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

Sam flinched as she was forced to watch her girlfriend lick the feet of Heidi. She was on her knees being held by her hair by Hannah. Bruce was lying in a heap on the floor, stripped and bruised from a recent round of Hannah’s fun. Zoey, like Bruce, was also stripped bare with little more than tears in her eyes. For her part, Sam was clad in a robe that was wrapped tight. The twins weren’t allowed to take advantage of her, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t play with her in other ways. This was one of their favorite methods of torturing her; making her watch while they abused Zoey and Bruce. It was made all the worse with the knowledge that she was essentially the property of Amelia.

The last year had been one of the longest of her life. She’d had to watch as the twins and Amelia broke down whatever hope she and the others had. Sam had all but given up on the prospect of Beth and Pam coming to her rescue, or even Jason for that matter. For a while, she clung to the notion that Sally and the others might have somehow managed to escape the madness overtaking the city, but that was before Sam had managed to uncover files showing her friends as prisoners. She hadn’t been able to figure out where before Amelia caught her and put her through what had been one of the longest nights of her life. She’d spent that entire evening working her tongue to clean every square inch of Amelia and her revolting body to the point where her jaw was sore and her tongue was raw. The night had been capped off by being put to sleep in a devastating headscissors that nearly crushed her.

Heidi giggled before she suddenly stomped on Zoey’s face without warning. “Knock it off!” Sam shouted, hating seeing her lover abused in such a way.

Hannah tightened her grip on Sam’s hair and bent down to whisper scathingly in her ear, “You’ll keep your mouth shut, Sammie. Just because we can’t play with you doesn’t mean Duchess won’t listen if we tell her you’ve been a naughty girl. Your pathetic little girlfriend is our toy, and if my sister wants to mash her stupid face, then that’s exactly what she’s gonna do. Shut up, keep your eyes open, and let us have our fun.”

“S-Sammie, don’t,” Zoey warned, casting a pleading look to her lover, “I can take it, and I don’t want you-”

“Boring!” Hannah cut her off, forcing her toes into Zoey’s mouth, “If I want to hear your voice, I’ll tell you to speak, slut. I could care less about your shitty little lovey, dovey bullshit. The only thing it’s good for is watching you bitches cry. Outside of that, it is boring and pretentious. Let me feel you sucking, Zoey-woey.”

Sam could do nothing except look on in broken-hearted frustration as Hannah delighted in tormenting Zoey. “Awe, is somebody jealous?” Heidi cooed in a mocking tone, “Don’t worry, Sammie, you’ll get a turn with your mistress before you know it. Watch closely, you might learn something useful for once in your miserable life.”

“Get fucked,” Sam spat without thinking.

Heidi growled and backhanded Sam before she could react, “You still think you can talk back?! You stupid, miserable, little slut! I might not be able to have my way with you, but Duchess won’t care if you’ve got a few bruises when I hand you over! You’re gonna learn one way or another, you brat!”

“Looks like you should have taught your slave some better manners, Zoey,” Hannah chuckled, directing Zoey’s head with the tip of her foot, “If she could shut her damn mouth, maybe she’d go a week without getting her ass beat. Oh well, no skin off my back. She bought you a break, so I guess you should thank her. Go on, lemme hear you show your gratitude between sobs.”

Sam swallowed as she hit the ground. She knew better than to fight back by now. Bruce and Zoey were too beaten down and exhausted to lend and cadence, and that meant she was on her own. Resisting would only make her suffering worse, but she could handle the pain. The sound of Zoey attempting to stifle a sob was what really hurt. She hated putting her through this. Sam got on all fours and tried to push herself into a sitting position. Heidi kicked her in the ribs and forced her back onto her back before she could. Sam groaned as she rolled and looked up. The mad sister was furious as she stalked forward. Her hand shot up, clenched in a tight fist, and Sam braced herself for what was coming. Surprisingly, the punch never came.

Instead, the sound of a whip cracking rang out followed by a surprised Hannah, “What the hell?”

Rebecca had followed Jake into the library, and she had been trying to wait for him to make his move. However, seeing the sinister cruelty of the two young women abusing the helpless trio was too much. She’d waited for as long as she could, but once the pixie haired with the blue streak started beating on Samantha, she couldn’t wait any longer. She grabbed the whip from her waistband and didn’t waste time intercepting and stopping the abuse before it could get out of hand. The thick leather band wrapped around Heidi’s wrist, and Rebecca pulled it taunt to lock her arm in place. 

“Is this how you treat your guests?” Rebecca asked, watching the blue-streaked Heidi and the red-streaked Hannah carefully, “I must say, this isn’t the welcome I had in mind.”

“Goth,” Hannah sneered, narrowing her eyes and shooting a look at her sister, “You’re supposed to be dead, but then so was Footgirl. Heidi-”

“I'm on it,” Heidi cut her off.

Heidi twisted her arm and the rest of her body. She lifted her left leg high into the air and brought it down hard in an ax-kick that connected with the whip. Rebecca flicked her wrist to release the tension and pulled the whip back to her. She stared between the two women as they moved in sync. Their styles were so close to identical with the subtle differences mainly in the color schemes. Both girls were barefoot, and both of them were wearing baggier pants with zippers up and down them. Heidi’s were black with blue zippers, and Hanna’s were black with red zippers. They were wearing crop-tops as well with graphic designs and colors that matched their pants. Their eyes were glimmering with sadism, hatred, and hunger.

“Sis, get down!” Heidi snapped at Hannah.

Hannah glanced up and dropped to a low crouch just in time for a birdarang to fly over her head before arching around and returning to Jake’s hand. “No fucking way,” Hannah whispered, looking up at the top of the bookshelf where a man dressed as the Raven stood with a birdarang in his hand.

“One chance,” Jake cleared his throat, speaking with authority and confidence, “Walk away, ladies. This isn’t your fight, and you can still walk this one time.”

“Oh, Duchess isn’t gonna believe this!” Heidi exclaimed, chuckling and glancing back at Sam, “Looks like the golden girl is about to be fair game. I am gonna make you fucking scream my name, Sammie-slut, and you are gonna beg to-”

“Heidi!” Hannah barked as Rebecca sent a bolt of purple energy at her.

Heidi was able to dodge at the last second by leaning back. “Forgive me for interrupting, but I believe you were made an offer by the rightful owner of this humble abode. It’s rude to keep somebody waiting, or are we to take it that you’re declining?”

“I always hated the way you talk,” Heidi scoffed, straightening up, “You were always such an uppity bitch. Footgirl thought so, hell, the majority of us here felt that way. Nobody mourned you when your ex up there offed you.”

“We’re not backing down, bird-bitch,” Hannah said, “Why don’t you come down here and…Heidi, get away from the windows!’

“Shit,” Jake whispered as Hannah somehow picked up on what must have been Jason aiming at them.

“Huh?” Heidi asked as Hannah broke off in a cartwheel to the side as a bullet cut through the glass and splintered the floor, “Son of a bitch, you two brought backup. Cheap little assholes, is that the sad little Kitty-Cat out there taking pot-shots?”

Heidi broke off and flanked alongside her sister to move away from the windows as she’d been advised. The pair of them were now on opposing sides of Rebecca, albeit a fair distance from one another. They were smarter than Rebecca cared to admit, but they had served underneath that miserable Alexis. She knew better than anyone how capable underlings could become; Pamela was a prime example of that fact. Jake and Elizabeth had warned them about how dangerous and cunning these girls were. It had only been a short while, but already they were demonstrating a sharpness and aptitude that was far removed from the typical henchling. 

“Doesn’t matter,” Hannah shook her head, “Whether it’s that feral cat, or some other loser, we won’t give them the chance to hit us. I’m pretty sure that Duchess won’t mind if we finish you, Goth, and if the Raven is missing a few feathers then so be it.”

Rebecca took note of the fact that Hannah had referred to Jake as the Raven; a name she’d given him long ago. She filed it away for a later date. There were far more pressing matters to tend to at the moment. Hannah broke off in a sprint towards the bookshelves Jake was perched on. Rebecca’s first instinct was to chase after her, but Jake had warned them that the twins often utilized distraction tactics in their tandem attacks. Instead, Rebecca chose to stand her ground and concentrate on Heidi. Jake’s advice worked to her advantage; Heidi was closing the gap while her sister was sprinting after Jake. 

Heidi jumped as she got close in and extended her leg for a high kick. Rebecca took a step back and swatted Heidi’s foot away with her right hand, the whip still clenched tightly as she did so. Heidi landed in a crouch and went for a spinning leg sweep that Rebecca barely managed to avoid. The manic girl was faster than most, and she didn’t waste time launching into a rising uppercut. Once more, Rebecca managed to avoid taking the brunt of her assault.by leaning back slightly. Rebecca countered by flicking her wrist and letting the whip fly. It cracked across Heidi’s cheek and forced her to retreat with a surprised yelp.

“Don’t tell me this is the best you can do, little girl,” Rebeccca scoffed, feeling a sense of sadistic satisfaction wash over her, “I suppose I shouldn’t expect much from the hired help, though, should I?”

Heidi growled as she charged forward at breakneck speed. She zigged and zagged to avoid another painful crack from Rebecca’s whip. Rebecca tried to land another blow, but she failed to connect. The sound of her whip snapping cut through the air, but Heidi got close enough to land an attack of her own. Rebecca’s arm was extended when Heidi hit her with a two punch combination followed by a sudden roundhouse kick to her side. She managed to knock the wind out of Rebecca, but she pushed the girl back with a blast from her aura. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to put distance between the two.

“What’s the matter?” Heidi asked, grinning as Rebecca narrowed her eyes, “Are you getting slow and careless in your old age, witch?”

“Miserable little oaf,” Rebecca grumbled, resetting herself and trying to let her frustration roll off her  shoulders. 

Meanwhile, Hannah was making her way towards Jake. She was just as fast as her twin, and she was equally as cunning. She clung to the safety of the bookcases as she raced towards where Jake had been perched. She was careful to avoid any more of his surprise attacks or birdarangs until she got close. Hannah grinned as she grabbed onto one of the lower shelves and pulled herself up. She kicked off as she about midway up and launched herself onto the opposing shelf. Hannah repeated the process until she landed atop one of the large bookcases and cast a sinister grin at Jake.

“Here, birdy, birdy,” Hannah giggled, keeping in a low crouch and watching Jake carefully. “Let’s see if you can fly once I pluck a few feathers!”

“You wish,” Jake scoffed, lobbing another of the limited birdarangs he had at his disposal to force her to move, “Come try it, Hannah.”

“Gladly,” Hannah laughed, twisting as she raced towards Jake and dodged the projectile.

Hannah leapt across the gap between bookcases and landed in front of Jake. She brought her hands together and tried to bring them crashing down on Jake’s head. Jake caught her wrists with both hands, but Hannah shifted her momentum and tried to catch him with a surprise spinning kick. Jake mimicked her movement and managed to avoid taking her heel to the side. While the two of them moved in a tight circle, Jake tucked an elbow in tight and tried to catch Hannah in the ribs. Hannah caught his elbow and pushed it away. Hannah brought an open palm upward and caught Jake on the chin. He stumbled back and she smirked and prepared to capitalize on the new opening. 

Hannah tried to catch Jake with a combination of punches and kicks, but she was stopped by a shadowy vortex that appeared in front of Jake. She exclaimed in surprise as she fell into the inky blackness and disappeared. Jake was confused for a split second before he felt the familiar chill in the air. He thought that it was Rebecca’s magic for a second, but then the familiar sound of twin handguns filled the air in the distance. It seemed that the cavalry had arrived, and not a moment too soon. 

“Try to keep your guard up,” Pam called from below, “We wouldn’t want the Raven’s return to be tarnished by getting beat by a sidekick, would we?”

Jake rolled his eyes as Hannah dropped from a portal a few feet above the ground. She cried out in shock as she landed in a heap on the floor. She grumbled as she quickly recovered and got back to her feet, “Stupid little witch…don’t get cocky because of one lucky shot!”

A series of rapid gunshots rang out nearby as Heidi was forced to retreat and rounded the corner of a nearby bookshelf to join her sister. “They’ve got backup,” Heidi grumbled, standing back to back with her sister, “We’ve got a cat, a bird, and a couple of second-rate magicians. 

“Hmph, doesn’t matter,” Hannah scoffed, looking around and eying their surroundings carefully, “Duchess will be here soon.”

Before the twins could begin their next assault, a loud caw and a guttural growl caught them by surprise. Rebecca’s familiars appeared from opposite ends of the corridor. The raven’s talons were aimed at Heidi’s face, and the wolf’s jagged teeth were poised to sink into Hannah’s arm. Heidi ducked down, and Hannah shifted her weight and raised her arm to catch and toss the wolf over her. Before they could get back into their fighting stance, Pam had sent a couple of charged bolts of lightning at the two of them. Again, they managed to dodge them by flipping backwards, but they were being forced to fight defensively rather than on their own terms. The twins exchanged knowing looks and made the decision to launch a counteroffensive. They sprinted past one another in a cross to draw as much fire and confusion as possible.

Jake was about to dive into the fray and try for a surprise attack when a loud crash echoed throughout the library. He looked behind him to see the cases facing his rear beginning to topple like dominos. His chance to take aim was thrown out the window as it became a race against the clock and gravity. Instead, Jake decided to ride the momentum as  the case he was on was hit with a neighboring one, and he dove down with his leg outstretched and aimed at Heidi. His boot landed in front of Hannah and broke her stride, but she managed to stop short before Jake could catch her by surprise. However, a storm of hardback books began raining down as the vase Jake had been perched on locked with the other one.

Jake looked around in anticipation of the monolithic Amelia Ritters that was undoubtedly behind the sudden series of crashes behind him. He expected to see the shadow of silhouette of Duchess barreling towards him any second, but he still needed to worry about Hannah and her insane sister. The second Jake’s attention was diverted, Hannah took advantage in a simple way. She grabbed a couple of the heavier books scattered around them and hurled them at him. Jake brought his arms up and blocked them with ease. However, Hannah hadn’t been expecting to do any damage. Instead, she capitalized on Jake’s sudden shift to a defensive stance and connected with a couple of spinning kicks to his chest. Hannah’s momentum was broken again by a series of gunshots rang out and a bullet grazed her right arm.

Beth had been chasing after her target when the crashes and chaos started to erupt. She had rounded a corner just in time to see Hannah catch Jake by surprise. She laid down a series of suppressing shots from her pistols. She stopped once the dull click reached her ears and ejected her clips to reload. Seeing the shades of red run down Hannah’s upper arm was unexpected, but she was glad to see that she’d managed to do some damage to the sinister sociopath. Beth slammed a fresh magazine into her handguns. She was tempted to join the others, but she knew she needed to focus on getting Sam and the others taken care of. Amelia still hadn’t revealed herself. They couldn’t risk having any of their friends used against them.

Beth turned around and sprinted off towards Sam and the others. She kept her head on a swivel as she made her way back to the trio Heidi and Hannah had been abusing. She found them huddled together in a fractured and fearful shadows of their former selves. Sam and Zoey were holding one another, and Bruce hadn’t moved from his place on his knees. Bruce’s head was downcast and he looked entirely downtrodden as Beth approached. It was like they were trapped in another world. Beth had to remind herself that they’d been on the receiving end of malicious torture for the better part of a year now. 

Beth looked around and spotted the glint of Jason’s scope from the neighboring building. She hurried over and knelt in front of Zoey and Sam, “Hey, can you guys stand?”

It took a moment for any of them to respond. Zoey was the one to speak, but her voice carried a heart wrenching tremble, “Yeah, but I don’t know how useful we’ll be in a fight. I’m not imagining this, am I?”

Beth shrugged and handed the two women one of her handguns, “No, this is real. I’m not asking any of you to fight, but I want to make sure you can move on your own. Stay near the windows, and keep your fingers on the trigger. Jay is outside providing cover, and those babies have fresh clips in them.”

“Make that bitch pay,” Sam said, shaking with frustration and anger, “Everything she’s done…everything that they’ve done, I want you to make them suffer, Beth.”

“You have my word,” Beth assured her, looking up as the sounds of fighting started to grow louder and stronger, “Watch over each other, and don’t move until we come to get you, okay? I promise, we are getting out of here today.”

Meanwhile, back around the corner, Amelia had finally found the commotion and joined the fray. She’d barreled through the bookcases and found Jake preparing to engage with Hannah. Heidi was trying to get close to Pam, but was being kept at bay by a barrage of spells from both Rebecca and Pam. Bolts of arcane energy, jagged spikes of earth, and tandem attacks from the raven and wolf were keeping her from getting close. Amelia threw her shoulder into Jake and knocked him off his feet. She bent down and grabbed Jake with both her hands to grab him and hurl his body into one of the bookcases still standing.

The second that Jake’s body collided with the bookcase, Rebecca’s attention became focused on Amelia. Her blood began to boil at the sigh of her well dressed, elegant, and arrogant figure. She was wearing a black and white checkered suit that hugged her curves and showed off her admittedly impressive physique. She’d bulked up since the last time that Rebecca had seen her, but her face was just as smug and infuriating as she remembered. In the second that she was on the battlefield, Rebecca abandoned her coordination with Pam in favor of protecting the man she loved and making the woman she loathed suffer.

“What are you doing?!” Pam shouted as Rebecca broke formation and rushed towards Amelia and Jake.

“Looks like you’re flying solo, witch,” Hannah giggled as she ran in and kicked the back of Pam’s knee, “Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to-oof!”

Pam felt Hannah’s arm begin to slink around her neck before it was suddenly ripped away. Pam felt a familiar presence behind her as she got to her feet. “I’ve got you,” Beth said, staring at Hannah, “Let her deal with the hulk, and you and I can handle tweedle dee and tweedle dumb, yeah?”

Pam smiled as she stood back to back with her girlfriend and nodded. Together she was confident that they could handle the twins. Heidi moved in the second that Pam’s guard was down and jabbed at Pam’s midsection. Pam caught it and countered with a rising palm strike to her jaw that knocked Heidi back. Meanwhile, Hannah was advancing on Beth and tried for a straight punch aimed at her nose. Beth managed to lean to the side and avoid her fist, but Hannah bent her arm and spun around with her elbow aimed at Beth’s temple. Beth caught it and countered with a spinning kick that connected with her stomach and knocked her away. Pam and Beth stood back to back and followed the twins as they circled them in preparation for their next move.

Not far from their fight, Amelia had been about to grab Jake again when her wrist became ensnared by Rebecca’s whip. She looked back to see who had been brazen enough to stop her and narrowed her eyes, “You of all people, it had to be you!”

“You don’t sound happy to see me, Amy,” Rebecca frowned, twisting her wrist and pulling Amelia’s arm further back, “If it’s any consolation, the feeling is quite mutual. Now, get away from my Raven.”

“Your Raven?” Amelia chuckled, throwing her arm forward and pulling Rebecca with it, “That’s funny because the last I heard, he drove a literal knife into your heart and left you for dead. Yet you’re still convinced that he belongs to you.”

Rebecca scowled at Amelia and her comments. She hated how much her words hurt, but that had always been one of this vile woman’s strengths. Her tongue was as sharp as it was silver and slick. Rebecca tightened her grip on the whip and sent a jolt of electricity coursing through it. Amelia’s confident and cocky smirk fell as she was suddenly overcome with sudden pain. She cried out in agony as she jerked her arm again and pulled Rebecca forward. She grabbed hold of the whip and pulled as hard as she could until she managed to wrest it from Rebecca’s grip. She breathed a sigh of relief as she got back to her feet.

Thankfully, Rebecca had managed to buy Jake enough time to get back to his feet. Ashley was beside him trying to cheer him on and lend whatever aid she could to her beloved. Despite their recent differences, Ashley was still letting Jake maintain control and lending her strength to him. Jake ran forward and kicked the back of her knee before she could get back to her feet. He shifted his weight and threw his body to the side and slammed his boot against Amelia’s head. Jake caught himself as best he could with one hand and pushed himself into a powerful spin that swept Amelia’s legs out from under her. Her body hit the ground with a loud thud, but she rolled out of the way before he could land a decisive blow to her sternum.

Rebecca clenched her fist and pulled her arm down to send a pillar of rock out of the ground. The stone slammed into Amelia and sent her flying off into the distance before she could recover. She groaned as she crashed into a bookcase and fell to the ground. She coughed and glared at a few drops of blood that landed on the ground. “Ladies, execute plan kilo, now!” Amelia exclaimed, reaching into her coat and grabbing a ball before throwing it at the ground.

Heidi and Hannah had been locked in a stalemate against Beth and Pam when Amelia gave her final order. Both of them vaulted into back handsprings after exchanging knowing glances at one another. They were landing on their feet when Amelia’s ball hit the ground and exploded in a powerful bang and a blinding flash of light. The four of them were caught off guard by the sound of a terrible screeching noise and the blinding light. It lasted for all of a minute, but by the time it faded Amelia and the twins were gone. Rebecca started to give chase, but she stopped when she felt Jake’s hand on her arm.

“Don’t,” he said as she shot him a hard look, “If we chase after them, we’ll be exposing ourselves more than we can afford. If they’re still in the manor, then we can find them. If not, then we need to focus on getting what we can out of here, securing the place, and getting our friends to safety.”

“That woman needs to pay,” Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him, “We owe it to the others, wouldn’t you agree?”

“We owe it to them to win,” Jake countered, “Let’s focus on one thing at a time.”

Rebecca frowned as she realized that she wasn’t going to win this argument. She wanted nothing more than to find and torture that woman, but she couldn’t afford to ruin the progress she was making with Jake and the others. “Fine,” she sighed, “You are right, you are right…I don’t like it, but you are right.”

“Thank you,” Jake sighed.

“What the hell is going on in there?” Jason asked from the comms, “I got a ton of interference just now.”

“Ritters and the twins are gone,” Beth answered, looking around, “Ritters threw down some weird flashbang or something, and she and the twins bolted the second we were blinded. It sounded like they had this move planned well in advance based on their little code word.”

“Shit,” Jason sighed, “They’re not in the library?”

“I can’t sense them,” Pam answered, “Rebecca?”

“Just us and the others,” Rebecca answered.

“Fuck me,” Jason grumbled, “Secure the area and make sure that Sam and the others are safe. Grab what you can, and once you’re ready we can move them. I’m going to sweep the area out here and see if I can spot them, or at least pick up a fucking trial. The last thing we need is these three slipping through our fingers and getting word back to the Brunswicks that you four are back and making waves.”

“We need to be thinking of a plan while we work,” Jake sighed, moving towards the corner where Bruce and the others had been huddled, “There is a high likelihood that the three of them are going to make it out of here. Whether they report their failure or not is another question, but we should assume that they’re going to. Our next move is going to be critical, but we can only do one thing at a time.”

“I’ll check in on them with Pam,” Beth stopped Jake, “You head downstairs to the Birdcage and see what you can find. We’ll meet you down there once-”

“I’ll join Jake,” Pam cut Beth off, “If they’re still here, it would be better for someone with a clear head to be beside Jake.”

“What exactly are you implying, Pamela?” Rebecca frowned, crossing her arms.

“We had a plan, Rebecca,” Pam replied, meeting Rebecca’s frown with one of her own, “We were supposed to work together to fight the twins, but you broke off the second Amelia appeared. If it wasn’t for Beth, we could have been at a severe disadvantage. I can keep Jake safe, and I need to know that I can trust you to do the same with Beth.”

“I’ll settle for her being civil,” Beth grumbled, not happy with the idea of being stuck with Rebecca.

“Don’t start,” Pam warned, “Rebecca, do you trust me?”

“Of course I do,” Rebecca sighed, glancing at Jake, “I worry about him, but I trust you completely, Pamela.”

“Then tend to the others and make sure they’re ready to leave,” Pam said, “Once they’re ready, and once you have whatever we might need from up here, join us down below. And do try to listen to Beth rather than simply writing her off. She’s nowhere near as dumb as you like to make her out to be.”

“I want to take that as a compliment, but that feels like a backhanded one,” Beth crossed her arms.

“Very well,” Rebecca sighed, “I’ll cooperate and work with her, you have my word.”

“Get moving you four,” Jason said over the comms, “I’m not seeing any sign of those three, but those messages we intercepted pointed to a timeframe that we are getting dangerously close to going over. Duchess checks in every few hours, and I think we are approaching the window where she’s supposed to.”

“He’s right,” Jake nodded, turning to make his way towards the door, “Pam, let’s get going before we run out of time. Rebecca, Beth, take care of them and then all of you can join us. We don’t have a lot of time, and we need to stay on our toes from here on out.”