Gwen felt clumsy and slow...more than usual, that was. After all, her quite literally accursed human body was only slightly more agile than a tree, despite being quite lithe for a human. She tried to twitch her tail in annoyance, and was further annoyed when she remembered she didn't have a tail in this body. Clumsy AND ugly. Enough of the fog cleared from her brain that she finally realized why she couldn't move: she was bound hand and foot in brambles and weeds, lying in the back of a noisy, smelly truck. Being stuck in human form for so long hadn't dulled her instincts, though. She didn't move, gave no sign she was awake, did nothing to draw attention to herself. Ever so slowly, she tucked her head down to touch the comforting warmth of the amulet she wore around her neck. Good...they hadn't taken it. She could transform to her proper body any time she wanted and escape. Well, any time when the truck was no longer moving, as she didn't really want to see how well she could survive bouncing along the road at highway speeds. She'd lost a brother that way...it was one of the uglier ways to die. Gwen didn't really care for human ground vehicles in general. No squirrel did. She paused to consider her bonds. Rather clever, actually. Metal bonds, like handcuffs, she could turn to wood and then shred. But these were strong enough to hold her and were already wood...turning them to metal wouldn't really help. Fortunately, they had not known that the amulet gave her the power to change her form, or they would have removed it. Or did they? She'd changed, if reluctantly, into this repulsive human form in front of them once, they had to know she could change shape. Aha! The bonds must be still-living. They would shrink to keep her captive in either form. Or perhaps she gave them too much credit. After all, they were humans, too used to thinking in terms only of their own hulking bodies and their pathetic capabilities. Gwen carefully peered out of a slitted eye to take in the surroundings. The Exarchs sat further up in the truck, paying more attention to that slave Ben Sidhe than to Gwen. Ben Sidhe was also tied up, but JACK, the architect of Gwen's pain, was practically hovering over her fellow Dark Pentadian. She suddenly had to suppress a chuckle. They were hoping to free Ben Sidhe from the shackles placed on her soul by the Gentle Gift of Crimson. And no doubt hoped to "free" Gwen as well! But Gwen did not serve because her soul was bound...she served because of the promise of freedom! Freedom from this cage of meat, and permanent restoration to her true, beautiful body! They could no more "free" Gwen from the Gentle Gift of Crimson than they could unchain the air. Still...she was outnumbered badly and heading into the domain of the enemy. Best to bide her time, play along as long as she could. They would figure out the importance of the amulet eventually...she definitely needed to come up with a story she could tell them to avoid losing it, in case she wasn't in a position to simply bolt when they tried to take it.... @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- \\ // -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ .|,Coherent Comics Presents \\ // #17 - Vermis Conversis --X------------------------- E }X{ ARCHS copyright 2003 by the '|` A Superguy/LNH Tale // \\ Dvandroid (Dave Van Domelen) @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- // \\ -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ The van pulled to a stop in Paxico, where the Army had set up the outer ring of barricades on I-70 and established a "safe" base of operations well over the horizon from the Dark Spire. The perpetual cloak of dark clouds enshrouding Topeka was still visible to the east, its baleful presence squatting toadlike on the gently rolling hills. A light drizzle had rolled in from the south, but the low rainclouds were like clear sky compared to the roiling mass the Exarchs had escaped from under. Doors opened and the van disgorged its passengers. Gurneys were wheeled up to carry the still-bound captives, and Jack all but got on the gurney next to Mairi's blankly staring form. From Jack's shoulder, Louie cast anxious glances at Ironwood, his difficult-to-read expression nonetheless indicating he was concerned about something, but couldn't quite figure out what. Floyd staggered out of the van with Stan and Anna supporting him. He moved like one who found the terrible weight of life to be too much to bear. Even covered in glistening black armor, every inch of his body expressed heart-weary sorrow cutting to the core of his spirit. Skysabre strode quickly from the van to where Agent Brubaker of I'm With The Government stood waiting. "You going back in, or is three times enough for today?" Brubaker arched an eyebrow. "Oh, I think we're done for now," Skysabre scratched an itch under the left shoulderpad of his armor. "Definitely want to get out of this thing and take a shower. Just being in those Darklands makes me feel covered in slime." "We've got anti-Superguy restraints from the Really Hard To Get Out Of Place ready for your captives. Should be proof against any magical escape attempts, what with the modifications made during the Industrial Revolution," Brubaker added. "The what?" "Anti-magic crusade. If you really want to know more, we've got a sixteen foot steel cube with all the particulars inscribed on its faces back in Washington." Skysabre paused, then shrugged. "Whatever. Jack and Anna both think that our captives may be under some kind of mental control...Ben Sidhe for sure, Ironwood maybe. We want to try freeing them before you ship them all off to Alt.catraz or wherever." [Alt.catraz is the Looniverse's equivalent of the Really Hard To Get Out Of Place. Well, AN equivalent. And vice- versa. - Ed] "Do you need any telepathic help? I've got Mason's 'Mazin' Mob's number on my cell, Dreamweaver or Mental might be available," Brubaker offered. Skysabre shook his head. "It's more magical than mental. Plus, Floyd says that the Gentle Gift of Crimson can grab victims through mindlinks, so we don't really want to toss any more heroes into his clutches. We'll try with what we've got." "Well, good luck," Brubaker nodded, and the two men got on with their jobs. * * * * He hadn't thought it could be worse. He'd thought Crimson had done everything possible to hurt him. In a way, he'd been right...the cruelest cut had been self-inflicted. Oh, Sig...Skysabre made the actual cut, and Forgeheart and shown him where to do it, but Floyd had AGREED to it. He'd foolishly thought the tether was just a tether...some bit of magic that the Gentle Gift of Crimson had spun out of aether and threaded through the hole in Floyd's soul. Why hadn't he seen it coming? So much pain had been given to him over the years, he should have instinctively known there would be more. First Lord Ebon had ripped out half of his soul and killed all his friends. He's survived only because he'd merged souls with Dot, a disembodied victim of Ebon's earlier evil. Next, the entire Looniverse had been destroyed by a world gone mad with holy fervor, the Authors driven into hiding, life-giving Drama cut off from the world forever. Then he'd fallen into the clutches of the Gentle Gift of Crimson, who had apparently destroyed Dot after Floyd had been forced to kill the greatest hero of 970SUPERGUY. He'd spent years as Crimson's "pet", kept alive and forced to watch altiverse after altiverse fall to the monster's unholy hunger. All the time aching from the gap in his heart where Dot had once been, and tied to the Darklands by a mystic tether. If only he had known that the bonds that held him were made from the other half of his own spirit! Dot had been a part of him the whole time, but as a cause for pain, not relief. And he'd been forced to kill her to be free. The Gentle Gift of Crimson had obviously known Floyd would some day make that choice in ignorance, exchanging her life for his own freedom. Damn him. "And damn me as well." * * * * "I think I can see it," Anna slowly opened her eyes. She sat crosslegged on the floor of a commandeered hotel conference room, facing Mairi Wynn, who was shackled in shiny metal restraints and wearing a sonic filter over her mouth. "There's some kind of shell around her, like an exosuit of spiritual energy. It's moving her like a puppeteer." "Don't just break it," Floyd warned. A frown tugged at the corners of Anna's mouth as she was reminded of her role in Dot's death. "I know. It's probably tied to her own life somehow. Crimson sure is a sadistic bastard." "Do you see anything around Ironwood?" Stan asked. Anna paused. "Yes and no. Not the same sort of thing, but there's definitely a dark aura of some sort around her. It could be related to the trap she claims Crimson put on the amulet she wears, but...I'm still getting used to this different sort of magical awareness." "If this is anything like other spells I've seen Crimson use," Floyd mused darkly, "then the victim is still half-aware underneath the controlling shell. After all, what's the point in forcing someone to commit atrocities if they're not at least vaguely aware of what they're doing? It might come through as a sort of nightmare, but it's one that doesn't go away. He'd often 'free' a victim in order to enjoy the total horror they experienced upon awakening and discovering what they'd done. If he was feeling merciful, he might even allow them to take their own lives." Skysabre's eyes narrowed. "Floyd, you said once that you thought Superguy had been holding back when you fought him. Could he have been more aware of his actions than most?" "If anyone could stay awake and aware while under Crimson's spell, it would have to be Superguy," Floyd mused. "Where are you going with this?" "Well, breaking the Gentle Gift of Crimson's spells has turned out to have pitfalls. At least, when done from the outside. But what if we could fully awaken Mairi and Ironwood? They might be able to throw off the shackles without triggering anything worse than, well, memories." "Those can be bad enough," Kat warned. "I've seen memories destroy people." Skysabre nodded slowly, then turned to Anna again. "Can you wake them?" "Not by myself. Louie's going to have to pitch in with his own magics. And we'll have to deactivate the anti-magic systems in these restraints... they work in both directions, to help prevent outside help in escaping." "Okay," Skysabre said. "Everyone not directly involved in the spell, be ready to attack, in case they get loose from us without getting loose from Crimson." "Jack," Louie called out as he leapt to Anna's shoulder. "We're gonna need yer help too. Bot' dese dames gots strong feelin's fer ya. Mostly hate, but anyt'ing helps ta wake 'em up." Jack gave the magical monkey in the form of a squirrel a dirty look as he knelt down next to Anna. Skysabre turned off the antimagic systems on the restraints, then drew his swords and stepped back. "Ready." "I can feel their dreaming minds...barely in Mairi's case, very strongly in Ironwood's. They're definitely not under the same sort of control," Anna assessed. "Ben Sidhe was enslaved as punishment," Floyd explained. "While Ironwood was seduced into service like all too many have been. She may even think she still has free will, but the Gentle Gift of Crimson gives no power without chains. Ben Sidhe's chains are just more obvious." "I'm fanning the flames...I think," Anna said hesitantly as Louie muttered sutras under his breath. To a casual observer, it would seem that nothing was changing. But everyone in that room had some sensitivity to an aspect of magic or spirit, and each picked up on the events in their own way. Anna saw the captive women waking slowly from dreams. Skysabre felt the spark of intellect flare back to life. Kat could sense the dams holding back horrible memories starting to break. The ache in Floyd's soul seemed to ease, if only a little. Louie, Jack and Jack's father could sense, to varying degrees, the vast magical energies being dissipated as the enslavement was chipped away from within. And Stan...he felt raging torrents of both love and hate pouring forth from the two women, and nearly staggered back at their vehemence. Then, for the merest of instants, it all became too much to bear, and everyone looked away, as if blocking their eyes could shield their hearts. When they were able to bring themselves to look again...Ironwood was gone. WHERE DID IRONWOOD GO? WAS IRONWOOD FREE, AS SHE THOUGHT, OR ENSLAVED AS FLOYD INSISTED? AND IS SHE FREE NOW? IS MAIRI FREE? IS ANYONE *REALLY* FREE, OR IS IT JUST AN ILLUSION? Answers to some of these questions, but probably not that last one, on the next...SUPERGUY! ============================================================================= Author's Notes: Floyd's little angstfest covers the events of several stories. First, he lived through a slightly different version of the events in System Corruptors #1-4 and Constellation #1-2 (both LNH titles) before showing up in Legion of Occult Heroes #4. Most of the rest of his regrets stem from events first related in Exarchs #9, and then Exarchs #15. Finally, while it was revealed in the final arc of Constellation (#32-36, "Evolution") that Dot was originally male, Constellation (the LOH version, anyway) never really stopped thinking of Dot as female. He probably found out the truth at some point, though. For those who didn't read my previous Superguy series, Crazy Guy, Gwen isn't really correct to call Jack the architect of her misery. But he's easy to blame, since it was as a result of squirrel-summoned demons attacking Jack (and being blown into goo by the Howlin' Solicitors) that Gwen was transformed into a human. Next episode is a special all-squirrel extravaganza, as we find out what happened to Gwen...and what WILL happen.