@protonmail.com

Bloodlines (Call Me Americana #8)

by Sigma

Author’s note: Here it is. The grand finale.

Prologue

The dark haired woman sat tied to the chair in a dark, windowless room. Her fit, naked body bore the bruises and scars of recent abused, and she grunted, trying to loosen the rough rope that kept her bound.

The door opened and closed, and a tall blonde wearing a white blouse, black, leather pants, and boots with spiked heels walked in. She carried a briefcase that she sat on a lone table. She then looked at her captive and smiled. Her lipstick was the color of blood.

“Lady Heidi Kessler…” the captive spat.

“Hello, dear. We finally meet,” Lady Kessler said. She knelt down and propped her elbows on the woman’s naked thighs.  “You have beautiful eyes…” she said, looking into the woman’s blue gaze. She then ran her hands down the smooth, supple curves of her body. “And this body…”

The captive recoiled. “Let me go!”

Lady Kessler smiled. “That will not be happening. Your attempt at taking Herr Krause’s life failed. You belong to the Council now.”

“I won’t tell you anything!”

“You will,” Lady Kessler said with a smile. She walked over to the table and opened a briefcase. She took out two small disks and put them on the temples of the woman’s head. “But we do not just want what is in your head, dear Nora. We want your skills too.”

“You’re not going to get me to turn! Never!”

Lady Kessler cackled. “You speak as if you have a choice!” She then took a small remote out of her pocket and pressed the button. The devices on the captive’s head buzzed and sent out a painful shock that caused her to scream. Lady Kessler after covered her ears, the screaming was so loud. After a few moments, she stopped the charge and the captive slumped over, breathing heavily. Lady Kessler knelt next to her. “Stay with me. Make this fun. We’re just getting started…”

The captive took deep, shallow breaths. “Where is Freya?”

Lady Kessler looked at her. “Your companion? We will find her. Worry after your self for now.” She hit the remote and the screaming continued. After she stopped, the captive slumped over, whimpering and suppressing pained sobs.

Lady Kessler grabbed her dark hair and made her look her in the eye. “I am going to have fun breaking you…”

I – 25 Years Ago, Somewhere in Eastern Europe

The breaching charge blew the door off its hinges and the small squad of soldiers moved into the abandoned, rundown building. Captain Jack Wade led the squad, and behind him were Lieutenant Jared Walker and Sergeant Freya Hudson, along with three other soldiers. They silently and efficiently swept the place before word came down the line that the building was clear.

“She has to be here…Maybe we missed a room,” Freya said as they all gathered in the building’s front room.

“No,” Jared said. “We looked the place up and down. She’s not here, Frey.”

“You don’t know that!”

“He’s right, Hudson,” Captain Wade said. “We need to get out of here. The enemy’s on our heels and…” He then stopped when something came up on his radio. “Take cover!”

Before they could move, a massive explosion rocked the room, exploding the wall and scattering the soldiers. Captain Wade hit a wall and slowly got up. He looked across the room and saw Jared helping Freya up. The others were dead, killed in the explosion. He grabbed his rifle and ran to the newly made hole in the wall. Outside was a menacing looking tank, the barrel of its cannon aimed at the building. Several soldiers wearing faceless masks and black body armor surrounded the tank and prepared to move in.

“Shit!” He prepared to defend the building and buy them some time when a boom sounded in the air. The soldiers all looked up just as someone fell out of the sky and slammed into the ground, sending them all flying with the force of the impact. This person then turned on the tank, grabbed it beneath its tread and flipped it over with little effort.

Jared and Freya joined Jack just as the dust cleared.

At the center of it all was a black woman, tall, curvy with an athletic build, wearing red, white, and blue body armor. She turned to the building, smiled and waved before raising her wrist communicator.

“Hey there, Captain. I was in the neighborhood and thought I might swing by,” she said.

“Williams,” Jack said with a sigh of relief. “We owe you big time. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Williams said. “Did you find Nora?”

Freya looked at the ground when she heard the question. Jack put a hand on her shoulder. “Negative. But we will. Let’s get out of here.”

Two Years Later

In a hot and sweaty hotel room somewhere in western Europe, the woman arched her back and let out a cry of pleasure as she continued riding Colonel Wade’s cock.

Jack gripped a shapely hip with one hand and cupped a tit with the other while thrusting into her. They looked each other in the eye and she leaned down, smiling as they kissed. She then sat back up and Jack noticed something in her eyes. A smile crossed her face and she reached back, pulling something from her dark hair, which came undone and cascaded her narrow shoulders. The blade glinted in the moonlight and Jack stopped her stab mere inches from his heart. The tip of the stiletto blade pierced his skin, but he grunted, pushed back, and managed to shove her away and off the bed.

He got to his feet before her, pushed by adrenaline, and she stood up, growling at him as he put his fists up. “Sorry, Nora…” he said to her.

She lunged, trying to stab him, and Jack grabbed her wrist, pulled her in, and knocked her out with a single punch. The assassin collapsed to the floor in a heap and Jack paused to catch his breath before grabbing the phone. He dialed a number. “I’ve got her.”

Moments later, Freya barged into the room and saw the woman handcuffed to the leg of the bed. She looked at Freya with hatred in her eyes but said nothing.

“Nora...it’s me, Freya. Don’t you recognize me?”

She said nothing, simply stared.

“What the fuck did those monsters do to her?” Freya asked, covering her mouth with tears in her eyes. She turned and Jack hugged her.

“It’s all right...we’ve got her. We’ll bring her back.” 

One Year Later

At a small cafe somewhere in Paris, Nora bounced her infant daughter on her knee and smiled. Freya sat across from her, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Brenda’s getting so big already,” Freya said.

Nora kissed her daughter on the head. “I know. Once she’s old enough to fly, we’re going to move to Delta City, where Jack is setting the company up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Nora said, smiling. “We want you to come too. Don’t we, Brenda?”

Freya smiled and took Nora’s hand.

Nora looked back at her. “Listen, Freya...I just want to thank you for not giving up on me after all those years. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to…”

“Nora, stop…” Freya said. “You know I wouldn’t have stopped looking. Just like I’m not going to stop looking for the monsters who did that to you.”

Nora smiled and gave Brenda another kiss. She then looked up past Freya and frowned.

Freya glanced back over her shoulder. “We’re still being followed, aren’t we…?”

Nora nodded and handed Brenda to Freya. “Keep her safe. I think I know who this is...I’ll take care of it.” She then got up.

“Please be careful…” Freya said to her.

Ten Years Later

Jack was on his knees, bleeding from a fatal wound in his stomach. He looked at the blood on his hands and then looked up as a pair of polished boots came into view. An imposing man in suit and a gas mask looked down at him. At his side was a tall blonde and with them was a third man, tall and thin with a shaved head and a bloody blade in his hand.

“General Jack Wade,” the masked man said in a thick, German accent. “At last we meet.”

“Count Jäger…” Jack said, coughing up blood.

“Indeed…” Count Jäger said. “I still owed you for taking one of my best assassins from me.” He put his hand on the shoulder of the man holding the bloody blade. “Vandal here was absolutely distraught that he had to kill a former colleague in Paris all those years ago. Weren’t you, Vandal?”

“Nora did not go quietly…” Vandal said, suppressing a laugh.

“Keep her name out of your mouth,” Jack growled.

“Defiant to the end,” Count Jäger said. “No matter. How is little Brenda? She must be so big now.”

Jack growled and lunged at him, but Vandal kicked him and knocked him to the ground.

“I am bored with this,” Count Jäger announced. “We have better things to do.” He then turned to the woman. “Lady Kessler, dispose of him. Come, Vandal,” he said as he and Vandal left.

Lady Kessler nodded and stood over Jack before removing a handgun from her overcoat. “It will be over soon,” she said to him.

Jack closed his eyes. His last thoughts were of Nora and Brenda before the gun went off.

***

In Delta City, a week later, Freya held a sobbing Brenda close, and watched as Jack’s casket was lowered into an open grave next to Nora’s. She knelt down next to Brenda and looked her in the eye.

“Brenda...look at me.”

Brenda did, wiping her tears.

“Know this. I will do everything to keep you safe. Do you understand? I will always watch over you.”

Brenda nodded and then took another look at her father’s casket and began crying all over again. Freya said nothing. She simply held Brenda close.

II

Americana patrolled the streets of Delta City, moving from rooftop to rooftop with the moon high in the night sky. She stood on the edge of one roof, overlooking the city when she heard a woman cry out for help. She immediately realized where it was coming from and went in that direction.

Americana arrived at an abandoned lot and saw several men in black body armor trying to force a blonde woman into a car.

“Stop right there!” the young heroine said. 

The armored men turned and faced her and she attacked, fighting them all off with ease. When they were all knocked out, she turned to the woman. “Are you okay?”

Lady Kessler smirked at her. “Better than okay, dear.” She let out a sharp whistle and a nearby wall exploded, throwing Americana back. A hulking man in a mask wearing only a thong approached her. He had a tank strapped to his back and Americana immediately recognized what she was looking at.

“A Koloss!” she gasped and looked at Lady Kessler. “You knew Reiger!”

Lady Kessler smirked. “I killed that fool for failing us. Now it’s time I finish what he started.” She whistled at the Koloss and barked a commanded in German, and the Koloss growled and attacked Americana.  

She tried fighting it, but this one was far tougher and far faster than the one she and The Specter fought. Nothing Americana did to attack it seemed to phase it, and its blows landed harder, each one feeling like she was being hit by a car. Before long, the Koloss had subdued the young heroine, slamming a fist into her tight stomach and double her over.

She was on her knees, gasping for air when the Koloss kicked her in the ribs. She rolled across the ground and the Koloss lumbered toward her. It then grabbed her and stripped her of her belt and costume, leaving her naked on the ground of the lot. Its cocked swelled up between its massive legs and Lady Kessler laughed.

“Yes, enjoy your reward my child!”

“No!” Americana cried as the giant grabbed her neck and squeezed while pulling her legs apart. She tried to kick, but he smacked her leg, sending a sharp spike of pain, and then guided his cock home and began fucking the heroine right there in the middle of the lot.

The Koloss grunted as it ravaged Americana’s young body, gripping her hip with one giant hand and keeping pressure applied on her neck with the other. Its swollen cock pushed in deep, causing the heroine to cry out with every powerful thrust.

Lady Kessler circled them, observing. “This is your life now, girl. You are the property of the Council and you will be treated as such. We will have that genetic material of yours to do with as we please.”

Americana’s eyes rolled back in her hand. Her nipples were rock hard and her meaty tits jiggled as the beast kept fucking her. She could barely focus on what Lady Kessler was saying.

“You see…” Lady Kessler said. “We know that you are Brenda Wade. You are the child of one of our former top agents and we never fully recovered from having lost her, so you will be her replacement.”

Americana only gasped and whimpered as the Koloss continued stretching her.

“But first, we must break you,” Lady Kessler said. “And that, my dear, is the fun part.”

As she spoke, the Koloss continued fucking Americana, pushing its massive cock deep inside the young heroine’s tight pussy. She gritted her teeth, mustering her fading strength to try and push him off, but it was useless. This one was much stronger than the original and all Americana could do was try to will down the mounting pleasure. As the Koloss continued fucking her, Brenda looked over as Lady Kessler knelt down next to her.

“Huh...you have her eyes,” Lady Kessler said. “Sweet Nora was such an asset to us, and then those American dogs took her back.” She ran the back of her hand across Americana’s face.

“N...Nora?” Americana said. “You knew my mother?”

Lady Kessler tilted her head to the side. “Of course…” She then smirked. “I see...that old witch Freya never told you!”

A mix of pleasure and confusion ran through Americana’s head. The Koloss squeezed her her tits, continued plowing her, and grunted as it came closer to climax.

“Well, you will learn the truth when we are finished here,” Lady Kessler told her. “Once I begin my brainwashing regimen, the same one I used on your mother, all will be made clear.”

Americana simply whimpered, her eyes rolling back as the pleasure built and the Koloss kept taking long, deep strokes.

“I was there the day your father died,” Lady Kessler taunted. “He bled out like a dog before me. I ended his suffering with two bullets to the head. Was the funeral a closed casket, child?”

“Y...you bitch!” Americana said with tears in her eyes.

Lady Kessler smiled, leaned in, and kissed the helpless heroine on the forehead. She then stood up and walked next to the Koloss. “Be quick. I want to get her back to our base and begin as soon as possible.”

The Koloss grunted in acknowledgment and took a few more forceful thrusts while Lady Kessler watched with a predatory smirk.

“Still a sadistic Nazi cunt after all these years, eh Heidi?” A voice said from the other end of the lot.

Lady Kessler spun around with her gun raised and went wide eyed. “You!”

The voice belonged to a tall, curvy, athletically built black woman in her 40s. She wore a one-piece, American flag-themed costume with blue, knee-high boots and gloves that went to her elbows. Her dark hair was a voluminous parted afro and she narrowed her eyes as she walked toward them. “Yeah, me.” She said, cracking her knuckles.

Lady Kessler growled and fired her gun twice, hitting the woman. She grunted and fell to one knee. “Heidi! Come on!” she laughed. “You know that’s not gonna do anything but piss me off.”

Lady Kessler hit the Koloss. “Do something about that subhuman filth!”

The Koloss growled and stood up, fixing his eyes on the woman. It bellowed out a challenge and then charged her, hitting her hard with a big fist that sent her into the the nearest wall, cracking the brick.

The woman slumped over and then stood back up, smiling. “My turn. The kid’s watching, so I’ll show off for a bit...”

She then ran at the Koloss and when it threw a punch at her, she took it and then fired back, hitting him with a series of punches. Americana watched this strange woman weave around more attacks, before she pulled back and hit the Koloss with a punch that connected with his midsection. The force of the impact sounded like a cannon going off and sent out a shockwave that shattered nearby windows and sent the Koloss flying. He slammed into a parked car, completely collapsing the vehicle in on itself, and fell to his knees. The Koloss grunt and hacked, and blood spilled from his mouth, through his mask, and then he collapsed face first, dead.

The woman sucked her teeth. “Over already, huh? You got any more of those things, Heidi?” she asked, looking around. Lady Kessler had already fled.

The woman sighed and touched her face, wincing a fresh bruise there before walking to Americana. She extended a hand.

“Thanks…” Americana said, exhausted and in awe as she stood up. “Who are you?”

“Laura Williams,” the woman introduced herself. “But you can call me Glory. So you’re Jack and Nora’s kid? Jesus, you’ve gotten big.”

III

Back at the Penthouse HQ, Glory helped Americana through the door and Freya met them the moment they came in.

“Brenda!” Freya said, helping her to the couch.

“I’m fine,” Brenda said, relaxing on the couch. “Ms. Williams helped me.”

Freya turned and faced her. “...Laura...it’s been a while.”

“Too long, Frey,” Glory said. The two of them shared a long hug, the kind that old friends give, and when they parted, Freya held her hands.

“You look well,” Freya said with a smile.

“Same with you,” Glory said. “Though, you’ve got some explaining to do. But I guess I do too.”

Brenda looked at the two of them. “Freya, I was attacked by a Koloss and some woman named Heidi. She knew my mom and she said she killed dad! What the hell is happening?!”

Glory folded her arms. “The kid doesn’t know much, Freya...why is that?”

Freya let out a sigh. “There is a lot I need to tell you. The woman who attacked you was Heidi Kessler. She’s among the leadership for an organization known as The Council. They’re a modern-day holdout of the Nazi party, descended from officers who escaped from Europe after the war ended. The officers who founded The Council were from Hitler’s secret ‘schwarze Projekte’ division. Black projects. Things dealing in the supernatural and superhuman. Monsters, extradimensional trespassers, genetic and cybernetic modification...”

“What the fuck…?” Brenda gasped. “But...what does my mom have to do with this? That woman said she worked for them?!”

Freya choked back tears and looked at the floor.

“She deserves to know, Freya…” Glory said. “I can’t believe you never told her.”

“It isn’t that simple!” Freya snapped at her, before taking a deep breath. “No...you’re right. I’m sorry…” She then sat next to Brenda on the couch and took Brenda’s hand. “Your mother was an assassin for the Council, one of their best. But she was brainwashed into doing it. Your father and I spent years looking for her, and we were the ones who broke their control after we found her.”

Brenda looked at her, stunned.

“You’re burying the lede, Frey…” Glory said.

Freya took a deep breath and composed herself. “Your mother, Nora Wade...we were in army intelligence together. We carried out missions I’m not really supposed to talk about. One such mission was to assassinate a man named Otto Krause, someone in the Council’s leadership. Our cover got blown...Nora was captured, but I managed to escape…”

Brenda stayed quiet

“And…” Glory prodded.

Freya squeezed Brenda’s hand. “Before she married your father, Nora Wade was Nora Hudson…”

“Hudson…?” Brenda repeated.

Freya nodded. “Nora Wade was...is...my sister….”

Brenda’s jaw dropped. “Then you’re…”

“Your aunt,” Freya said. “Yes.”

There was tense silence for several moments. Brenda was clearly trying to process what she just heard. Without saying anything, she got up and started to leave.

“Brenda!” Freya said, running after her. She grabbed Brenda’s gloved hand.

“No,” Brenda said, pulling away. “I need to be alone right now…” She then left the room.

“Shit…” Freya said, plopping down on the couch.

Glory sat down on the couch next to Freya and put a hand on her shoulder. When she did, Freya put her head against Glory’s shoulder.

“I fucked up, Laura…”

“You did,” Glory said, stroking Freya’s hair. “Give her some time, though. It’ll be all right.”

Freya then looked up at her. “What are you doing in Delta anyway? I haven’t seen you since Jack’s funeral. Where have you been?”

“Freelancing for Sentinel and the CRT these past few years, mainly,” Glory said. “An anonymous tip came through my handler at Sentinel that the Council might be in Delta, so I came to check it out. When I heard there was some heroine who jacked my aesthetic, I wanted to see what she was about, so I found her out on patrol and decided to shadow her. I had no idea it was Brenda, though.”

“Thanks for having her back out there.”

“Anytime,” Glory said. “She’s 100 percent getting a new gimmick when we wrap this up, though.”

Freya looked up at her old friend. “Nah, she wears it better than you. The belt ties it all together.”

“...Fuck you, Freya.” Glory said as they both laughed.

***

Americana sat alone somewhere on a rooftop in Delta City. She swung her legs off the edge of the building and pressed the button on her collar.

“...It’s just...why would Freya keep something like that from me?” She asked.

“That’s heavy, Brenda. Really heavy,” Coach Kay replied from the other end. “I’m sure Freya had her reasons, though. You gonna be okay?”

“I guess…I’m still pissed at her though.”

“Yeah, that feeling’s justified. I’m not going to tell you what you should do, but at least hear her out.”

“...Yeah, I will…” Americana said. “Thanks, coach.”

“Of course.”

“Hey, what do you know about Glory?”

“I’ve never met her, but I’ve heard about her. She’s supposed to be a Tier-1 badass, like one of the strongest in the country,” Coach Kay said.

“What’s her power? I saw her send that Koloss flying with a single punch. She also took hits and shook them off. It was crazy.”

“She absorbs kinetic energy and then uses it to enhance her own physical abilities. So, punches, bullets, being thrown, all of that. She can redirect that energy to make herself stronger, tougher, faster. Basically, the longer she drags out a fight, the harder she is to beat.”

“Damn...that’s lucky…” Americana said.

“She probably has a limit to how much she can take in, just like you can’t overfill a balloon or it’ll burst, but yeah...be happy she’s on your side.”

Americana nodded. “What about The Council?”

“Ugh...fucking Nazi fucks…” Coach Kay growled. “I fought them a few times in my hero days. Break their jaws and don’t feel bad about it. Even for a second.”

“I think I’ll do just that…”

“Good girl,” Coach Kay said. “I know you’re full of emotions right now, questioning everything you thought you knew about your life. But you’ll be fine. I’ve been where you are.”

“You have?” Americana asked.

“Hey, believe it or not, I was your age once!” Coach Kay said. “Trust me, Bren. It passes. You’re a tough kid. You’ll be fine.”

Americana smiled. “Thanks for listening to me whine, coach.”

“Always,” she answered. “Listen, I gotta run. See you for training tomorrow?”

“You bet,” Americana said.

And then the call ended. Americana then perked up when she sensed someone standing behind her. It was Vandal, the Council assassin. He wolfish smile crossed his face.

Americana quickly got to her feet. “Who are you?!”

“Lady Kessler sent me to speak with you,” Vandal said. As he approached Brenda, she noticed him holding two knives behind his back. “I thought I’d have to wait longer than I did to get you alone, but here you are…”

Americana took a fighting stance. “Walk away, or you get hurt.”

Vandal smirked. “You know...your mother said something similar to me, in Paris all those years ago.”

Brenda gasped.

“She put up a good fight,” Vandal said. “Gave me this…” he used the tip of a knife to point to a faded scar above his right eye. “It pained me to take her life, given that we were colleagues at one time.”

“You son of a bitch…”

“I’m not here to kill you,” Vandal told her. “No, Lady Kessler wishes you captured, and I live to serve.”

Americana screamed and attacked, but Vandal weaved away from her punch and swept her legs from under her. Americana went down and Vandal pinned her, crossing his blades across her neck.

“Now, now…Lady Kessler said you must be alive...but if I must cut, I will.” Vandal then traced the tip of a blade down the young heroine’s cleavage. “Yes….delicious…” he said. With a swift move, he cut her bikini top, exposing her tits to the cool night air. He kept the other blade to her throat to keep her from moving and impaled the first knife in the ground, right next to her face. He then began groping the meaty flesh of her tits.

Americana moaned at his touch as his hand slipped down her body and between her legs.

“So young and healthy. I am going to have my fun with you indeed,” Vandal said with a grin before bringing his fist down on her face.

*

Americana woke up some later, strapped to a table in a building she didn’t recognize. Vandal and Lady Kessler stood over her with smiles on their faces.

“Welcome, child,” Lady Kessler said. She touched the side of Brenda’s face. “I finally have you. Now I will take my time with you.”

Americana bit her hand, and she recoiled, striking the young heroine.

“I will have to take that fight out of you, won’t I?” Lady Kessler asked.

“What do you want with me?!”

“I’ve already told you...you will be broken,” Lady Kessler explained. “You will be remade to serve the glorious purpose of the Council. A world where only the strong and the pure thrive, and mongrels, sub-humans, and inferior filth will be brought to heel or exterminated. But you also have something else we want...”

“...What?”

“Your mother was an extraordinary woman, but we made her even more so when we reshaped her,” Lady Kessler said, cupping Brenda’s tit. “We modified her. Made her stronger, faster, so that she might better carry out our great work. We suspect that is where the basis of your power comes from child. Or, perhaps, our work unlocked your Aphrodite gene. Our scientists will learn the truth once you are in their tender care.”

Americana gasped as Lady Kessler squeezed her tit. The woman’s hand then moved down her body and undid the belt, taking it off.

“Let’s just do away with this gaudy thing,” she said, throwing the belt aside.

Americana looked over at the belt.

“Our scientists must prep their work area, which will take some time. Until then, she is yours, Vandal, for a job well done.”

The sinister assassin simply grinned.

Lady Kessler smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do not be too rough with her. This cannot be like one of your brothel visits…” she said before leaving the room.

Americana whimpered as Vandal loomed over her and began unshackling her from the table.

IV

“To Jack,” Glory said, raising a glass of whiskey.

“To Jack,” Freya repeated, raising her own drink. The two women toasted and downed their drinks where they sat next to each other at the kitchen counter.

“I miss him…” Glory sighed. “I probably shouldn’t even say this...but did you know we had a thing for a while?”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. Before he met Nora, of course. It fizzled out because I got pulled into the superhuman division but…” Glory smiled. “He was actually the one who inspired the costume,” said, pointing to her star-spangled outfit. “He loved the country, and that was infectious.”

“Oh, I know...it’s what inspired Brenda’s costume,” Freya said. “But it’s Sentinel and the CRT keeping your busy these days, eh?”

“Yup,” Glory said, pouring herself another drink.

“They both tried to poach me from the FBI,” Freya said. “So did the CIA. I was actually all set to go with the Agency, but then Jack died and I realized Brenda didn’t have anyone, so I quit to look after her…”

“Damn…” Glory said. “...I gotta know, why didn’t you tell her you two are related? That’s insane!”

“Ugh…” Freya groaned. “I don’t knooooow, Laura! It was something I wrestled with every damn day. I tried justifying it by saying I was protecting her, so she wouldn’t know about the blood Nora had on her hands. I think I was just scared, though...”

“Of what?”

“Of the questions she’d ask. Of looking her in the eye and facing what my sister had done, and how I had to leave her behind all those years ago….” Freya said. She stared at her empty glass and wiped her eye. Glory rubbed her shoulder. “Brenda looks just like her, but taller. It took my forever to look at that child and not see my sister...”

“Never thought I’d see the day when Freya ‘The Valkyrie’ Hudson was afraid of anything.”

“No one’s used my old call sign in years!” Freya laughed. 

Laura looked at her and smiled. “Have you talked to Jared? He works for Axanna Morgan, doesn’t he?”

Freya suppressed a wide smile and avoided looking at her. “We talked….two nights ago, and then the morning after…”

“Don’t be so fucking bashful, Valkyrie. The two of you were the worst-kept secret in the unit back in the day.”

“What?” Freya asked.

“Everyone knew! Me, Jack, everybody. I even saw the two of you in the supply depot once, behind some ammo crates.”

Freya blushed and got up. “...I need to...use the bathroom…” she started to walk away as Glory laughed. There was then a sustained, high-pitched ringing and Freya froze. “Oh no…”

“What the hell is that?”

Freya ran to the living room table and pressed a button under it. A holographic map came up of Delta City, and a red dot pinpointed a location. “It’s a distress signal. Brenda’s belt gives it off when it’s taken from her.”

Glory got up and walked over. “Fuck. Go tool up and let’s go get her.”

Freya nodded and ran to another room.

***

Americana whimpered into her gag, the ropes rough against her soft skin. She was tied to a basic metal frame, with ropes wrapped tightly around her ankles, her naked thighs, and her arms to keep them from moving. She had been stripped of everything except her mask, tiara, and choker, and her blue eyes stayed focused on Vandal as he walked around her with a cruel smile on his face and an erect cock between his legs.

The assassin walked to a table, stocked with whips, crops, paddles, and other toys and devices. He picked up a cat of nine tails and flashed a smile at the captive young heroine, but didn’t say anything as he walked around her.

Americana closed her eyes, her heart racing in anticipation as she followed the sounds of his footsteps. Then she screamed into her gag when she felt a sharp strike across her bare, plump ass. Vandal struck her again, and she cried out, and then he hit her harder, and she yelled out harder. Her nubile body bucked in its bonds, the meat of her ass jiggled with each hit, and Americana bit back the growing mix of pain and pleasure.

Vandal then reached around her, pinching her nipples, and he whispered something in German in her ear while fondling her. He then kissed her shoulders, her neck, the side of her face, and Americana could feel his stiff cock pressing against her ass.

She gasped when his strong hands seized her neck and squeezed and then sucked in a big gasp of air when he let go after what seemed like an eternity. She stood on the tips of her toes, the pleasure mounting, and Vandal walked around her, making her cry out when he struck her across her meaty tits with the whip. He hit her twice more and then squeezed the tender flesh of her breasts. One hand then moved down her body, and two fingers went inside of her as Vandal looked her in the eye.

She noticed for the first time that the assassin had heterochromia, one eye green and the other gray. He pressed his forehead against hers while fingering her with the gentle consideration of a lover.

“I am going to take your gag out, and you will moan for me,” Vandal said, breathing heavily. He took the gag from her mouth and they kissed, and he continued fingering her.

Americana’s breathing was rapid when Vandal pulled back, and she moaned as he pushed his fingers in deeper. He licked her, and she winced, making Vandal grab her by the jaw.

“You do not recoil at my touch,” he warned with a hint of menace in his tone.

Americana nodded, her head awash in pleasure as he continued his fingering. She writhed in wiggled in her bonds, crying out every time Vandal pinched her nipples, slapped the tender flesh of her bound body, and kissed and gently bit at her skin.

His finger was bringing her close to the edge. She could feel herself getting ever closer. She tightened around his fingers, her pussy getting wet.

And then he pulled out, denying Americana an orgasm, and walked back to the table.

Her eyes went to the vibrator in Vandal’s left hand when he turned it one, and then to the wide, flat paddle in his right.

“Oh fuck!” she cried when he pressed the vibrator to her erect clit. “Ah!” she screamed when he smacked her ass with the paddle at the same time. This simultaneous assault went on for several minutes, driving nothing but pleasure through the young heroine’s body. The paddling soon stopped, but Vandal pressed the vibrator in even harder while he wrapped his other forearm around her neck and coiled tight. He laughed in her ear, his breath hot and his lean body and stiff cock pressing up against her.

She trembled in her bonds, crying out desperately as Vandal would bring her to the edge, stop to deny her, and then start over again.

“You don’t cum without my permission,” he said to her, beating his meat against her ass and lower back.

He pressed the vibrator again and American’s abs contracted, her muscles tensed. She bit her lip, balled her fists and curled her toes, trying to will away what she was feeling. “I...I can’t!” she cried out, dropping her head as Vandal laughed and continued. He turned up the intensity and the toy vibrated harder until her screams couldn’t be contained. Vandal released his arm from her neck and slowly slid his fingers back inside her.

Panic ran through her at first, because she felt him slowly probing with all five fingers. “Ah...AH!! NO! PLEASE!” she begged as Vandal put his whole hand in and then made a fist that he slowly thrust in and out of her tight snatch. Americana gasped, cried out, and whimpered as Vandal fisted her with one hand and worked her clit with the other.

The overwhelming sensation was getting to be too much to bear. Americana felt her knees buckle. The bonds tying her to the frame were the only thing keeping her from falling down. Her jaw was slack, her nipples were rock hard, she was growing increasingly wet.

Vandal continued unrelentingly, and Americana’s tits bounced and jiggled with the movement. Cries of “No!” became pleads of “YES!” and, after a few movements, Americana felt herself giving in.

“I...I can’t hold it anymore!” she screamed. She then let out a piercing yell as her juices flowed freely, soaking Vandal’s fist and splattering on the floor under her bare feet. They ran in thick streams down her thighs, and Vandal took a few more thrusts before pulling out and turning the vibrator off.

Americana slumped forward, still held upright by the ropes, and her tits heaved with her breath as she mumbled incoherently. Vandal lifted her chin, his hand still wet, and he looked her in the eye.

“Did you enjoy that?”

“Yes….” Americana whimpered.

Vandal nodded and stroked his cock. He then slid behind her, grabbing the ample meat of her ass. He began guiding himself home when the door to the room opened.

Lady Kessler walked in as Vandal grabbed Americana’s hips and pulled them back. She looked Americana up and down, nodding in approval and then looked at Vandal.

“I’m afraid our scientists are ready to begin,” Lady Kessler said.

***

Minutes later, Americana was chained to a wall, disoriented. She looked up and braced herself as Lady Kessler, holding the end of a fire hose, aimed it and turned it on.

Americana cried out and gasped in shock at the sudden assault of freezing cold water that drenched her body and threatened to push her against the wall. As soon as it started, it stopped, and Lady Kessler turned the hose off.

“I could not very well have you begin the procedure covered in your own fluids,” the sadistic Nazi said. “Dry her off and begin,” she ordered.

Two men wearing medical coveralls nodded and approached Americana.

*

Americana was still disoriented, and the blinding light made it worse. She felt cold metal shackles binding her naked body to an operating table, and she winced when one of the scientists stuck her with a needle gun and drew blood into a vial attached to her. He left and returned seconds later and he and two others hovered over her. They spoke to each other in German and their tone made Americana nervous.

The she felt them beginning to attach several small metal discs to her body. They fixed the cold pieces of metal to her chest, her tits, her thighs, and stomach, and her temples.

“What are these?!” she asked in a slight panic.

“It’s how I break you,” Lady Kessler said. “I broke your mother the same way.”

A scientist went over to a console. “Beginning calibration.”

There was a short whine and then Americana screamed when an powerful electrical surge shot through her body. It last a few seconds, but she lay on the table, hyperventilating, her body wracked with pain and tears in her eyes.

Lady Kessler watched from the observation room and pressed a button to speak to the scientists. “Turn up the intensity.”

“No…” Americana whispered.

The scientist nodded and adjusted the dial when alarms started blaring.

“What is that?!” Lady Kessler asked herself. She pressed the button to speak to the scientists. “Suspend the procedure until I address this,” she ordered. She then grabbed a handheld radio as she stormed out and began shouting at someone in German.

***

Elsewhere in the facility, black-clad Council soldiers stood with guns aimed and Glory stood before a newly-made hole in the wall with her hands on her shapely hips and a smirk on her full lips.

“What’s up, shitbags?” She asked. They fired, she ran, and bullets bounced off her reinforced body. She ran through the soldiers like a battering ram. She then stopped, leaving bodies in her wake when she was cut off by more armed and armored soldiers. Glory looked at them.

“Look, I’d love to crack your skulls all night, but I have shit to do. My girl’s gonna take care of you all,” she said, pointing a thumb back at the hole in the wall.

There were heavy footsteps, and in walked a giant metal hulk, a heavy exosuit of power armor with Freya in the closed cockpit. The machine carried a six-barreled mini-gun and had shoulder-mounted rocket launchers and machine guns. The soldiers all froze as Freya took aim.

“Put down your weapons. You have 20 seconds to comply,” Freya’s voice came out distorted and menacing.

Glory looked back. “Really, Freya?!” She then shook her head and leapt over the soldiers, running deeper into the facility. “Heidi, you Nazi cunt! Get your ass out here so I can put my boot up it!” she yelled as heavy gunshots started going off.

***

Lady Kessler stormed into the lab, letting off a string of curses in German. She carried an oversized rifle in one hand and her radio in the other as she yelled orders at her men. The scientists standing over Americana all looked at Lady Kessler and waited for her to finish. Once she did, she put her radio in the pocket of her coat and looked at the scientists.

“What are you fools waiting for? Continue the procedure!” she barked.

One of them stepped forward, he was a tall, pale man. “Are you sure that is wise Lady Kessler? We are clearly under attack. It will take us but a moment to sedate the subject and…”

He was interrupted by a gunshot to the face. His body fell and Lady Kessler aimed her smoking handgun at the others. Without a word, they gathered their tools and went back to Americana.

“No! Noooo!” the captive heroine shrieked as she renewed her efforts to escape.

Just then, the doors burst open and Glory strode in, more Council soldiers laying in her wake.

“Heidi, Heidi, Heidi…” Glory said, approaching her. “Why are you playing hard to get? I promise I’ll be gentle.”

“As if I would ever fornicate with a dirty mongrel like you!” Lady Kessler hissed.

“That hurts, Heidi,” Glory pouted, feigning heartbreak. “It really does. I guess I’ll just take my friend there and be on my way since you don’t like me.”

“Do not worry about this one,” Lady Kessler said to the scientists. “Continue your work!”

“Who are you talking to?” Glory asked.

Lady Kessler turned to see Americana strapped to the table and the scientists fleeing through the door on the other side of the room. “Cowards!” she screamed. “I will see you all hanged for this treason!”

When she turned back around, she jumped in surprise when she saw Glory was right in her face.

“Boo.”

Lady Kessler pushed her back and aimed the rifle she carried.

“Ooooh,” Glory said. “Didn’t know you were packing like that, Heidi.”

Lady Kessler simply smirked and fired the weapon, and Glory yelled and fell to one knee as the continuous beam of energy assaulted her. Lady Kessler let off the trigger and approached Glory, who stayed on one knee. “That’s it...subservient, right where you and your kind belong,” she taunted.

“What the fuck is that?” Glory asked, looking at the gun.

“A continuous-fire particle cannon. The amount of energy it projects is staggering, too much even for you to contain.” She then lowered the weapon and fired again, hitting Glory with more energy. Glory screamed and fell to the ground,

“No…” Americana said, trying to break free of the metal bonds. She was still weak from Vandal’s assault and the scientists had fit a suppression collar on her neck, leaving her helpless to break free and help Glory.

Lady Kessler turned the gun off and stood over Glory, who was on her hands and knees, gasping for air. Lady Kessler kicked her in the face, putting her on her back. “You better not have gotten your inferior blood on my boot,” she growled, looking down. She then circled Glory. “To think, the mighty Glory brought low so easily. There may be room on the operating table for you as well. Despite your racial handicap, you may yet be of some use to the cause. That power of yours will prove useful. We can take your genetic material and give it to someone who is actually worthy.”

“That’s what you’re doing to Americana?! Taking her genetic material?!”

“And seeing just what it is that makes her tick,” Lady Kessler said. “You Aphrodites would make useful weapons, and it is our divine right to have the most effective weapons of all. That such a gift is wasted on sub-human filth like you cannot stand.” She then stepped on Glory’s chest and pinned her down and a smile crossed her lips. “Dare I say, Glory, you beneath my boot is a good look for you.” She then tossed the gun aside, kicked Glory in her face again to stun her, and the grabbed her neck and held her down. Lady Kessler’s other hand then went into Glory’s snatch, and the defeated heroine cried out as the Nazi began fingering her.

“Oh god!” Glory screamed, spreading her legs as Lady Kessler leaned over her with a sadistic grin on her face. She grabbed Kessler’s wrist with her hands and tried to get free, but the Nazi pushed deep, dominating the heroine and keeping her pinned.

“You will call me master after I tame you, mongrel,” Lady Kessler said. “You will obey my every command like the dog you are.”

Glory gasped at the fingers inside of her. She was flooded by an irrepressible sense of pleasure, a side effect of absorbing more energy than her body could handle. She looked up at Kessler’s grinning face, at the cold, sadistic look in her eyes as she dominated her, and she wanted nothing more than to smash her fist into the woman’s face, but the pleasure was far too much.

“FUCK!” Glory screamed as Lady Kessler pushed three fingers in. She was right there on the edge.

It happened moments later, the stored up energy overloading Glory’s body caused a massive orgasm that made her whole body convulse. Every taught muscle twitched and Glory’s healthy brown curves trembled as a geyser erupted between her muscular thighs.

Lady Kessler stood up, flicking the sex juices onto Glory’s twitching body as she lay there, breathing heavily in an expanding pool of her own juices. “Haha! Languish in your defeat! Soon enough, you will be in chains where you people belong.” She kicked Glory in the ribs. “Pathetic!”

When Glory grunted at getting kicked, Lady Kessler, drunk on her racist, sex-mad power trip, kicked the broken heroine again and again. Glory took the repeated blows, and after several more, she managed to make a fist as her senses started coming back to her.

Americana, still strapped to the table, craned her neck and watched. “That’s not a good idea…”

Lady Kessler’s assault moved from Glory’s ribs to between her legs. She kicked the downed heroine hard in the snatch and laughed. “Look at you...so pathetic you do not even defend yourself!” She tossed her blonde hair back and laughed. “Ooooh, what will I do with you? I could present your head to Count Jäger, or take you as a pet to be kept under heel, or perhaps I will peddle all of your holes to the highest bidder, yes?”

Glory groaned and rolled over.

“Have you something to say?” Lady Kessler asked. She looked down when Glory grabbed her ankle. “Unhand me, dog!” She then screamed when Glory pulled her to the ground and twisted her ankle while holding her leg.

“Thanks for the power boost, Heidi,” Glory said, favoring her tender ribs. “You kick like a little bitch, by the way.”

“Ahhh!” Lady Kessler screamed in agony. “Let me go!”

“You okay over there, kid?” Glory asked.

“I’m fine!” Americana said.

“Cool, be with you in a sec. I just need to teach this cunt rag some manners.”

“Unhand me this insta-AAAHHH!”

 ***

Vandal had his clothes back on and was going through his implements of the trade, various knives and guns. He monitored chatter on the radio, hearing that Freya in her exosuit was close to overrunning the soldiers. Their leaders called for Lady Kessler, who never answered. Just then, Vandal’s phone rang.

“Yes?”

“Vandal,”  Count Jäger’s voice answered. “What is happening?”

“The young heroine’s allies have come for her.”

“Nora’s sister?”

“And the heroine Glory, my lord.”

“Is there a Koloss on site?”

“Just one, my lord. Glory killed the other earlier tonight.”

Count Jäger went silent for several moments. “Very well. Vandal, we must move as though the facility has been lost. Heidi is not responding to me, so she is either dead or has been captured. This is what I want you to do…” 

***

Lady Kessler crawled across the floor, her broken nose dripping blood and one eye nearly swollen shut. Glory stalked her slowly and Lady Kessler looked back and began crawling faster.

“No...please…”

“What was all that shit you were talking, Heidi?” Glory said. “Inferior this...mongrel that.” She climbed on top of Lady Kessler, pressed her face against the floor and leaned down. “I think you’re gonna like prison. I’ll make sure your cellmate is a big, mean black bitch who knows how you think.” 

Lady Kessler whimpered as Glory got up. Lady Kessler then screamed when Glory ran at her and punted her in the cunt before she walked past her.

The beaten Nazi pulled herself up on a console as Glory ignored her and ripped Americana’s bonds free. Americana climbed off the table and gave the older heroine a big hug. 

“You uncivilized cows!” Lady Kessler screamed while she clung to the console. “You have not beaten me!”

“I think we have, Heidi,” Glory said.

“You do not use my name! You address me as Lady Kessler!” She growled and spit blood. “Mein Gott, I hate Americans!”

Glory sighed. “You want the honor of knocking her out?” she asked Americana.

“Yes I do,” the young heroine said, cracking her knuckles.

“You will do no such thing!” Lady Kessler said. She hit a button on the console and a compartment on the wall opened. Another Koloss stepped out, this one larger than the last. It growled and eyed Glory and Americana.

“Shit…” Americana said.

Glory turned and saw Lady Kessler fleeing through the back door. “I’ve got this, Brenda. Go get Heidi.”

“You sure?”

“He’s gonna have to slap me around so I can build up enough energy but, yeah, go…” Glory said before shoving her forward.

The Koloss bellowed and charged at Glory and Americana ran after Lady Kessler.

The chase took them into a long, narrow hallway flanked by stacks of shipping containers and catwalks. Lady Kessler looked back and doubled her efforts as Americana gained on her. The busty young heroine then dove forward and tackled Lady Kessler to the ground. She pinned Lady Kessler under her, holding her wrists down.

“Get off of me!” she demanded, thrashing under Americana’s weight.

“Stop it!” Americana ordered. “It’s over. You lost!”

“The Council never loses!”

Americana growled and stood up, pulling Lady Kessler up with her. Lady Kessler looked her in the eye and winced when Americana moved toward her.

“I’m not going to hit you,” Americana told her. “But you need to cooperate. Maybe if you do, the authorities will be lenient.”

“I will do no such thing!” Lady Kessler swore.

“All right, fine. I’ll just give you back to Glory and look the other way.”

Lady Kessler’s one good eye went wide in panic. “No, please! Not that!”

Americana smiled and twisted Lady Kessler’s arm behind her to make her march back the way they came. Lady Kessler looked back at her and growled. Just then, a gunshot went off. Lady Kessler’s body jerked and became dead weight in Americana’s arms. Through a combination of instinct and training, the heroine dove for cover and Lady Kessler lay on the ground, bleeding.

“Shit!” Americana said. She poked her head out and ducked back in when she saw Vandal on a catwalk holding a rifle.

“Why did you shoot her?!” Americana yelled.

“Such was my order,” Vandal said. “We could not have Lady Kessler or what’s in her head in the hands of your government, so she had to die.”

Lady Kessler coughed up blood. “V….Vandal...You traitorous cur! Fuck you and the whore who birthed you!”

Vandal laughed. “I had my orders. Goodbye, Heidi. I’m sure I’ll see you again, Americana.” 

When Americana peered out, Vandal was gone. She ran to Lady Kessler and put pressure on the wound, but the life was already leaving her eyes. The dying Nazi tried to say something, but the words died on her lips with her last breath.

*

Americana returned to the medical lab. She found Glory standing atop the defeated Koloss, her body bruised and battered. Freya was next to her, standing outside the exosuit. When Freya noticed Americana, she ran over and gave her the biggest hug she had ever given her.

Americana let out a deep sigh and hugged her back.

“Where’s Heidi?” Glory asked.

Americana explained what happened to them.

“How easily these scum turn on each other,” Freya said.

“Yeah…” Americana said. “...I’m still pissed at you, though.”

Freya laughed. “That’s fine, as long as you’re alive to be pissed.” She then broke the hug but held Brenda’s shoulders. “Let’s go home.”

V – Two days later

“Listen, Brenda,” Laura said as she grabbed another slice of pizza. “Carbs are your best friend. So much energy.”

“Won’t too many make me fat?” Brenda asked. The two of them were back at the penthouse, at the kitchen table.

“Girl, stop,” Laura said. “You’ve never seen a fat Aphrodite and you know it.”

“I guess that’s true…”

“Yeah,” Laura said. “So, let me tell you about the time me and your dad had to hijack a submarine…”

Brenda listened attentively. Laura had been regaling her with war stories and offering much needed insight into what kind of man Jack Wade was. The last two days had been for recovery and discreet meetings with Sentinel agents who were tasked with cleaning up the mess. Laura had been staying at the Penthouse and imparting wisdom on Brenda after begrudgingly allowing her to keep her costume theme. Laura had seemingly dozens of different stories from her army days and her time as a heroine, but as she recounted this story, Brenda couldn’t help but glance at the balcony, where Freya leaned on the rail and looked out over the city.

Laura stopped her story and looked out. “Go talk to her,” she said.

Brenda sighed. “I know I should, but…”

“No, no buts. Get up,” Laura told her. “That’s an order.”

Brenda did as the older heroine said and put her pizza down. She walked toward the balcony. 

Freya looked back over her shoulder and smiled at Brenda before looking back over the city skyline. Brenda took a place right next to her at the rail.

“I’m ready for my tongue lashing now…” Freya said after a few quiet moments.

Brenda sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what I wanted to say for two days now. Now that the moment’s here…”

Freya looked at her.

“All these years, I didn’t think I had any family left, and then I find out I’ve been living with my aunt the entire time. Laura said you didn’t want to tell me because bringing mom up was too painful.”

“...It’s true,” Freya said. “Growing up, Nora and I mostly only had each other. We were basically attached at the hip.”

“Are you the older sister?”

“I am,” Freya nodded. “And it was a responsibility I gladly accepted. Through childhood, through the army, and after The Council took her from me. When you were born, Jack and Nora asked me to be your godmother. When I heard Jack was killed, I swore I was going to do everything to protect you. I thought part of that involved shielding you from your mother’s past.”

“But The Council made her do that. That’s not who she was.”

“I know, but still…” Freya turned to Brenda. “...Look, I’m not going to dodge the issue anymore. I admit I should have told you all those years ago, but...I didn’t want to confront the truth myself. I didn’t want to face the fact that I failed the person I cared about the most.”

Brenda nodded. “I’m still mad...but I get it…”

“That’ll have to do,” Freya said with a smile.

Brenda turned and hugged her and they stayed embraced for several quiet moments. “So you don’t have any, like, secret kids running around that I should know about, do you?”

“Coach Kay is your first cousin once removed.”

“What?!”

“I’m joking.”

Brenda glared and punched Freya in the shoulder. “Let’s just go back inside before Laura eats all the pizza.”

Brenda and Freya went back inside and sat at the table. Freya grabbed some pizza while Laura grinned at them.

“All good, you two?”

“We’re good,” Brenda said with a smile.

“Are you sticking around Delta, Laura?” Freya asked.

“Nah, I’m already getting calls from my guy at Sentinel. He wants me out there hunting down Count Jäger. I’m heading out in the morning.”

“Awww…” Brenda pouted. “I feel like I have so much left to learn from you.”

“Sorry, kid,” Laura said to her. “I’ll come back and visit, but duty calls.”

“Well how are you going to spend your last night?” Freya asked.

Laura reached under the table and when she came back up, she put a big bottle of vodka and three shot glasses on the table. “You, me, and your niece are getting shitfaced and I will not take no for an answer. We don’t quit until this bottle is empty.”

“Why doesn’t it have a label?” Freya asked.

Laura grinned. “Many lifetimes ago, Jack and I got caught and thrown in a prison in the middle of Siberia. Actually...this was right before the submarine thing. Anyway, this stuff was brewed by a mean old bitch everyone there called The She-Wolf.”

Freya stared at Laura. “That actually happened? I thought that story was bullshit.”

Brenda stared at it. “Aphrodites are resistant to alcohol, right?” she asked nervously.

“You’re about to find out,” Laura said with a cackle while pouring.

***

Somewhere else in the world, Vandal sat in the dark of a hotel room and answered his phone when it rang.

“I trust you received your payment?”  Count Jäger asked.

“I did, my lord.”

“A shame Heidi had to be eliminated, but we could not risk those dogs breaking her…” Count Jäger said. “Still...we move on. You continue to serve us without fault, Vandal. Take some time for yourself. I will be in touch.”

*

Count Jäger then hung up his phone and leaned back in his chair. He was in his cavernous office at The Council’s hidden stronghold somewhere in Argentina. Just then, the door to his office opened and a tan woman with dark hair walked in. She had a perfect hourglass figure underneath a pinstriped women’s suit. Her ample bust was barely contained by her crisp, white blouse and her dark hair was tied up in a bun. She adjusted her glasses and fixed her blue eyes on Count Jäger.

“The cleanup in Delta City is done, my lord. We’ve secured the package from the coroner,” she said. She was Fernanda Vogel, General Secretary of the Council and the leader of operations when Count Jäger was absent.

“Excellent!”  Count Jäger said, getting up and following her when she left.

They walked to a sprawling laboratory facility and approached a small team of researchers standing on a body on a slab covered in a white sheet. The corpse of Heidi Kessler lay there, pale and peaceful with her eyes closed.  Count Jäger gently touched her face.

“I truly apologize, dear Heidi. But in death you will serve a great purpose.” He then turned to the researcher. “Has work begun?”

“It has, my lord,” the researcher said in a poised Argentinian accent. “We have the sample of genetic material from the American Aphrodite. We have already combined it with Lady Kessler’s genetic material and the subject is developing nicely,” he said, motioning to a large tank.

Count Jäger walked up and put his hand to the tank. Floating inside the fluid was a barely developed fetus.

“The growth acceleration has begun, my lord. In only a few years’ time, we will have our own Aphrodite to command.”

Count Jäger nodded. “Heidi’s superior genetics will not go to waste. The child will be made in Heidi’s exact image, yes?”

“Indeed. It will be as though she lives again.”

Fernanda walked up behind Count Jäger. “What will you name her, my lord?”

 Count Jäger considered it for a moment. “We will pass onto the child, Heidi’s other given name…”

“Apologies,  Count Jäger. I do not know what that is,” Fernanda said.

“Our enemies will tremble at the sight of our mighty and pure Aphrodite warrior. They will learn to fear the name Elsa!” 

Epilogue

At a brothel somewhere in Paris, the prostitute screamed into her gag. She was bound to bed, spread eagle and unable to escape, and she looked on in terror at the hammer in Vandal’s head.

Vandal grinned at her, walking over to the bed and caressing her naked curves. Her soft, supple flesh was covered in goosebumps, and the girl winced in terrified anticipation. “I promise I will make this as painful as I can…” Vandal said.

The girl then screamed and cried in panic, pleading in hysteric, muffled French as Vandal fixed a blindfold over her eyes.

“It’s better if you don’t see it coming,” Vandal said, smiling as he licked the hammer.

“I agree,” a woman’s voice said from the door.

Vandal spun around in surprise. “Ah...the other sister.”

Freya stood in the doorway, wearing a blouse, slacks, and long brown trench coat. She walked in, taking in the perverse ambiance of the room. Everything was bathed in harsh, hellish red light. Sex toys were all over the grimy floor, and the girl whimpered and pleaded for help when she heard another voice.

Vandal watched her and smiled. “I didn’t think such a place was to your taste.”

“It isn’t. But I’m here anyway. Do you know why this place is significant?”

“Why?”

“You killed my sister in the alley behind this building over 20 years ago.”

Vandal laughed. “It was this building! How about that? Dear Nora put up quite the fight, but I left her bleeding in that alley. Such a shame, I did enjoy working with her.”

Freya watched him closely.

“I suppose today is the day things come full circle,” Vandal said.

“I suppose so.”

Vandal walked toward her, his cock stiff between his legs. “You’re a little old for my liking, but given our connection, I can give you one last ride before I send you to hell to see your sister again.” He flipped the hammer in his hand. “Maybe I will go back to Delta and see the young miss again after I am done here.” He then surged forward, charging at Freya and raising the hammer. His momentum carried him and he looked down, catching the glint of a large knife that suddenly appeared in Freya’s hand in the shadow of her coat when she drew it.

Vandal felt three very sudden, very sharp stabs to his torso. He then felt Freya grab the back of his neck and and pull him close, with the knife still buried in his body. He could smell the faint fragrance of her perfume, they were so close.

“You’re a monster, Vandal. You and the rest of the Council. If I didn’t have a child to raise, I’d have burned you all to the ground a decade ago. That bitch Kessler is in hell, you’ll be with her soon. I’ll work my way to Jäger eventually.” She then pulled the knife and stepped back from Vandal.

He froze, dropped the hammer, and then fell to his knees. His life drained onto the cum-stained floor as he gasped for air. The knife dripped inches from his face.

“You should know, Vandal…” Freya said coldly. “Between Nora and I growing up, she was considered the nice sister.”

Vandal tried to say something when he felt a sharp bite across his neck. He grabbed the newly opened wound and his fingers became soaked in dripping red.

“Goodbye, Vandal,” she said to him before turning and leaving as he fell face first onto the floor in a puddle.

The bound prostitute whimpered, her breath lodged in her throat as she listened to the exchange. She then heard an object flying through the air before cutting into something. Suddenly one hand was free. She pulled the blindfold off and saw a knife embedded in the mattress, having sliced through the rope keeping her there. The girl began untying herself while staring at the empty doorway and the body on the floor.

***

Brenda sat a quaint cafe, cutting into a pastry. She wore a low cut, yellow sundress that showed off the shapely curve of her chest, hugged the wide shape of her hips, and hiked up her toned thighs when she crossed her legs. She smiled when Freya walked up to the table.

“You’re late,” Brenda said.

“Sorry,” Freya said after removing her coat and draping it across the back of the other chair. She then sat down. “I saw an old friend and went to say hello.”

“Oh?” Brenda asked. “You should’ve invited them.”

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t want to poke any more holes in their day after I surprised them.”

“Okay,” Brenda said with a shrug. “I’m so glad you suggested Paris for a vacation. I love it here.”

Freya smiled. “Well, we have a lot of family time to catch up on, dear.”

Brenda smiled, reached across the table and squeezed Freya’s hand.

Freya smiled back at her, and the two of them enjoyed the quiet morning and their breakfast. Brenda then swayed in her seat and gripped the edge of the table to keep from falling over.

Freya sighed. “You’re still feeling the effects of the vodka too, aren’t you?”

“It was a week ago!” Brenda whined. “Damn that Glory!”

The End