DNabikiTHC6 Nabiki 1/2 "A Very Scary Thought!" THE HONEYMOON HENTAI CHAPTERS By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & others, including themes and ideas inspired by the combined works of Seigal & Shuster, with added thought by Larry Niven) Part Six. HENTAI ALERT---THE LEMON-LIME ZONE! CONTAINS SCENES OF RAMPANT CARNALITY, BISEXUALITY, LESBIANISM, BONDAGE, DISCIPLINE, SADO-MASOCHISM, SEXUAL SLAVERY, MATE-SWAPPING, SEX-SWAPPING, AND UNNATURAL ACTS PERFORMED WITH THE USE OF A GERBAL. VENTURE NO FARTHER IF YE ARE OF GENTLE TEMPERAMENT AND MODEST PERSUASION, AND DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW THAT YOU'RE READING STUFF LIKE THIS OFF OF THE NET? YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! "I don't believe it," were the first words that Martha had actually uttered in close to an hour, but now that she was back in the atmosphere and could actually speak the words the thoughts just seemed like a natural thing to say, given that she was now hovering over a near-mythical ghost ship that had proven to be almost invisible to her own heightened senses. Only by adjusting her vision to the non-typical ranges of the spectrum did she penetrate the curious dimensional inversion field that surrounded the vessel, but now that she had overcome this obstacle she found that she was indeed looking upon a four hundred foot long Chinese style vessel of a type and class that had not existed since the era of Marco Polo, if not a considerable length further back in time to a point when before the rulers of the Forbidden City had closed their eyes to anything which existed beyond their borders. Indeed, this ship was exactly of that type and construction, which was curious since the only example that she personally knew about were the skeletal remains of one such vessel unearthed off the coast of California several decades back, a ship that gave evidence to the claim that the Chinese had once been a more enlightened people capable of discovering the "New World." A legendary Chinese explorer named Fu Shen was said to have headed such an expedition nearly twelve hundred years ago, but his ships had been lost in a storm and had never been heard from again, the crews supposedly either lost or absorbed by the native Indian population many centuries before either Leif Erikson or Columbus got the notion to do their own oceanic travels. That such a ship could even exist in the modern era was astonishing by itself, and this one appeared to be OLD even by her standards. Martha had---during her college years---been something of an archeologist herself on occasions, enjoying the fine art of painstaking excavation of ancient ruins to learn what people were like in some distant, long-ago era (as opposed to Time-Traveling back and finding out first hand, of course, and it didn't hurt her budding "Tomb Raider" reputation that she had a natural advantage in digging for artifacts, being able to spot them in the ground, even while deeply buried). She remembered how much fun it had been spelunking in caves with her friend Helena... She stifled that thought, not wanting to become too distracted by reminiscing about her misspent youth. She had a job to do and there was no sense wasting time dithering around about it. From what she could see of the vessel, it was not only in service and definitely occupied, but there were people on the main deck being treated for various injuries, and some of the people she could see milling around on the deck did not appear to be human...well, human in shape, perhaps, but rather remarkably blue-tinted and a bit translucent. There were also armed guards standing at strategic points, and---curiously enough---the crew of the ship itself appeared to be entirely female. Not so the passengers, who were the usual mix of male, female, old, young, and invalid...easy to tell one group apart from the other at a glance. Without question these people were the survivors of that nearly crippled ocean liner. But---odd to notice this---when she tried to scan inside the vessel she found that her visual powers failed to penetrate the hull. There was some kind of shielding...a forcefield, not lead lining, that was blocking her out. Doubtless there had to be more people below decks as the ones on the main decks were considerably fewer than seventeen hundred. She wondered what this ominous impediment might portend then decided to find out by a more direct observation. That decided she glided in the rest of the way until she was hovering just over the deck, then touched down amidst the astonished passengers, some of whom who recognized her by sight and called out her hero-name as "Power Woman." Martha winced somewhat upon being reminded of that moniker...a result of her "Empowerment" oriented youth when she had (briefly) championed the cause of what she now termed the "Radical Feminist Agenda." True, when she had first started out in the Superhero game she had been a mere stripling of around seventeen or so, but she had refused to be called a mere "girl" by even her closest friends, considering the term to be sexist and demeaning. By definition she was a woman, so she had insisted on being called a "Power Woman," adopting the feminist ideal of self-empowerment, a fact that---over twenty years later---she found embarrassing beyond the point of reciting "mea culpa." Resolved to endure one of the legacies of her past, she turned to the nearest of the blue-skinned women and said, "I want to speak with your captain...right now." "That would be me," a voice hailed out to her, causing Martha to turn around and raise both eyebrows, for the strapping Amazon who approached her was not only dressed like a pirate but had pale sea-green hair, a fact that Martha instantly determined to be her genuine hair color, judging by the lack of residual dye- marks in her follicles (and NO, she did not scan her "down there" just to be certain, she most ardently would have proclaimed had anyone been impudent enough to ask her that very question). "You're the Captain?" Martha said skeptically to a nearly six foot tall woman whose physique was unmistakably hardened to the near-limits of ordinary human perfection, a fact she unconsciously registered as significant by the standards of most people. "That I am," the woman halted two meters away from Martha and politely bowed from the waist, "I am Lao Khan, of no nationality nor flag. This is my ship, the POJ, from which I plow my trade on the open seas. And you are, I take it, one Power Woman, of American nationality though your father is of the illustrious House of El and Kryptonian by extraction?" Martha tried not to sound too impressed as she said, "You've done your homework." "A necessity in my line of work," Lao replied, then indicated the two (noticeably smaller) women flanking her sides, "These are my crewmates, Blossom and Lotus," she indicated a woman with deeper blue hair and a shorter girl whose hair was cherry-pink---also, astonishingly enough---her natural coloration, "Like myself former Amazons from the interior heartland of China. The rest that you see are my people and the unfortunate passengers whom I helped to evacuate from their damaged ocean vessel. I am transporting them to Taipei so that they can receive the appropriate care and housing that they need since my humble ship is ill equipped to sustain them for more than a day or two at most." "You're performing a Good Samaritan service," Martha said dryly, "But is that your usual profession?" "Hardly," Lao replied, "Like yourself I am a businesswoman...I only stopped to help these people out of the goodness of my heart, as International law demands and simple human decency would mandate. As you can see, every need is being seen to, within the limits of my power. This has, of course, put a bit of a strain on my crew, but once we reach port we'll be able to replenish our supplies and my crew can have some much-needed short leave." "Very decent of you," Martha frowned, "But...what did you mean by calling me a businesswoman?" "Oh please, do give me some credit," Lao's smile took on a more suggestive implication, "You don't want me to reveal that in front of all these civilians, now do you? I believe that you value your double identity far more than that...or am I mistaken in believing you attach to it all that much importance?" Martha barely concealed her astonishment as she stared in dismay at the lady pirate, then swallowed reflexively and said, "Um...a good point. Is there somewhere private where we can discuss this?" "This way," Lao indicated that Martha should follow her lead, "My cabin will suffice...I have already prepared a table and was about to enjoy an early dinner when I received word that you were seen approaching my ship. I can always make more space to accommodate a guest, and I'm sure you will find that my chefs are among the finest who ply these eastern seas. Tell me, do you prefer a white or a red wine when dining on Swordfish?" "Neither at the moment," Martha replied, "I am here on a matter of some personal business..." "Yes, of course you are," Lao said in an agreeable manner, "You can tell me all about it when we are alone, do come along. I am sure that this will be a most...interesting conversation for the both of us..." Unseen by either Martha or their captain, Blossom and Lotus exchanged nervous looks between themselves, then dutifully followed the lead of their Mistress, each wondering privately if their Queen was about to hook a live one or be landed herself by the mother of all temptations... "There's something I don't understand here," Ryonami said, "You say your sister was born from your father's first marriage, but...wasn't her mother...well...you know? Human?" "Oh yeah," Alison nodded, "Very human, from all that I've heard about the lady. Lois Kent---my Dad's first wife---died when she was almost sixty due to some complications or trauma or something...I never did get too many details about what happened. Heart failure, I think...Dad never could bring himself to talk too much about it. They met back around nineteen thirty-eight, when Dad was first getting started in the Superhero business, only then he wasn't even calling himself Superman. He was just slumming with a summer job as a copy boy for a big paper while working to get into college. it was just before the war started, and my Mom wouldn't even make her appearance until around nineteen forty-two, long after the war got started." "Wasn't your mother...like...way lots older than your Dad?" Akane wondered. "Oh yeah, you could say that," Alison sniffed, "About three thousand, two hundred years or so, give or take a leap year...but Mom never did much show her real age, and it's not like she had anything against dating younger men. Take Steve Trevor, her first husband...he died around nineteen sixty-eight when a bullet claimed him, fired off by a real wacko who called herself Doctor Cyber. Mom grieved for ages over him, couldn't even keep up the pretense of young widowhood, which is why my sister Hippolyta got raised on Paradise Island with our grandmother, who also has the same name. Lyta grew up like a more conventional Amazon while Mom went out into the world and sought revenge on Doctor Cyber. It wasn't until years later that she and Dad got serious about each other, after they finally up and admitted that they like each other. I hear stories about their courtship..." Alison shook her head in dismay, "If even half of it was true, then what Bei and I went through sounds almost like a picnic..." "Indeed?" even Beatrice raised an eyebrow to that, "That must have been some courtship." "So, your sister Martha is about thirty-eight?" Keiko asked, "How was she born...I mean...how did her mother carry her to term and all that?" "Well...it wasn't easy," Alison half-smiled in rue, "Like I said before, Dad figured out a way that he and Lois could make out without him accidentally sending her into low earth orbit when he climaxed. He's a pretty good tinkerer and inventor...not quite like Beiko, but smart enough where it counts. He made a bed that could generate the same wavelength as a red sun, which somehow or other cancels out the yellow sun rays that he soaks up like a battery most times..." "I've done some analysis based on tentative theories formed by your descriptions, Aiko," Beatrice remarked, "There is indeed a latent incompatibility factor between the two levels of Biosolar radiance. No doubt it is the closer of the two sources that counts...a red sun, lacking the same output as a yellow-green star, such as our sun, creates longer frequency pulse waves, and like two bands of radio energy colliding, they tend to interfere with one another and even cancel some of the frequency out. No doubt a bed that generated its own longer wavelength would prevent your father from absorbing excess radiation, perhaps even purging his cells of residual manna build up so that he would be reduced to a far less intense level of energy absorption..." "Yeah, well, however it works, they manage to have three kids between them, Martha being the youngest," Alison replied, "Of course what you really wanna know is how come Jonathan---my oldest brother---didn't kick his way out of Lois's uterus. Well...like I've said before, a Kryptonian doesn't start out having the strength to push over a small mountain...it takes time before the baby's big enough to be a danger to the mother, and Dad figured out a way of seeing to it that didn't become a problem. He made this harness that Lois had to wear during the second and third trimesters...it also generated Red Sun energy, so Jonathan---and Clark Junior---could be born without too much problem. Martha was kind of a surprise when she came last because Lois was close to menopause, but with the help of the right scientists, she was safely delivered, after which Lois made a point of having her tubes tied." "Fascinating," Beatrice mused, "Though I have heard all of this before, it still amazes me to think of what a heroic dynasty you hail from, whereas I, sad to say, have a somewhat less illustrious ancestor in my pedigree, one who was the arch-foe of your very own father." "Yeah, well...your granddad would probable roll over in his grave if he could see the two of us now, huh?" Alison sniffed, "Come to think of it, Dad's still pretty stunned at the thought of me having your baby." "So, what happened to your brothers?" Ryoga asked. "Well..." Alison sighed, "Jonathan got killed a while back fighting against some space creep named Holocaust...he left a wife and three kids of his own behind by some Alien chick named Maxima...Dad's still pretty broken up about that. Clark Junior's led a pretty active life of his own...never quite settled down, but I hear he's been a real heartbreaker. He briefly got involved in some Ecological movement and took on the name Defender...he's not much for publicity, but I still think he's one of the good guys, even if some of the stuff he does can be a little bit...illegal..." "Illegal?" Kodachi asked, "How so?" "Well," Alison shrugged, "He's been known to take some pretty aggressive stances when it comes to people he views as Corporate Polluters. He's been known to destroy oilrigs or put a halt to timber harvesting in the rain forests...stuff like that. He and Martha can barely even speak to each other in civil terms these days because he's about as left of center as she's off to the right, and hasn't forgiven him for costing her business money when Clark thinks she's gone too far in exploiting the world's natural recourses. He's...kind of passionately committed to the cause these days, thinks people should be living in closer accord to nature..." "Maybe he's the one we should have contacted to go after Nabiki," Akane suggested. "Maybe," Alison shrugged, "But I don't exactly know how to get a hold of him these days. He keeps a pretty low profile, and he's trying to avoid getting Dad tangled up in his politics." "That's something else I've been wondering," Ryonami said, "If America is your father's adopted country, why did he and your mother raise you in Japan?" "Oh, well...the family moved here a couple decades ago, during the Reagan era," Alison shrugged, "I never did hear all of the facts, but it had something to do with Dad getting fed up with the government trying to pressure him into taking sides in the cold war. Dad was into the whole Glasnost thing a long time before Gorbachev appeared on the scene." "Indeed," Beatrice nodded, "Your father worked out some sort of private arrangement with the Japanese government, I believe, that allowed him to assume a new identity here after his old secret identity got exposed by the presses." "That's what they tell me," Alison shrugged, "Dad never really renounced his American citizenship, but I've never been there personally myself, so I think of myself as Japanese, even if I am technically a Gaijin. Beiko here has more Japanese in her than I do..." "That may be so," Beatrice replied, "But my grandmother was a secretary working for Luthor Industries when she gained the...ahem...attention of her employer. She moved back home before giving birth to my father, who founded the Daitokuji Corporation before meeting my mother and delivering me into the world. Genius tends to run in my family...but so does madness, a fact that I am sometimes reminded of when I contemplate my wasted youth before declaring my love for my Aiko." "Ah..." Alison colored an appropriate shade of pink, giving her the look of a plump strawberry in the loose-fitting T-shirt that she was currently wearing. "So...what's likely going to happen with your sister when she meets up with Mistress Lao?" Keiko asked, pausing before adding, "I mean...my lady..." "Just practice some more, Darling," Kodachi encouraged with a coy expression, "And keep in mind that I am now your one and only Mistress." Despite herself, Alison could not help smirking as she caught the demure expression of the other redhead, "Heh...well...in answer to your question...I really have no idea. Martha means well, but...well...she is kind of opinionated about some things, and if this Lao character is even half as over the top as you say she is..." "She might think of her as a Supervillain?" Ryoga suggested. "Oboy," Ryonami winced, "I just hope Sempai doesn't get caught up in the crossfire between those two ladies. The Kami only know what horrors she and the others are undergoing at this very minute..." Nabiki was going hog wild running her tongue up and down the delicious slit of her comely wife even as Ranma pounded her from the rear, riding her vagina like she was a bucking brood mare. Shampoo's delighted squeals were muffled by the creamy thighs of an aroused Ukyo, who was halfway braced in the lap of an amorous Perfume, whose hands were molding her wife's breasts as her own swollen nipples rubbed against the shoulderblades of the delighted Okonomiyaki chef, all five of them on the edge of a nerve-rending orgasm that was likely to erupt between them at any moment! Off to the side a pair of sleeping infants continued on as if blissfully unaware of the frenzied sexual activity that was going on within easy earshot. This was because these contented babies were being carefully scrutinized by attentive Undine servants whose presence was being masked from detection by Perfume and the others. These Undine Midwives were smiling fondly at the way the humans were playing together with such open and enthusiastic intensity that the world itself had dissolved in significance, their lust for one another so great that the parents were not even of a mind to pay heed to the needs of their helpless children. That was why the Undines were keeping watch for them, at the direction of their Mistress, who had also instructed that Aphrodisiacs be added to the water and incense that presently fueled this mini-orgy with the intention of---as their Captain would put it---keeping the Saotome/Tendo/Kuonji matrimonial circle too occupied to provide her with any problems. That being said, the Undines could not help but be affected by the very amorous activity that they were supposed to be monitoring, and they idly played with one another's anatomy while being careful not to forget their duty to look after the babies. From all indications the five teenaged marital partners were going to be busy screwing each other for the next several hours, and it would hardly do for them to have to pause in this activity to feed their children or---even more inevitable---to have to change a diaper. Fortunately these Undines well remembered what it was like to be human themselves, having at one time been mortal before dying on board the POJ, which trapped their souls in a kind of semi-limbo. Being former sex-slaves who had a knowledge of maternity, they were ideally suited to the task of caring for babies, and---let it be so noted---under Madam Lao they had received plenty of practice! Delivering and caring for the young was their sincerest pleasure (outside of screwing with each other, of course) and they had never yet allowed an infant to succumb such childhood hazards as swallowing toys or expiring from "crib death." The daughters of Shampoo and Ukyo were in very fine hands and would be tended to with loving devotion during the hours when their mothers were---effectively---too busy to pay them notice. Only after the aphrodisiacs worked their way out of their collective systems would the parents recall that they had babies that needed tending, and they would be relieved to find their children no worse for the neglect, though in the future the Undines would make it a point to instruct them to never again allow such a thing to happen. That Ukyo was currently so busy sating her lust was understandable, given that she had just gone from a pregnant lump to her normal svelte figure (care of Madam Lao's expert touch in water manipulation). The liberation from her previous encumbrance was causing her to act as if she a born-again Virgin, albeit a Virgin very much intent on losing that "virginity" with the man and women for whom she had lusted during her three month ordeal as a "pregnant walrus." She did not even suffer the usual run of post-maternal hormonal adjustments, which meant that she could indulge in sex to her heart's content...and with so much heart to contend with she would likely be at it until she dropped away from exhaustion! The normally dutiful Shampoo was in hardly any better state, and possessed of such a need for sex that she would not stop until she had expended every ounce of her passionate frenzy on her wives and husband, her normally uninhibited self seeming like a chaste Nun in comparison to the insatiable nymphomaniac that she had become at the moment. To be certain, even had Ranma and Nabiki not been in the mood for making love, she would have ravished them senseless without a second's hesitation, and at the moment she was drinking deep of Ukyo's loins, delighting in the taste of the chef while plotting to get at her cousin before very much longer. Ranma was amazed at himself and the energy with which he was ramming his "male meat" into Nabiki, who took him all the way and kept right on humming. The sight of his wife tonguing his other wife was setting his balls on fire and he knew that he had to cum in both girls before too long or he really would go crazy! The way Shampoo was waving those shapely bare legs of hers in the air was just too tantalizing to resist and he knew that he had to claim the purple haired girl as his own...just as soon as he got done teaching Nabiki her proper place in this marriage circle! Nabiki, at the center of if all, was doing no thinking whatsoever, just simply allowing herself to be pleasured while pleasuring her beloved wife and most demanding husband. It felt good being in the middle of a sandwich between the two people who meant most to her in the entire world, and her desire for them both was driving her like a raging hunger in her breast, even as Ranma was cupping her breasts and slamming his rod home into her hot little box as though attempting to implode her. She knew that she was about to cum and welcomed the clenching sensation that rocked her world a few seconds later, feeling the splash of hot jism shooting into her loins and up her spine as she ground her tongue into Shampoo and let loose a scream that vibrated her wife's hot little pussy, causing Shampoo to react and---instants later---fire off hot cum of her own into Nabiki's mouth for easy ingestion, her nectar proving to be a far more heady substance than any ambrosia. Perfume---on the opposite end from Ranma, was delighting in the sense of Ukyo climaxing into Shampoo's own ready mouth as the Amazon transferred her orgasm down the daisy chain and into her sweet Ucchan. Plying the nerve clusters around Ukyo's breasts while mashing her own breasts up against Ukyo was driving Perfume to such frenzied heights of arousal that her hypersensitive nervous system could feel Ukyo's orgasm as if it were her own. How wonderful it was to be joined with four such passionate people, her love for them as absolute as her desire to go down on each and every one of them, including Ranma! Before too long she meant to have his man-meat in her mouth as she would suck him back to full-fledged hardness, then screw his brains out with a royal fuck-job that the boy would never forget! After that she would do the same thing with Nabiki-kun until both of her "husbands" understood the true meaning of being in an Amazon marriage. (And---naturally---Perfume also meant to give Shampoo some of her "extra-special" attention, just to be thorough about it...) All five of them were quick to switch places after recovering from the mutual orgasm, and then they were at it again, Ranma on top of Shampoo, Nabiki on top of Ukyo with Perfume in the middle, and so it would go back and forth between them for many hours yet to cum, their group marital circle trying out each and every position that they could think of before inventing new and even more intense positions, and all the while their activities being carefully monitored and recorded by cameras mounted in hidden places at the direction of the Mistress. At Lao's command no part of their orgiastic celebration was to be lost to posterity, especially since Lao intended to study these images at greater length on some very near occasion. At the moment, however, the Pirate Queen of Bondage and Submission was several decks above the orgy, engaged in a very different form of social activity, though Martha Kent---her present dinner "guest"---had only the vaguest idea of what sort of lair she had strayed carelessly into...a fact that Lao meant to make plain before the interview was over... "So," Lao mused as she studied the woman sitting across from her at the table, "You are semi-retired from the superhero profession?" "I still do a little community work on the side," Martha replied, "Hard to avoid in this business...having Superpowers tends to obligate me to use them in a crisis." "Yes, I can see that you are very passionate about fulfilling your duties," Lao remarked as she scooped up a pickle with her chopsticks, "You are indeed a credit to your illustrious father. I have heard a great many things about him, and you do seem rather cut from the same likeness." "You think so?" Martha replied, "I have to say that I'm surprised you know that much about me, like how you seem to think you know who I really am..." "Oh, that wasn't hard to deduce at all," Lao said dismissively, pausing to chew her pickle and swallow it before continuing, "You don't bother to hide your face in your public identity, and it is easy for me to recognize such a prominent CEO as yourself, the head of Star Industries and acting President of Edge Communications..." "You...think so, eh?" Martha replied uneasily. "I know so," Lao said slyly, "Mrs. Jordan..." "Kent," Martha hastily corrected before she could stop herself. "Ah...Martha Kent is it?" Lao smiled, "Gone back to using your maiden name, eh?" "Y-Yes," Martha reluctantly conceded, "My husband and I...separated...some time ago...we had...irreconcilable differences..." "Meaning that he went back to his first wife and abandoned you and your daughter," Lao pointedly inquired. "It...wasn't like that at all," Martha winced slightly, "His first wife came back from the dead, it's true...but...that wasn't why we separated. Hal...well...let's just stay he was having identity problems and leave it at that, all right?" "Fine with me," Lao replied, "I am sorry if I touched upon a delicate subject..." "No, it's...all right," Martha fought to get a hold of herself, wondering how in the hell she had lost control of this conversation. She was not here to socialize with a pirate, of all people, let alone spill her whole life's story, so she glared a bit and said, "I'd rather we stuck closer to business, is that all right with you?" "Fine by me," Lao shrugged, "Far be it from me to argue with one of the wealthiest women on the planet, to say nothing of being one of the loneliest, if I dare make that observation." "Lonely?" Martha blinked, "What makes you think I'm lonely?" "I'm very good at reading people," Lao replied, "And I can tell that you are having...issues at the present. It's plain enough on your expression that you are rather unhappy about something, which I find quite frankly amazing considering the wealth at your disposal..." "Wealth?" Martha sniffed, "I suppose I am wealthy...by your standards. But it's not really about money for me...I'm just trying to run a business while...making sense of my life..." "No problem for me there," Lao replied, indicating the plate before Martha, "Are you certain that you're not hungry? I can imagine as a Kryptonian that you could go for days without eating..." "It's not that," Martha hesitated, "It's just...I'm not all that hungry..." "Suit yourself," Lao leaned back and blew on her bowl of ramen noodles, "I'd hardly try and force you to eat if you are not in the mood. After all, I am only attempting to set your mind at ease as to my good intentions. Within four hours we will reach Taipei and then I will begin setting the survivors on shore where they may be tended to by the proper authorities. You were concerned that I might be harboring less honorable intentions, weren't you?" "You don't mince words, do you?" Martha asked. "I am an Amazon," Lao replied, "We value blunt speaking. Not for us is the veiled deception of courtly speech, although I have been known to play the diplomat on occasion..." "What is it you really do for a living?" Martha asked, "Don't tell me you expect me to believe that you really are a humble trader?" "Quite right," Lao replied, "I trade on items that some might refer to as contraband, and as you have already deduced, I am not too particular about working through regular customs." "You're a smuggler," Martha replied. "Among other things," Lao said, "Why, is that a problem?" "It is for me," Martha frowned, "I may not be a full time Superhero anymore, but I don't approve of illegal behavior." "Indeed," Lao said, "Then I suppose you are here to arrest me?" "Not unless I actually witness you doing something illegal," Martha shrugged, "We're in international waters, and I'd lack policing authority this far beyond the jurisdiction of Interpol." "Ah," Lao noted after sucking down on a long noodle, "Then I suppose I should refrain from doing anything illegal while you are aboard my ship. Very well then, I will endeavor to be on my best behavior until further notice." "See that you do," Martha replied, picking up a chockstick and casually breaking it between two fingers, then setting the ends together and fusing them back into one piece through simple pressure, "I'd hate to have to become a much less pleasant house guest." "I couldn't imagine you being any less pleasant than you are now," Lao smiled, "Though it would be imprudent for me to take you for granted. I must say, I really do find it amazing to think that a pretty thing like you hasn't found another husband." "Ah..." Martha was caught off-guard by the compliment, "Well...to tell the truth, I'm not...really in the market..." "Are you sure about that?" Lao's smile quirked around the corners, giving her a slightly more feral expression, "Because if you are, I could find you one and get a pretty good discount. They come pre-trained and they can be amazingly attentive to your every need..." "Eh?" Martha blinked, "What was that?" "Just a little humor on my part," Lao assured her, "Please go on...tell me why it is that someone as vibrant and as lonely as you should have to suffer without the attentions of someone special in your life?" "Um...well...there's really no time for that sort of thing," Martha squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, "I have a lot of obligations to fulfil just running my own company..." "Let me guess," Lao mused, "Woman of Steel, man of Klinex, right?" "Uh...I beg your pardon?" Martha blinked again. "Well, it just seems to me that you are faced with a peculiar situation brought about by your unique...endowments," Lao elaborated, "To you a normal man must seem as though he were made out of straw...it must be terribly hard for you to hold yourself back when you embrace one...and as for what might become of them if you should lose control for even one second..." Martha furiously held down an almost girlish impulse to blush and said, "It's...not that big a problem. I've learned about ways to...well...prevent it from happening..." "Really?" Lao's interest perked up, "I would very much like to hear what those methods are that you use. It sounds quite...fascinating." "Ah...well..." Martha wondered why she felt so unguarded under the probing eyes of this other woman, "It's not really all that big a deal...not like some people might have you believe. After all, my mother was an Earth woman..." "Then obviously your father found a way of diminishing his own superhuman might in order to have you," Lao nodded, "Very industrious of him. So...do you use this protection whenever you are with a man, or is there some sort of training that is involved in learning to relax your muscles?" "Well...actually...the idea I use wasn't mine," Martha shrugged, "It came from Helena..." "Helena?" Lao quirked an eyebrow. "My best friend," Martha replied, "She and I...well...we grew up together...our families were friends long before either of us were born, and..." "She means something to you, does she?" Lao inclined her head, "A very special friend, and a trusted intimate. Do you see each other very often?" "Um...not that much these days," Martha looked down, "We used to be...very close...we were even roommates in college. I..." "Was it Law school, or business?" Lao asked. "Uh...well...she studied Law...I majored in business," Martha answered. "So you've drifted away from each other over the years," Lao mused, "But at one time I imagine that she must have been very special..." "Look, what business is that of yours anyway?" Martha flared, "I don't see why I should sit here and..." "Were you lovers?" Martha blinked for a third time, "Excuse me?" "From the way you say her name, and the way in which you have just now reacted," Lao pointed out, "I deduce that you shared something special with her...and that she was the one who taught you how to be with an ordinary mortal." "How could you possible know...?" "I'm a very good guesser," Lao smiled, "It helps in my business to know with whom I am dealing. So...you did part on more amicable terms than your separation from your husband?" "If you mean did she turn into a power-mad megalomaniac with delusions of Godhood, obviously not," Martha fumed, scowling at the table, "She's the District Attorney in Gotham City, are you happy?" "But would you want her to be in your life right now?" Lao asked, "Sharing her time with you and being much closer than your present distance?" "I...don't know...what do you mean by that?" Martha looked confused. "I think you know exactly what I mean," Lao replied, "You're thinking of her even now as we speak, wondering why you let yourselves drift apart and why you don't spent more time talking to her and seeing what she is up to..." "I..." Martha faltered then said, "No...that would be wrong." "Wrong?" Lao asked, "How so?" "The whole thing...what you're suggesting," Martha frowned, "I made a mistake a long time ago...it was an experimental thing for me, and I never should have let it happen." "Why?" "Because it's unnatural, that's why," Martha replied, "Women aren't supposed to live their lives together, that's what we have men for. A woman needs to be with a man, who can give her children..." "And she couldn't give you a child?" Lao asked, "Or was it just a hot, hard dick that you were after, and that was something that she lacked?" "That's...not the way I would have put it..." Martha grimaced. "Forgive my crude speech," Lao replied, "But as I told you, I tend to be somewhat direct in my approach. So, what you are saying is that you left the woman that you still love and found a husband who could give you a child, but that did not turn out the way you expected either?" "Um..." Martha fidgeted, "How did we get on this subject again...?" "I simply asked a question," Lao replied, "So...where is your child these days?" "Joan?" Martha's nostrils flared, "I definitely don't want to talk about that!" "You have one daughter?" Lao persisted, "Any other children?" "No," Martha grudgingly admitted, "The one I have is more than a handful." "Tell me what she's like then," Lao asked smoothly, "Are you proud of her? Is she turning out to be everything that you could want in a daughter?" "Hardly," Martha growled, "Anything but. She doesn't even want to continue on to college, says she'd rather travel the world and be more like my idiot big brother, the Eco-Terrorist. I...I don't know where I went wrong with that girl..." and, saying this, Martha slumped her shoulders in token resignation. "There now," Lao leaned forward, "It can't be all that bad. You probably just did not have enough time to spend with her during her formative years...it happens to lots of single parents..." "But it's not supposed to happen to me!" Martha flared, "I'm the one who's supposed to be able to do it all, be it all, have it all my own way! I've got a career, several houses, a fleet of yachts, practically my own bloody air force! I've got the ear of Presidents and Congressmen, and more bloody ties to foreign capitols than the bloody CIA! You'd think I could have been a good mother to my one and only baby..." "Easy there," Lao stood up, "No one is blaming you for anything..." "HAH!" Martha said abruptly, "A lot you know! My Joannie blames me for everything! If there's a single problem in the world it's all my fault! If kids are starving in Africa, the blames is on me! If there's a flood in China, it's my fault for helping to contribute to Global Warming! It's all my fault if the rainforests get deforested, or some damned species that nobody has ever even heard of goes extinct! She calls me a greedy capitalist swine---ME!!! Her own mother, for Chrissakes! And all because I believe in a little something called the Rule of Law, unlike some politicians I could name..." "I see," Lao said quietly, "Then you are what they call in America a...Republican?" "If you mean am I against the Government getting its hands on my hard-won money, damned straight!" Martha growled in a challenging manner, "I'm no bloody bleeding heart Liberal ready to shed crocodile tears over every little cause imaginable! I'm not evil, I don't hate poor people, I contribute to charities and I've personally flown medicines to AIDS victims in Zimbabwe! I do more than my share of good works, and I attend Church regularly, so...why should I have to apologize for it? What more do I owe to the world? I'm for limited government and the right of ordinary people to defend themselves against criminals. I'm also pro-Choice, by the way, though I personally hate abortion..." "Ah so..." Lao said with an inscrutable expression, "So you are what they call a Fiscal Conservative but a Social Moderate?" "That's a better way of putting it than what Joannie likes to call me," Martha said sullenly, "She calls me a hypocrite, ME! All because she found some of my old...love letters...from college..." she swallowed. "You wrote love letters to your sweetheart in college?" Lao arched a pale eyebrow. "They were poems I wrote," Martha fumed softly, "Don't make too much out of it, or else." "Well, I certainly don't want to know what 'Or Else' means with you," Lao averred, "But I find it curious that you should have such domestic problems with your daughter over a simple affair that you say was over a long time before you married her father." "It's because she thinks that she's a Lesbian," Martha grumbled, "She had some fling with this Jungle Bunny she met on an island somewhere...ah...I didn't mean 'Jungle Bunny' as in a racial slur, by the way...I was referring to a Tarzan wannabe..." "I think I get the point," Lao nodded, "She had a casual encounter with another girl and it caused her to think that she is a lesbian, correct?" "Oh yeah," Martha slumped in her chair and stared at the table, "Of course she's now gotten into a...domestic partnering thing...with a girl who has magnetic powers, and they seem to think that they're happy together. She's even changed her last name just to spite me and remind me of what she found out in that old box of love notes I stupidly kept in my attic all of these years...and you know what name she's taken? Not Jordan, not Kent...but WAYNE!!! I mean---Joan Wayne???" she rolled her eyes towards the ceiling, "Somebody up there's got to be pulling my leg, either that or the Specter's got more of a sense of humor than even dad suspected..." "Joan Wayne," Lao repeated slowly, "Okay...by that I take it to mean...?" Martha's lip twitched slightly as she answered in a low growl, "She's even gone so far as to stop calling Helena her 'Aunt' and has started calling her 'Poppa.'" "I...see..." Lao shook her head, "And I thought I had heard of everything..." Martha looked up and growled, "You repeat one word of this and you'll wish you never were born, you got me?" "I do," Lao replied, sitting down on the table next to Martha, having edged closer the whole time without seeming to approach her, "Small wonder you seemed so distracted when you arrived here. You do have a lot on your mind these days, and I'm sorry if I have been too intrusive..." "No...it's funny," Martha looked up, "For some reason...I do feel a little better...getting that off my chest. I don't know why I'm telling you all of this, but...well...you've been a pretty good listener..." "I've had practice," Lao smiled again, "But I only listen to the parts I want to hear, and what I hear in your voice is that you are lonely and wish that you could have someone else to turn to...someone who means more to you than a casual stranger. I think you really should go find your friend Helena and talk to her the way you've been talking with me..." "How can I?" Martha asked, "I've no right to go barging back into her life. She's got her own thing going down now..." "A husband?" Lao asked. "Ah...no..." "A boyfriend then?" Lao asked again. "Not that I've heard of." "A child of her own?" "Um...just one she adopted...and she's graduating High School..." "Then what's to stop you from making your move?" Lao leaned forward, "Are you telling me that you honestly don't want to get back together? After all, you have tried things the other way..." "Um...look, can we change the subject already?" Martha pleaded, "Now...I've come all this way because my little sister had some friends who were traveling on that liner..." "I'm sure that they are all right," Lao assured her, "But if it will reassure you, I can have my people check to find out if they are among the survivors that I carry. What were their names?" "I...think..." Martha hesitated, then softly admitted, "You know...I forgot to ask..." "Well, that doesn't narrow things down too much, but I'm sure we can work things out," Lao assured, "Perhaps there is someone you might be able to get in contact with who could tell you whom you are looking for?" "I...think I'd have to use a phone for that...or talk to my little sister," Martha conceded. "Do you have a cell phone?" Lao asked. "No, but I have something better," Martha reached into a hidden pouch in her costume and pulled out a tiny ear-mike, which she placed in her left eardrum, then casually raised her left wrist and revealed that the band she wore there was more than a simple wrist watch. She typed in a number and then paused, waiting as if for someone else to pick up the phone on the other end... ...And seconds later the phone at Beatrice's desk started ringing, startling the friends, who had been engrossed in their continuing conversation. "Mushi-Mushi," Beatrice replied into the speaker, "Daitokuji residence...can I help you?" "Daitokuji?" the voice of Martha said on the other end, "Is that your family name? It sounds...somehow familiar..." "Ah, Martha Kent-san," Beatrice smiled, "How may I help you?" "Sis?" Alison spoke up before Martha could respond, "Where are you? Are you all right?" "Never better, little Cherry Blossom," Martha replied, "I just called to ask for a little information." "Where are you?" Alison asked, "Have you found Madam Lao yet?" "As a matter of fact she's standing right next to me," Martha revealed, "She says that she's bringing the survivors back to port but that she'd like to know the names of the party that you asked me to check out. Could you tell me who I'm supposed to be looking for here?" "She's with the Mistress?" Keiko exchanged looks with Kodachi and Akane, then glanced at an equally stunned Ryoga. "Sis," Alison said carefully, "Are you all right?" "Huh?" came the answer on the other end, "What do you mean all right? I'm just fine, Cherry Blossom, why do you ask?" "Because you haven't called me Cherry Blossom in a couple of years," Alison replied, "And your voice sounds a little slurred...have you been drinking?" "Drinking?" Martha laughed, "Sister, you know damned well that I could drink a lake of wine and never show any ill-effects. I've just been having a little talk here with Captain Lao about...some things..." "Talking," Beatrice said, "But you've not yet encountered any of our friends to determine their status?" "Well, it would have helped if you had told me what their names were when I left," Martha said in a slightly testy tone of voice, "After all, I don't count telepathy among my superpowers." "Hey, don't get curt with me, Sis," Alison snapped, "You flew out of here before we had any time to give you that information...and you mean the Captain hasn't told you already?" "Told me what already?" Martha replied. "She knows perfectly well who our friends are," Beatrice informed her, "We talked to her just a few minutes before your arrival." "You...what?" Martha reacted. "Ah yes," came the faintly detected voice of Madam Lao, "I had been meaning to get around to that part..." "Say what...?" Martha asked, "You knew I was coming?" "Your sister informed me that you would be arriving, yes," Lao answered, "But I meant no deception in seeking a delay, or else I would never have suggested that you phone your sister in the first place. The truth is that the Saotome and Tendo clan is doing quite well, but...at the moment...they are enjoying the facilities that I have provided for them and are...how shall I put this? Otherwise engaged at the moment." "My lady," Keiko spoke up, "What have you done with Nabiki and the others?" "Say what?" Martha asked, "She wants to know what you've done with her friends." "Ah," Lao smiled, "Kei-chan is still there? Then tell her that I have done nothing with them...they are simply...how can I frame this delicately? Enjoying the bliss of matrimony...and I do not wish to disturb them at this particular time. In a few hours maybe, but..." "Wait a minute," Martha halted that line of thought, "What's this I'm hearing? That sound..." "Sound?" Lao asked, "What sound?" "It's...coming from over there," Martha replied, "A-chan, I'll call you back, I have to investigate this. Later." And---ever-so-faintly over the intercom---the teenagers crowded around Beatrice's console could hear the sound of Madam Lao sighing... "Over there," Martha said as she removed her ear-piece and deactivated her wrist communicator, "Some kind of moaning noises..." "Are you sure it's something for you to be concerned about?" Lao asked, "This is a very old ship and it tends to creek a lot..." "Don't hand me that line of bull!" Martha snapped, "You're hiding something and I intend to get to the bottom of it right now!" So saying Martha levitated and shot forward on her own power, pushing past the doors and obstacles that got in her way as she followed the line of the noises that she had been hearing for the past several seconds, startling several of Lao people as she tore off down the hall, and with her rate of speed increased beyond human threshold it only took her a few instants to cross the gap to the desired chamber, only to halt in her tracks as she found something else that momentarily distracted her from her determined course of action. "What?" she said, shocked to find a woman being whipped with a cat-o-nine tails, a naked woman suspended by her wrists above the floor, her legs held wide by a spreader bar while another woman applied the lash to her already pink-tinged backside. "...And that is for being derelict in your duties to the Mistress," the one wielding the cat was saying just then, "And this is for not giving me head the other night when I asked you so politely..." The woman being so flogged could say nothing on her own because a ball-gag muffled her cries and prevented her from speaking. She yelped each time that the cat struck her, though her body was stretched too taunt to do more than flinch a little in physical reaction. "What are you doing?" Martha surged forward, taking the cat from the woman doing the flogging and hurtling her into the nearest wall with enough force to stun her, "Let this woman go! You have no right to be doing this! How dare you!" "How dare you interfere with the operations of our ship?" one of the blue skinned women replied as she stepped out of the shadows, "This is a matter of ship discipline, and we do not welcome the criticism of outsiders." "And I don't stand for seeing a human being whipped like a dog either!" Martha replied, and accompanied her anger with a fist aimed for the blue skinned warrior's chin, only to see that fist go right through the blue body of the other woman without creating more than a ripple in passing, causing Martha to stumble back with a surprise, "What...?" "You would attack without knowing the nature of your adversary?" the blue skinned woman replied, "You should be the one who is taught a lesson for your ill manners...my lady? Mistress," and with that the blue skinned woman fell to one knee and bowed her head in an obedient manner. "Eh?" Martha blinked, only to sense movement from one corner of the ceiling. She turned around in time to see water flowing through the ceiling to strike the floor...only instead of a splash the water morphed into the body of a woman, then seconds later resolved themselves into the body of Madam Lao, complete with the appropriate coloration. "I don't really blame you for making a false assumption," Lao spoke with an odd resonance to her voice, "But you shouldn't be so quick to judge by appearances. There is more going on here than you seem to think. For example...study the cat in your hand and see for yourself." "What?" Martha glanced at the cat and then did a double take, running her fingers through the strands to confirm what had been obvious from a closer inspection, "I-I don't believe it...these aren't leather...they're...velvet?" "Actually they are felt strips wetted down to give them an appropriate stinging power," Lao replied, "It hurts but there is less chance of breaking the skin. I despise crude brutality...it's far more humane to use softer materials for behavioral correction." "Behavioral corrections?" Martha repeated. "Nadia," Lao directed her focus to the blue skinned woman, "Release Carmine from her chains...let the supposed victim speak on her own behalf." "As you wish, my lady," the blue skinned woman straightened up, then went to the wall and hand-cranked a small winch to lower the captive woman to where her weight was fully placed on her bare feet, then the Undine went over to the captive and undid her cuffs, removing her ball gag and kneeling to undo her ankle stocks. "No," the alleged victim spoke up, "Don't take them off just yet. Mistress...I've only been penalized for the past two minutes. I deserve an extra ten minutes at least for my failures to serve you..." "I understand, Carmine," Lao replied, "But our guest here does not comprehend the way things are done on board this vessel. I need you to be free to speak your mind clearly...I will reward you personally with more punishment later." "Thank you, my lady," Carmine bowed her head, then straightened up and shot a glare at Martha that was as good as a slap in the face, "WHY COULDN'T YOU MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS? And why the hell did you hurt poor Kylene?" To Martha's astonishment the naked girl stormed right past her and knelt down before the body of the very woman who had been flogging her a moment before to examine her bruises. "Kylene...are you all right? Speak to me...what did she do to you?" "I'm...all right," Kylene felt along her chin then glared at the astonished Martha, "Who the hell are you and what's the big idea of throwing me around like that? Carmine and I were just having a little fun..." "Fun in which you can indulge within the privacy of your quarters," Lao replied, "But I do apologize for the interruption. Our guest here is...unfamiliar with our ways. Do make some allowances for her ignorance, and as a reward, you are dismissed from regular duties for the remainder of the day, make good use of the time, but I expect you both back at your posts as of O-700." "Yes, my lady," both women bowed, then linking hands together they all but sprinted away, looking and sounding like nothing so much as giggling schoolgirls. "My staff," Lao sighed while Martha looked on with a stunned expression, "Such youthful exuberance is encouraging in these jaded times. Ah, to be young at heart again with few responsibilities beyond my daily routine..." "What...what just happened?" Martha asked. "Really now," Lao leered, "You have heard of Sado-Masochism, have you not? S&M games are commonplace on the POJ, and it's the means by which we insure ship discipline and punish minor transgressions." "You punish your crew by letting them flog each other?" Martha replied. "Among other things," Lao turned away, "Come...you wanted to see what was causing those noises that drew your attention. I might as well reveal to you the deep-dark secrets of my life that will no doubt prove a shock to your conventional mindset." "Conventional---HEY!" Martha protested, but Lao was already turning away and heading back down the corridor, turning to the left and gesturing towards an open doorframe. "This way," Lao noted, "And do please try not to overreact this time. I am trying to be a polite host, but I can't abide you mistreating my servants." "Mistreating your servants?" Martha stalked up to where the captain was standing, "What the heck do you call...that...?" she gasped as she turned and looked into the next chamber. Beyond the arched doorframe she saw a sight that caused her to all but stumble in amazement, for there in the large cargo hold were a number of naked women hanging in rope-suspense from the ceiling, dangling at all sorts of odd angles and uncomfortable positions with soft moans and groans emanating from their gagged mouths as nearly all of these women were fully alert and conscious of their positions. "What...what's going on...?" Martha gasped, "These women..." "They are my cargo," Lao responded. "Cargo?" Martha blinked. "Slaves being trained and conditioned to become courtesans for sale and resale to various clients," Lao replied, "At the present I have no more than eighteen such women undergoing the training process, far less than my normal compliment, though that is partially due to this being the off-season..." "SLAVES???" Martha rounded on the other woman, "You make slaves of other human beings?" "Well, generally they do make the best types," Lao replied, "Though on occasion I have been known to deal in exotics and non-humans..." "What are you...?" Martha backed away, "Some kind of a monster?" "No," Lao replied calmly, "But I am married to one monster...actually, two monsters if you count my loyal servant, the Kraken. But really, there is no need to be so melodramatic. I am only a businesswoman, much like yourself, fulfilling a need that satisfies my clients..." "Why...you---!" Martha launched herself forward and threw another punch, only to gasp in amazement as her fist went right through the body of the woman before her, who rippled like a clear lake into which a stone had been tossed, only to solidify again around that fist, which was trapped in the space normally occupied by a human heart. "I asked that you not to be so melodramatic," Lao said with very little concern expressed upon her lovely features, "Now I am going to have to insist that you be restrained before you do any more damage. Honestly I wanted to avoid having to resort to these measures, but I see that you are determined to be difficult..." "What---what did you do?" Martha fought to free her hand from the grip of Lao's chest, but the pirate just smiled at her, then reached up to cup her own breasts and begin rubbing them against Martha's wrist. "You are powerful and dangerous," Lao said, "So dangerous that I dare not take any chances with you...not on a ship that houses my people and my loved ones. Fight me though you will, I know that you have a weakness that I can exploit to my advantage. Breeze-chan...the box please?" "H-Huh?" Martha stared at her own wrist, and at the now-naked breasts of the Captain, whose clothing had vanished to reveal the woman underneath, even as Lao herself was smiling in an almost friendly manner, even as Martha felt the caress of soft mounts of flesh against her skin and involuntarily reacted with a slightly pleasurable shudder. But then she saw a young girl approaching from the sides, a girl with pale blue hair and as naked as Lao herself was at the moment. In her hands was a box that looked as though it might be used to hold jewelry, only there was an emerald dragon on its top that marked it as significant and expensive. The girl opened the box and exposed the contents that were within...and instantly Martha felt a wave of revulsion and weakness sweep over her as the saw the glowing green light that projected out in her direction. "Kryptonite," Lao remarked, "I believe it is your primary weakness, the bane of your people and a rare element worth a considerable fortune. My predecessor carried this fragment in a box by his mantle for what I assumed would be...special circumstances. I never thought that I might have need for it myself until you dropped in to investigate me...but now I see that it was wise to have my son standing by with the box just in case you became...difficult." "Y-Your...son??" Martha gasped, fighting to free her hand as weakness overcame her body. "Don't ever let appearances fool you around here," Lao replied, "Things are never as simple as they might appear. Indeed, I don't intend to hurt you if it can be avoided, but I needed to weaken you to a sufficient level that you might be easy prey for the Kraken." "The...what....?" Martha stumbled and the strength left her legs and she began to sag to her knees, only to find her hand had been finally released by Madam Lao, who knelt down to gather her up into her arms while Breeze stood by and held the box ready. "Shhh..." Lao said in soothing tones, lifting Martha in her arms as though the other woman had become as light as a baby, "Don't worry about it...I will take care of everything. This way, please...I will show you exactly how I make a guest at home who might otherwise cause me a problem. Breeze darling, stand by and keep the box ready." "Yes mother," the young girl replied. Martha wondered what was going to happen to her, silently cursing herself for being so careless as to lower her guard around the lady pirate. She lacked the strength to do more than hang limply in the other woman's arms as she was borne down the corridor and into another chamber...one that consisted of a ramp that bridged a space that was filled by a series of empty hanging cages on either side. Below the ramp hung a dark mass that appeared to be a liquid of some sort, but as Martha turned an eyed towards this darkness she saw it rising up to form a gelatinous shape that rose up to greet her. "Breeze-chan," Lao said, "Seal the box...it won't be needed from this point on," and with that the lady pirate released Martha and dropped her into the darkness, causing her to fall several feet as Martha reached in vain to seek a hold on the pirate, only to find herself falling into the gelatinous mass, which swarmed around and absorbed her into its being. "Now then..." Lao said, only to have her body ripple and distort as she became one of the blue women, who then turned to see the real Madam Lao, who only then came striding up the ramp with a leisurely saunter. "Well done, my servant...you made an excellent medium," the real Lao complimented her Undine servant. "I thank you, my lady," the Undine bowed down on one knee, "It was a great honor to be graced with your essence as I performed your will. I am pleased that the results are satisfactory by your measure..." "As am I," Lao stretched out a hand and affectionately ran her fingers through the blue locks of her smiling child, "And you, my darling, you did quite well. I am proud of your performance as well...because of you we have avoided a situation that was certain to be most unpleasant." "I'm glad I could help, Mom," Breeze replied, holding up the box, "You want I should keep this around...just in case?" "No," Lao replied, "That won't be necessary. Return it to the shelf where you obtained it, I think we will be able to handle this particular guest from now on using more...conventional methods." Breeze and the Undine turned to watch as Martha flailed helplessly about in the middle of the gelatinous mass, struggling against invisible arms that worked their way all around her body. A moment later one arm detached itself from the mass and stretched itself out over Madam Lao and lowered an object into her hand, which Lao accepted with a smile...the clothing, watch and sandals formerly worn by the struggling Martha. "There now," Lao mused as she studied the costume as though to measure it by fashion sense, "We won't be needing this for a while. Have it stored away with the rest of her personal effects. Now at last she is fashionably attired as a proper guest aboard my vessel." "Very good, Mistress," the Undine replied as she accepted the clothing, watch and sandals, then dissolved her body and flowed across the ramp, moving much swifter than anything human might have managed. Lao folded her arms and watched as Martha continued to struggle within the mass that was a mere portion of the Kraken's body, her efforts slowing as invisible arms slid around her limbs to immobilize them, then other appendages appeared and began to stroke and rove over the surface of her body. Martha's lips parted sharply as a few bubbled of air escaped from her lips, but then she arched her back and parted her legs as though something were stroking her down below, and moments later the lips of her brown-covered loins started to part and expose pink flesh, which shortly thereafter became violated. "The Kraken looks happy, Mom," Breeze commented, "I think it likes her." "Ah yes," Lao smiled, "This guest will indeed need special handling, but I think that I can handle it. A pity that I'll have to call Kei-chan back and offer an apology to this one's sister. Of necessity I am going to have to retain her services for at least a week until we can work out something...negotiable between us. To do otherwise is likely to risk the folly of having a perturbed Kryptonian loose on my ship. "What will become of her if she doesn't agree to cooperate, Mom?" her sex- changed son asked. "I think we should cross that bridge when it becomes necessary, my darling," Lao replied, "But I suspect that our dear Ms. Kent may prove to be a surprising addition to our expanding guest list. I will ask her once we have concluded our business in Taipei...but I think I already know how she will respond to further treatment. I sense such...potential within this one...and I truly am looking forward to getting to know her better." "I guess," Breeze replied, "But she'd better not try to hurt you. I hate it when people try and threaten you, Mother..." "I know you do, my child," Lao ran her hand through the hair of her daughter once again, "You make your mother proud. Now...do as I ask then join me for dinner. We'll be dining down in the Harem with the rest of the girls and the children. I'll have a few announcements to make, and I want you all to be ready." "Okay," Breeze smiled, and all but skipped her way out of the room, obviously in a good mood, which was a reflection of Lao's own mindset. "Ah yes," she smiled as she studied the now-nude Martha, who was being thoroughly molested by a hundred tiny tentacle-like fingers that played with sensitive nerve endings, to which even a Kryptonian could have no real defenses...especially those that stroked and fondled nerves normally inaccessible in a human body, "So much potential...you are indeed a powerful woman, my friend, but before too long you will come to know me as...your Mistress." And with that Lao gave in to the impulse to revert to type with a laugh that was suitable to a major Villainess who had just captured the hero for her nefarious...devices, a laugh that was far too light hearted and marry to be truly ominous, though Martha---from what she could hear of it from within the body of the Kraken---appropriately shuddered... Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Tentacle Massages: shadowmane@ridgenet.net The lid comes off of Pandora's Box as Lao reveals the truth depths of her sinister intentions, while Nabiki and company make a slow recovery from their inter-family orgy to discover that they've missed the boat in an almost literal sense. Be here for the next perverted installment: "Hentai Hotel," or "You can do anything, but lay off of my Blue Jack Boots!" Be there!