Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

Jason leaned over the ledge of the dilapidated ruins of an old building across from Blackridge Manor’s gardens. He had his rifle resting against the ledge on its side while the rest of the group went over their plan. He wasn’t a fan of standing out in the open like this, but Pam and Rebecca had cast some sort of barrier around them. It wasn’t large, but according to them it was meant to create an illusion to keep the drones from detecting them. Jason had been watching the windows carefully for any signs of movement beyond Amelia, the twins, and their friends. He had confidence in his intelligence, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He hadn’t been able to see anything yet, and he didn’t see the point in wasting time doing reconnaissance when they were at the gates.

Jake, Beth, Pam, and Rebecca were standing a short distance behind Jason waiting for his go ahead. While there wasn’t a direct leader among them, they knew that they had to move and work as one for operations like this. Even though Amelia was seemingly operating on a minimum security force, she was still a force to be reckoned with. From everything that Jake had said, she’d grown into more than a silver-tongued devil. She might have been a pawn in the Brunswick's game, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a threat. Heidi and Hannah were proof enough of that fact. 

Their plan was simple enough albeit incredibly risky. They were going to try to break in through the second story window and make their way down to the first floor and possibly the Birdcage. If they were lucky, they’d be able to catch Heidi and Hannah away from Amelia. If they could manage that then they’d have a shot at turning the tables in their favor. However, none of them were expecting their luck to suddenly shift in their favor. Their plan was to divide and conquer while Jason ran comms and surveyed what he could. They’d regroup if things took a turn, but while Jason was working to keep them informed, they were going to work to find and free their friends.

“You four ready to move?” Jason asked, pausing in front of them, “We’ve only got one shot at this, and we don’t have much time before another wave of Isley’s robots come zooming through.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Jake nodded, rolling his shoulders and trying to loosen him before what was sure to be an incredibly tense mission.

“Hold on,” Pam held up a hand to Jake, “Before we make our move, I think there’s a matter that we should address first. Jake, if you wouldn’t mind stepping forward for just a moment.”

Jake frowned but shrugged, “IS something wrong, Pam?”

“If this is to be our first public and official move, I think we should give us a symbol,” Pam replied, “The city may have moved on from us, but I doubt they have forgotten the legacy of the Birdboy turned Raven. Those that call the ivory towers home may work to suppress it, but even whispers can carry strength and turn to rallying cries if there are enough of them. Stand still for me, Jake.”

Jake tried not to scoff at Pam’s small speech. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, but hope was something that was in short supply for them. Even so, he wasn’t going to turn her down or turn her away. He looked down at his suit, or what was left of it. They’d managed to scrape together just enough for him to have cover and mild protection whenever he went out, but it was a shadow of the uniform he’d once worn. Pam had offered on numerous occasions to fix it or craft him something new, but he’d refused time and again. However, he didn’t see the point in arguing with her further.

Pam’s hands glowed as she stepped closer and started to reshape his suit. His last excursion had left it more tattered and frayed than he’d have liked, but there were enough pieces that could be salvaged. Jake closed his eyes as a bright flash shot suddenly shot out of Pam’s hands and nearly blinded him. He could feel the familiar weight of kevlar plating and ballistic weaving covering parts of his check, arms, legs, and shoulders. He could also feel the weight atop his head from a cowl that he hadn’t worn since shortly before he and Pam had been captured by Ingrid. He opened her eyes to look down at what Pam had given him.

Jake’s tattered and beaten uniform was gone, and in its place was a new blend of colors and armor. A deep blue set of wings with fiery orange ends spread across his chest. In the center of his torso were a series of purple and red scales that were heavier plated and covered his vital organs. Those same scales covered parts of his thighs and protected his arteries. The outer layers of his uniform were black as the abyss. His gloves and boots were the same shade of deep blue as the winged stripe across his chest with the same shade of orange on the edges. His cowl was the same shade of black, but the nose was elongated just slightly in a manner that was reminiscent of his original costume. Pam had given him a new blend of his old suit, the Raven he’d become, and something altogether new. She’d given him a suit that was more of a symbol than anything else.

“Shit, and all I got was a jacket,” Beth scoffed, “I’m a little jealous, I’m not gonna lie.”

“Hush,” Pam rolled her eyes, “Your symbolism is fear and brutality, Kitten, it has been since we found one another. Sadly, I can’t recreate the technology that you two had, but I can give you the protection that you desperately need.”

Jake clenched his fists and unclenched them as he looked at his new outfit. “This is incredible,” he chuckled as he threw a few practice swings, “I-I don’t know what to say, Pam.”

“Let your actions do the talking,” Pam waved him off, “If there is nothing else, I think we are ready to move.”

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Jason nodded, walking back to his rifle, “You four know your spots, right? Goth-I mean, Rebecca, are you ready?”

Rebecca had been keeping a close eye on Jake as Pam’s magic worked to change his outfit. It had been a long time since she’d seen him in an outfit and colors like this. It was strange to see a mixture of old and new, but it was both unique and remarkable. It was something that only he could have pulled off, and she couldn’t stop herself from admiring the figure he cut in between those layers. It reminded her of one of the many reasons she’d been so smitten and captivated with him. 

“Rebecca,” Pam cleared her throat, “Are you still with us?”

Rebecca shook her head and swallowed nervously, “Hmm? Yes, yes, of course I’m here. What are we waiting for? Let’s not continue to stand on ceremony. I believe we have a score to settle with the hallowed harpy calling Jake’s former home her own.”

“Am I missing something here?” Beth asked, noticing the way that Rebecca’s tone had shifted from surprised to almost hateful, “I mean, other than you staring at Jake’s ass. Ow, what the fuck?!”

Beth spun around to glare at Pam who’d just given her ass a firm slap, “There’s no need to call attention to things like that, Kitten. Honestly, it’s like you want her to get angry with you.”

“Okay, so you’re telling me that I’m the only one who noticed?” Beth asked, ignoring the slight glare from Rebecca off to the side and the blush spreading across her cheeks, “Fine, whatever, but that wasn’t what I was talking about. I was asking about the way her attitude changed when she called Duchess a harpy, or whatever.”

“Let’s just say that she and I have never really seen eye to eye,” Rebecca frowned, choosing to ignore Beth’s comments about her staring.

Pam frowned as she sensed the distinct shift in her friend and mentor’s attitude. “So it’s all of your memories that are coming back then,” she remarked, “I see, well try not to let it cloud your judgment and distort your actions today.”

“Does somebody want to tell me what this is about?” Beth asked again.

“I could tell you, or Pam could, but we don’t have the time right now,” Jason answered, “That’s a long story, and we’re burning daylight here. Nice outfit, Blackridge, now go test those spandex out by saving some of our friends, dickhead.”

“Right, let’s move,” Jake rolled his eyes as he stepped towards the edge of the barrier while Jason grabbed his rifle.

Meanwhile, within the walls of Blackridge Manor, the current host was having a pleasant morning. She had chosen to sleep in this morning since her benevolent benefactors hadn’t called for any sort of meeting. Amelia Ritters had been living lavishly and using her slaves to the fullest extent that their bodies would allow her. Her personal favorite, Samantha Blackridge, had spent the night buried under her ass and been forced to rim her early in the morning. The little Blackridge halfsister wasn’t quite the same as her prized Jake, but she had to make due with what she could. She was mouthy and defiant, but she was slowly beginning to break like all the rest of them. 

It helped that she had the aid of two of the best, brightest, and most brutal young women in Metropolis working by her side. Heidi and Hannah were absolute wonders at coming up with new ways to play with the others, and their mere presence was a miraculous deterrent for those foolish enough to try to take her home. Not only did they keep the rabble outside away, they kept their guests well in line. Between them and the threat of being sent to Dr. Murray and her island, they had barely had any problems since the first month after taking the Manor for themselves. 

Over the last year, Amelia had grown somewhat comfortable in her role within the new world order. It wasn’t as glamorous as she would have liked, but it came with enough perks that it kept her moderately happy. She’d been relegated to more of an advisory position on Eva’s board, but it was a start. It meant that she was safe from the common rabble within the city, but she was still at the feet of another woman in a way. It didn’t help that she was essentially on the same level of Courtney Tellar and her revolting practices for the labor force. Although, the truth was that she, Courtney, Anna, and that Ingrid girl were all on the same level. They were near the top of the pyramid, but they would always be beneath Eva and Emily. That was something that would never truly sit right with her.

Her position as one of the newfound elites within the newfound societal norm would have been bliss if Amelia were any other person. However, her lust for power was too great to be contained. That lust was only ever matched by her physical wants and desires, and even those were more of a distraction. She had everything she could have wanted, but she wasn’t the one at the top of the pyramid. It was an infuriating thought that often sent her into some of her more twisted games with her slaves. The pleasure she derived from abusing and playing with Jake’s sister and making her pathetic girlfriend watch were welcome distractions to her woes of being second fiddle to the Brunswick sisters. There was something oh so sweet about hearing someone whimper and beg for their miserable little lover to be shown mercy only to be denied again and again.

These were some of the many thoughts that ran through Amelia’s head as she walked the halls of Blackridge Manor this particular morning. She had finished her morning routine in Jake’s old gym not long ago. Ordinarily, she would have gone straight to her bedroom to use Sam’s face to mop up her sweat before having her lick every inch of her clean, but today she had a few other things to focus on before playing with her toys. There were reports that she needed to review from the mad doctor, updates on her side operation and her girls, and a check-in with the Isley girl about her latest project. It wasn’t the most exciting way to spend her time, but it was crucial to furthering her ambitions. 

Anna scared the hell out of her, although she’d never admit it aloud. The mad doctor was certainly more of a terror than many she’d met throughout her tenure as a crime lord. It was something about her calm and composed demeanor mixed with that unhinged, sociopathic curiosity that was all around unsettling. Still, despite all of that, the woman was a potential enigmatic ally. She doubted that the infamous Babydoll was solely aligned with the corporate machinations of the Brunswick sisters. No, it was far more likely that the doctor was more interested in being able to further her experiments and sate her morbid curiosities. That was something that Amelia could work with given the chance. 

Ingrid was another possible recruit that she had her eye on. The young woman was a whiz with technology and computers, but she was bound by some ludicrous contract to Eva and Emily. The girl had a fixation on Beth Thompson in the same way that she herself was borderline obsessed with Jake. The two of them shared a common causality in that both of their crushes had been taken by the very game that the Brunswicks played with the fallen heroes. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was admittedly jaded by what Eva had allowed Courtney to get away with doing to Jake. Again, it was something that she could exploit if she were smart and careful about how she went about it.

That was part of her plan, her long-term plan in case things started to take a turn. What had gotten her this far in her criminal career hadn’t been impulse, but rather instinct and cunning. Her mantle as the Duchess might have been born from greed and lust, but she’d earned it by using her smarts and charisma to her advantage. More than once, she’d outfoxed and outmaneuvered other far more powerful villains and even the old heroes themselves. This was long before she had taken to building up her strength and stamina too, so it was only fitting that she had more than one contingency plan in the works. 

Amelia walked down the hall of her manor towards the office she’d built for herself. She pushed the door open, grabbed the tablet on the table beside the doorway, and opened the messaging app. While she scrolled, she reflected on what had brought her this far. It was after her last defeat at the hands of Jake and that miserable kitty-cat he called a sidekick. She’d had him pinned and beaten, but the two of them had managed to play on her overconfidence and weakness back then. She’d managed to escape thanks to the help of the old Footgirl, but she’d had to agree to back off of her pursuit of Jake. It wasn’t ideal, but her survival was paramount above all else. So she made the decision to disappear while the city changed.

In her absence, her city had gone mad. Old rivals rose to power, Catgirl fell and The Feral rose, and Jake had forsaken his old mantle for a darker, more broken bird. When Goth had taken over, both times, the world had been turned on its head. Amelia had heard of the deaths of some of her more prominent colleagues during that time period. While she didn’t view the likes of Megabutt or Abigail as allies, she saw their deaths as a warning. The change in the heroes of the city, the laws of the underworld, and her more recent defeat meant that she had to adapt and change. So, she did what would have been otherwise unthinkable to her: she went underground and lived like one of the pathetic citizens of her city.

Amelia had given up her more lavish and luxurious lifestyle in favor of a far more subdued and, quite frankly, filthy way of living. It wasn’t easy for her to admit defeat, but she was smart enough to know when to retreat. With the last of her resources, Amelia pulled together just enough equipment for an underground base. She studied everything she could on fighting, pulled as much footage of Jake and that meddlesome Beth as possible, and began pushing her body to its limits. Weeks turned to months, and she slowly started to turn from pudge to muscle. Her strength and stamina rose as her body hardened and her mind grew sharper.

Eventually, Eva approached her with a rather lucrative offer to restore her to her former fortune and glory. To this day, Amelia wasn’t sure how Eva had found her, but she’d learned that some questions couldn’t be answered. The woman was better connected than anyone she’d ever met, and her coffers ran deeper than Jake’s. When Eva had floated her idea of an alliance and a business partnership, Amelia had been skeptical. However, the more she talked, the better her promises sounded. Eva had been a woman of her word, and she’d delivered on everything she promised. Ravenfalls had been demolished, and in its place she’d been allowed free reign to craft Smother Ranch. The ranch was a haven for those looking to live out their deepest, darkest desires, but it was also a perfect front for her return to power. 

It was through the guise of the ranch that she was able to begin building a loyal army behind the scenes. She was outwardly loyal to Eva and her cause, but her true loyalty was to herself. With that in mind, Amelia made sure that her girls swore an oath to her first and foremost. Her silver tongue remained as sharp as ever, and she used it and honeyed words to gain the trust of her dominants and submissives. Amelia, nor Eva, ever advertised Smother Ranch, but the reputation of supposed safety and indulgence grew organically. Word started to spread through whispers, and eventually Heidi and Hanna, former associates of her old friend Alexis, came to her of their own volition. The girls were lost in the wake of Alexis' absence and sudden change of heart, and they were enticed by what Amelia promised. They quickly became invaluable assets to her crusade.

Heidi and Hanna had a sadistic streak that rivaled Alexis’ and her own. The girls took untold delight in torturing and playing with their prey. Whether that was a handful of slaves that thought they knew what they wanted, or breaking the wills of those that threatened to undermine and undercut her. She was determined to raise an army that was like a family, but to do that required unwavering trust and loyalty. Amelia had enough experience to know that disenters within her ranks were virtually inevitable. Those that threatened her reign financially, or otherwise, had to be dealt with. Within the first few months of their arrival, the twins proved themselves worthy of becoming her right and left hands. All it took was the promise of keeping a steady stream of playthings and mayhem for them to enjoy. 

Heidi and Hanna were likely trying to enjoy some quality time with the butler or the cop. Sam was strictly off limits for them, but there were ways to torture her without touching someone. In the same way that Amelia liked to make Sam’s little lover watch, Heidi and Hanna often returned the favor by reversing the roles. To their credit, the trio had held on better than she had thought possible. They were showing signs of breaking, yet they wouldn’t let go of their misguided hope that somehow things could still change for them. It was laughable, but there was something to be said about playing with toys that still thought they had a chance at being saved. 

Amelia sat down at her desk and reviewed her messages. There were no new assignments or requests from Eva and the others. Dr. Murray seemed content with her more recent batch of subjects that she’d delivered, and Ingrid was still working on the latest update to their drone software. That meant that Amelia’s focus was solely on her private server. She could take a little time to focus on her plans.

Amelia’s schemes went beyond Smother Ranch and the revenue streams it brought in. It was nice, of course, but it wasn’t enough to propel her to the top like she wanted. Instead, she planned on taking advantage of some of the connections that Eva afforded her. Her time as the warden of the prison had given her access to a multitude of files on women she would have otherwise overlooked as partners and underlings. There were several of those women that had been left to rot for quite some time, and they had become content to fade into obscurity. Of course, it was too risky for Amelia to reach out personally, so she made it a point to delegate the outreach to her more trusted women. She smiled to herself as she scrolled through her message threads to review the latest news from her subordinates.

Meanwhile, outside in the halls of Blackridge Manor, the team of four heroes had managed to infiltrate the second floor. They had phased into the manor in teams of two; Pam and Beth together while Rebecca worked alongside Jake. That was how it started, anyway. It didn’t take long before they split up once again. There were simply too many rooms for them to check for them to worry about sticking together. They were staying close together as they skulked through the Manor in search of their friends.

Rebecca was doing her best to keep her attention focused on making her way through the manor without incident. She was acutely aware that either of the sociopathic sisters could be around any corner. She and Pam had a slight advantage given their empathic abilities, but that wasn’t a guarantee that they’d be able to avoid the twins or that insufferable Amelia. It certainly didn’t help that she was trying to utilize those same abilities to try to keep tabs on Jake and find their missing comrades. Jason hadn’t been able to spot them prior to their entrance, so they were working off of blind instinct. 

Rebecca pushed open the door to what had once been Jake’s bedroom. She could faintly recall the short period where she had taken this room for herself. As strange as it sounded, her final days were the most difficult to remember. She thought that perhaps it might have been because her final days were plagued by the shadow of the demon queen’s power. The room had been heavily altered from what she could remember. The fabrics and colors had been changed to blacks and whites in what Rebecca personally felt was bland and lifeless, but it fit the harpie that was Amelia. The woman called herself Duchess like she was royal, yet she was lower than scum in the eyes of Rebecca. 

The one piece of the room that remained unchanged was the bed. The four posts on each corner brought back memories, good and bad. One of the more clear memories from her old life sprang to mind; the night that she had broken the one promise she had made to Jake. It was the night that she forced him to obey and used him. He had done everything she demanded, but she could remember the look in his eyes. That was the one thing that never changed no matter how far under the influence people were with her. The eyes were the windows to the soul, and they were the greatest reflection of what her subject was feeling. She had seen the seeds of hate and discontent brewing that night, and that look still haunted her dreams on bad nights.

Rebecca looked away from the bed before her mind could wander too much. The bedroom was empty. Rebecca was about to turn and take her leave, but something on the wall caught her eye and gave her pause. A number of toys and tools hung from a rack on the wall above the dresser. Rebecca walked over to it and  grabbed the one item that stuck out above the rest: an eloquent whip. The handle was ornate with a cold steel wrapped in black and red leather. The leather was woven intricately around the handle. The whip itself was carefully crafted and fully extended must have been either right at or just shy of three feet. It was beautifully crafted, even she had to admit that. There were jewels lined the hilt, and the guard was modeled after a skull. It wasn’t what she was looking for, but Rebecca decided that she’d keep it for herself all the same.

Rebecca carefully tucked the whip into her waistband before turning to take her leave. She slipped out the door as easily as she entered and cast her eyes around the long hallway. Amelia wasn’t in Jake’s room, although her guess was that she’d taken it for herself by the look of everything. The drab and lifeless colors along with the myriad of toys and tools on the wall were proof enough for her. She tried to figure out where that vile woman could be hiding, but then she remembered that their primary purpose was finding Samantha and the others. It was hard for her to go against her more selfish instincts to hunt down the woman she loathed, but she was supposed to be working alongside Jake and the others. Saving the others had to be the priority.

Rebecca stopped and knelt to put her hand against the floor. She had an uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach, and the idea of sticking around for too long was only making those feelings worse. She sent a pulse outward and rippling through the wood of Blackridge Manor. It was a simple spell, but one that she was eternally grateful to have learned centuries ago. She closed her eyes and let the magic pulse act as a type of sonar wave that blanketed the lower levels of the house. It wouldn’t give much in the way of specifics, but it would be enough to give her an idea of where everyone was likely hiding.

In the darkness behind her eyes, Rebecca could see the faint outline of familiar spacings flashing before her. The study downstairs, the dining room, the kitchen, and the library near the back all took shape behind her eyelids. It was the library where she felt a cluster of bodies. She couldn’t see what was happening, but there were five people in that room. She knew that Jake, Pam, and Elizabeth weren’t among them. The rest of her party were upstairs with her in different rooms. Once again, she was tempted to take the lead and charge into the battle without a second thought, but again she stopped herself from acting on impulse. It wasn’t easy, but she had to get used to working with the others. 

Rebecca frowned as she stopped herself and switched on the commlink like Jake had shown her. “Jason, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” his voice came through her ear, “What do you got? Make it quick, it’s best to keep this channel clear unless we need it.”

“I believe our cohorts are in the library,” she replied, “Can you get to a vantage point on the opposite side?”

“Fucking hell,” Jason grumbled, “Yeah, but it’ll take me a bit. Not all of us can phase through the fucking floor. The rest of you hear that?”

“Copy,” Beth said, “Pam and I are heading downstairs now.”

“Likewise,” Jake replied.

“Negative,” Rebecca cut in, “You and Pamela remain where you are. Stay alert and be prepared to move if fighting breaks out.”

“What are you-” Beth began.

“Understood,” Pam cut Beth off, “We’ll sit tight. Be careful and we’ll join you once things begin to escalate.”

“Smart play,” Jason remarked, “I’m moving into position now.”

The deafening silence returned as Rebecca turned her attention back towards her surroundings. She carefully crept through the halls and made her way to the stairs leading to the first floor. The animal spirits of her familiars were growling and heightening her senses as she crept downstairs. She hated keeping them within her like this, but it was better to have more than just the one trick up her sleeve for when they were forced to face the twins. Her instincts told her that they were heading straight to the, but there was still the question of where the current mistress of the manor was hiding.  

Rebecca wished that she’d been able to rendezvous with Jake before she made her way downstairs, but she had to play with the hand that she was dealt. There was an almost eerie heaviness to the silence that stretched out through the manor as she made her way downstairs. It was strange how empty the halls were. She could still remember when she seized the control of the manor and had it  filled with guards. It didn’t sit right with her how vastly barren Amelia had left things. She was either overly arrogant, or she was planning something they weren’t expecting. She didn’t doubt that the vile woman was arrogant, but she also knew that as much as she loathed her, Amelia was smart. She wouldn’t leave herself so unguarded unless she had a justified reason.

Rebecca was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that she was standing outside of the doors to the library until she was hit with a sudden wave of conflicting emotions. Misery and despair hit her first, and then sensations of sadistic bliss hit her like a brick wall. The victims of the house were behind those doors, but those sadistic laughs were like distorted echoes of the troublesome Alexis Hamilton. The twins were in there and they were torturing their allies. She still wasn’t sure if Amelia was there, but engaging with the twins would likely flush her out.

“Hey,” Jake whispered beside her, startling her back into reality, “You ready for this?”

She hadn’t heard him coming; she hadn’t felt him approach. He’d gotten better since the last time they’d fought together. She was admittedly impressed with his growth. Rebecca gave him a small smile and reached for the hilt of the whip she’d tucked into her waist. The gems along the handle felt smooth and comfortable in her hand. “On your mark,” she nodded, letting him take the lead for a change.