The Birth of Cheetah

by Stephanie C.

 

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Discovery in Venice

Karen had lived up to her promise. She had surveyed over a dozen of Ironheim’s old fronts all over the globe, from Moscow to Washington D.C.. Cairo, Sidney, New Delhi, Istanbul, and several other cities had all recently been graced by her presence, and at each, she had called home only to get the answering machine. She had taken it as a good sign that maybe he had checked himself into rehab.

On a hunch, she had gone out to investigate all of the organizations that had received the charities from Ironheim’s will. So far, her search seems to have been in vain.

She threw the last batch of files away from her with a sound of disgust and stood up to relieve her aching back. She walked out on to the balcony that overlooked the Grand Canal that meandered through Venice. The lightening of the sky as dawn approached surprised her and she gave herself a mental shake for having lost track of the time yet again.

Laughter drew her attention to the broad thoroughfare below. Four nuns led a procession of about thirty young girls dressed in the uniforms of a catholic school. Something about the girls nagged at her memory, but she was to mentally exhausted to try and figure it out.

She went back inside and collapsed on the bed. Then, with a kiss to the picture of Sam that she kept on the pillow beside her, she closed her eyes to sleep.

"That’s it!" She exclaimed, sitting bolt upright after over an hour of tossing and turning. She jumped up and not only retrieved the file from the linen manufacturer that supplied, among other things, orphanages, but she also grabbed the files from all of the other charity organizations. It did not take long for her to find what she was looking for. All of the non-profit organizations supported various charities, but for the most part, they were all in their prospective local areas, all except one, the Flemming’s School for Girls and Orphanage. It was only listed as being in England with no address, but the one thing that caught her eye, was the name of the headmistress, Lady Dominique Fleming. It could be no other than Lady Domina herself.

Her excitement lasted only a few minutes as she reminded herself that she still had a lot of work to do. England was a pretty big place to search for one particular orphanage, and with her luck, it probably wasn’t even listed in any directories. Well, She could at least put out the initial inquiries and call Sam with the news... after she has had a few hours of sleep.

It was dark when Karen woke, and after eating the meal sent by room service, she opened her laptop and sent out a search for Fleming’s. She was not surprised when there were no immediate matches found, and after several hours of trying various other search parameters, realized that she was going to have to do this the hard way. She brought up the list of all ‘listed’ orphanages and private schools in England, all thousand some odd of them, and saved them on a disk. Then, with a disgusted look at the computer, she snapped it closed and pushed it away from her with a stretch of cramped arms.

Belatedly, she realized that she had forgotten to call Sam. With a string of self-criticism, she walked over and plopped down on the bed, snatching the phone into her lap in the process. She dialed the number, but was taken aback when an electronic voice announced that the number was no longer in service. She tried twice more with the same results. Now confused, and just a bit worried, She called Carrol, hoping she had not left for work yet.

"Hello?" The sleepy voice answered.

"Carrol, it’s Karen..."

"Karen? Where have you been?" Carrol asked, now fully awake.

"Venice, for the moment." Karen answered. "I was trying to get a hold of Sam, but the phone is disconnected."

"I thought he was with you." Carrol asked uneasily.

"No. Why?" Karen’s face paled as Carrol told her about Sam’s explosion and subsequent disappearance. "I left him passed out on the couch. If he woke up and found some of my things gone and did not see the note..." Her voice trailed off, not wanting to even think about what he might have done.

"I’ll do some checking around." Carrol said quietly. "How can I contact you in case I find anything?"

"You can’t." Karen answered and then explained all that she had discovered. "I’ll check in with you as soon as I can."

"All right," Carrol said with some reservations, "but if you find what you’re looking for, don’t do anything stupid. Call for help first."

"We’ll see." Karen said after a pause.

"Karen."

"I’m not making any promises, but if Sam... if something has happened to Sam, I’m going to make sure that the bitch responsible pays." She ignored Carrol’s protests. "I’ll call you when I reach England."

She slammed down the phone, not realizing that it had not hung up as she curled into a ball and released her fears and grief with racking sobs.

Carrol listened on the other end, fighting to suppress her own worries and wishing that she could be there with the younger woman.

"What is it?" Calvin asked when she finally hung up the phone.

"Sam’s not with Karen." She answered simply as she got up to dress.

"Where are you going?"

"First, I’m going to get me a cup of coffee. Then I’m going to call in a forensics team and go over to Sam’s to see if I can find out anything." She said wearily. Then, "could you call all of the..."

Calvin wrapped his arms around her. "I’ll do what I can from this end," he assured her, "but it’s been three months."

Carrol quirked a smile. "Don’t worry, I don’t think that anyone would aver forget a teenaged girl with bright pink hair."

 

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The New Mother’s Celebration

Sam woke groggily from the drug-induced sleep. He had no idea how long he had been out. The last thing that he remembered was Lady Domina leading him to the medical ward explaining that Andrea was dying and that she need his help to save her. What exactly he had to do was not mentioned, just that he would have to make a sacrifice.

He then noticed that he was not alone. Arranged around his bed were his sisters, and at his side was Lady Domina. They all looked down upon him with affection. He then noticed that one of his sisters was missing.

"Andrea?" He croaked through a dry mouth.

Domina placed a motherly hand on his stomach. "She is here, and she is doing fine."

Sam frowned, not fully understanding.

"A genetic defect was discovered while she was being treated with that ‘other’ problem." She lied. "Rejuvenation did not work, neither did anything else we tried. This is the only guaranteed way to cure her, and believe me, we went through every available option before going through with it."

"With what?" Sam asked, still confused. "Where’s Andrea?"

Domina gently patted his stomach. "We degenerated her in to an embryonic stage and placed her within your womb."

Sam’s eyes flew open in understanding. "I... I’m pregnant?"

Domina and his sisters all nodded. Then Danielle surprised him by leaning over and giving him a warm hug. It was the first positive emotion she had ever showed towards him.

"We are proud of you." She told him. "If only Andrea could know what you have done for her."

The other girls all showed their enthusiastic support before Domina shooed them away. When they were gone, she turned back to Sam with a warning look. "They are not to know about what was really wrong with Andrea. If they find out, they may believe that you were responsible and have an even greater cause to hate you. This way, you have earned their respect, and their love, while Andrea is suitably punished. Understand?"

"Yes, Mistress." He answered, now fully understanding why she had lied earlier.

"Good. You will be given the rest of the day to rest. Tomorrow evening there will be a formal dinner in your honor, so be prepared."

Sam obeyed her instructions and slept naturally most of the day.

 

The next day, he was led back to his room by a handful of thralls who then set about preparing him for the dinner. His mass of pink curls with the two broad locks of white at his temples was piled atop his head and only light makeup was used on his face. He wore no bra, but dark stockings adorned his legs and were held up by a black lace garter belt over which the thralls slid up a black thong panty. He sighed wistfully as he realized that it would not be long until he would no longer be able to wear such dainty apparel. He had grown quite fond of the sexily cut undergarments that showed off and enhanced his femininity. Whether or not it was a hold over from Andrea’s influence was of no consequence. He would miss them when his body began to swell with the onrush of motherhood.

By direction of Lady Domina, the thralls had held back his gown until all else was ready. The sight of it took his breath away, and then the feel of it after it was zipped into place sent a sensual tingle throughout his body. The sleek, cheetah-print dress hugged his body gracefully, giving him an elegant appearance. The halter strap, with the help of a built in bra, gave him a more than modest cleavage that was visible through the teardrop opening. A cleavage that would soon become deeper once his breasts became engorged with milk, he noted wryly. Somehow, the prospect of giving birth did not bother him as much as he knew it should. In fact, he was feeling quite giddy and was eagerly looking forward to it.

Three-inch heels, matching diamond earrings, necklace, and bracelets completed the ensemble and then he was led to the ballroom where he was greeted lovingly by his sisters who were just as elegantly dressed.

After the dinner, his sisters led him onto the dance floor where they soon had him exhausted. All of the dances were slow, but his sisters would not let him rest as they took turns with him as if he were the queen of the prom. They also became quite intimate as the night wore on. Their hands caressed his rear and traced the seam of his garter straps and thong while the held him close.

Near midnight, Domina brought the festivities to an end and directed everyone to bed. Whether she realized it or not, all of the girls only went to one bedroom, Sam’s. There, for the first time since his arrival, he was on the receiving end of their affections.

 

The weeks that followed had Sam having to deal with his doting sisters. He still exercised and trained as before, but his sisters became more and more protective of him as his pregnancy became more apparent.

 

Chapter Thirty: Karen’s Capture!

It had taken Karen another three months, but she had finally found Fleming’s School for Girls. It was relatively new, being a former family estate of the heiress, and now headmistress, Dominique Fleming.

As she looked across the grounds from the seclusion of the trees, she began to wonder why she was even here. Sam was gone now, legally missing and presumed dead. She knew that in a way that it was her fault, but the woman who was ultimately responsible was behind the walls before her. Revenge was usually something that was beyond her, but this was different, this was personal. Perhaps she was just seeking closure to the tail of events that had brought her life and her happiness crashing down around her this past year and a half. She knew that whatever she accomplished this night would not help to fill the void in her heart where her love for Sam once resided.

The thought of her lost love prompted her to take the slightly tattered and tear stained picture of him from the belt pouch that she had reserved for it. She could not make out his face in the darkness, but it was ingrained in her memory. The brandy-brown eyes, close-cropped brown hair, slightly overlarge ears, and the nose and chin that gave him somewhat of an elfin appearance. This is the face she had fallen in love with, the face that she would always remember him by, not the pink-haired duplicate of herself that he had become before he... She forced that train of thought from her mind. Deep inside, she knew that he was dead. Dead even long before she had left him, but she could not bring herself to acknowledge it.

"Well, Lover," she asked the picture, a habit she began doing more and more frequently, "what do you think? Should we go for it? It appears safe enough. Haven’t seen any guards or soldiers about, just students and a few faculty." She gave the picture her trademark lopsided grin. "Your silence must mean that you agree with me."

She made one more sweep of the grounds with her low light binoculars before putting them back in their holster. "All right, Lover," She said, giving the picture a kiss, "wish me luck."

 

She made it over the wall and over to the main house without incident. Most of the windows were darkened, but through the lighted ones, she could see either empty rooms or a few girls either studying or otherwise preoccupied. What some of them were doing with each other was a strong argument for schools to go coed. Then again, maybe not, she reconsidered.

Feeling like a lesbian voyeur, she turned away from the window and began searching around the house for a silent way of gaining entrance. She found what she was looking for rather quickly, a slanted door leading down to the cellar. She picked the lock and was at last inside.

The room she emerged into was not quite what she was expecting however. It was a large open space with rows of exercise equipment filling the floor. None of them were in use at the moment, but the room was occupied by what could only be her welcoming committee.

Nine teenaged replicas of herself, differing in only age and eye and hair color, and in various stages of dress and undress, slowly took up positions around her. They all bore the same mark over their right eyes as Sam had, she noted. Their presence confirmed that Domina had an operational cloning chamber here and was using it to create her own secret army of human super weapons.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Karen chided herself. She should have called for help like Carrol had told her to. She had ignored that advice and now found herself surrounded by nine mutants with unknown powers. Eleven. She corrected as two more figures entered a doorway at the far end of the room. A red head, and at her side...

Karen’s heart went to her throat and her knees went weak as she found herself speechless.

"Hello, Mother." Sam said with a sneer when he stopped several paces before her.

Karen stared at him in disbelief. She was unwilling to believe her eyes, but at the same time, she was noticing the changes to his body. He looked... fuller, more rounded, and ... chubby was the word that came to mind. His cheeks seemed puffed out and his breasts larger. His thighs and hips were thicker as well, and his belly had a slight bulge that no beer could account for. There was also a glow about him. Then it struck her.

"My God, Sam! What have they done to you?" She started to move towards him only to be held back by an invisible hand.

"More than you were ever willing to." Sam answered bitterly.

"But..."She cut short her protest, realizing what must have happened. Domina had somehow managed to warp his mind to her will. "Why did you call me ‘Mother’?" She asked instead.

Sam smiled patiently and spread his arms wide. "Because you are my mother, in a fashion, and these," he indicated the girls around him, "are my sisters. I guess you could also say that they are our daughters as well, since they were created using a combination of our DNA." He then placed a maternal hand on his swollen belly. "As is this one within me."

His emotions quickly changed and he glared at her angrily. "But this is a child that you will have no opportunity to raise, if I have my way about it! I won’t let you anywhere near her, because I know that you would only abandon her like you abandoned me!"

"Relax, Samantha," Danielle soothed, "you know that you shouldn’t be getting excited."

"Sam..." Karen began, but before she could say another word, her former lover was upon her. His lightning fast punches and kicks to her stomach, chest, and chin sent her flying backwards where she landed in a heap, breathless and dazed. When she was finally able to focus her eyes, she looked up to see Sam floating two feet off the ground and struggling to still get to her.

"Samantha, please." The red head cried worriedly. "You must calm down."

Karen was surprised to find herself being helped to her feet by two of the girls, but she did not fail to note that they relieved her of her belt and pouches in the process. She had a mind to turn around and walk away, to leave Sam with his perverse sense of family of sisters, but she knew that his actions were not his own. He may have been angry at her for leaving him when she did, but only Domina could have warped that anger into the hatred that boiled out of him now. No. She would not leave him again. Not like this. If it meant surrendering to Domina, then so be it. She was willing to sacrifice what she had to in order to save Sam. She didn’t know how, but she was not about to leave without him.

"Wait. Please." She said to the blonde that was taking her belt away. "There’s a picture in the first pouch to the left of the buckle. Let me have that and you can keep the rest."

The blonde looked to the red head who nodded in approval after a moment’s hesitation.

Karen thanked the girl and then let herself be led to another room in the basement. This one was a well-appointed bedroom and a large bath could be seen through an open doorway to the side.

"Lady Domina...", "... is away at the moment,", "... but she...", "... has been notified...", "... of your arrival." The two blondes informed her. "Please feel free...", "... to get cleaned up...", "... and get some rest.", "I am Lisa.", "And I am Linda.", "We’ll be...", "...just outside,", "... so knock...", "...if you ...", "...need anything."

Karen shook her head at their unified speech. "Just something hot to eat and some aspirin, please." She finally said. Then, just before they left the room, "and one other thing: don’t call me ‘mother’."

The girls gave her a look of what could only be described as disappointment, but as one, they nodded and left.

Karen heard the sound of a rather large lock sliding in place before she walked over to the large canopy bed and sat down. She pulled Sam’s picture from the pocket in her uniform legging and eyed it sharply. "Sam, you’ve become one Hell of a bitch. You know that?"

As if in answer, there was a knock and the door slowly opened. The red head stepped just inside and closed the door behind her. "I do not mean to disturb you, Mother, but I would like to speak with you before Lady Domina returns, if I may."

Karen eyed her speculatively. It was odd, she noticed, that all of the girls seemed to revere her while the one she loved would rather rip her heart out and chew it to pieces. Perhaps she could get some answers from this one. "Only on two conditions." She said sternly. "You answer a few questions in return, and... you cut out that ‘mother’ crap."

Like the blondes, the red head visibly winced, but she accepted the conditions and took a seat on the vanity stool that Karen gestured to.

 

Chapter Thirty-One: Bonding and Betrayal

"First off," the girl began, "my name is Danielle. I am technically the oldest of the sisters and nominally the leader."

Karen nodded, "I noticed that when we first met. The others seem to respect you."

Danielle nodded with a sigh. "I try to do good by them, but sometimes it is hard."

"Especially with Sam, I gather."

The girl shook her head emphatically. "No. That was the first time she ever acted like that. It surprised all of us."

"You surprise me." Karen said pointedly. "I would have thought that Domina would have brainwashed you all to become as heartless as she is, but yet you’ve shown me nothing but respect."

"It is only as you deserve." The girl told her openly. Then, "look, Mo..."

"Karen will be fine."

"... Karen, I know that just because we were created with yours and Samantha’s... Sam’s, DNA that it does not make us your true children, but..." She paused, trying to get her thoughts and emotions into describable words. She gave up and went on another track. "All of us, the first six of us at least, were all orphans living on the street before Lady Domina did this to us. At first, we were like Samantha is now, but the change came for me when Lady Domina showed me your picture. I’m a telekinetic, but I also have developing telepathic abilities that I have been hiding from her. I came to realize that she was controlling us with her mind, and I have been teaching myself to build up shields to protect me from her, but I am still not strong enough to block her completely."

"That’s why you wanted to talk to me before she came back." Karen reasoned. "What about the others?"

"I don’t know about the Second Sisters, but I have freed the rest of the Cat Pack from her control for the moment, and they all feel the same way that I do. Lady Domina has done a great deal for us, but to us, she is still nothing but another orphanage warden. We think of you and Sam as our parents and Samantha as our sister. She held up a hand to stop Karen’s protests. "We know that that is not actually true, but after we were reborn, we became genetically your children. You, Sam, and Samantha became the family that each of us has craved since our earliest memories on the streets."

"I can understand that," Karen sympathized. "My parents were killed when I was little and I went from foster home to foster home until the Xavier School took me in."

"If you understand, why can’t you be our mother?" Danielle cried.

"Karen took the girl’s trembling hands in her own and gave her the lopsided grin. "Because all of you are nearly as old as I am, and you calling me ‘Mom’ makes me feel as old as Hell."

Danielle laughed despite herself and wiped her nose. "I guess I can understand that."

They were silent a moment before Karen changed the subject. "Before, you said that there were ‘six of the first of you’, then later you only said five. Were you counting Sam in that six?"

Danielle gave a look of disgust and shook her head. "No. There was also Andrea. She used to be a boy like Samantha, and an empath, but much more powerful. She used to be pretty shy and secretive until Lady Domina got into her head and molded her into her own perverse image. It was she who made Sam start drinking and sink into depression. She was also the one that gave you doubts about your love for him. She did some pretty terrible things to Samantha after we brought her here, and it was probably her that made Samantha hate you the way she does now."

"What happened to her?" Karen asked. Her anger and disgust were directed more towards Domina than to the girl, Andrea.

"If you were to believe Lady Domina’s tale, she developed a genetic defect from her original DNA. The truth, however, is that she was becoming too much like her mistress, and becoming too powerful for the Lady to control."

"Domina killed her." Karen reasoned.

Danielle cocked her head to the side as if in thought. "In a way, I suppose that you can say that."

"What do you mean?"

"Lady Domina is using her for an experiment... her and Samantha."

Karen gasped. "The baby?"

Danielle nodded.

"But how? Never mind, I know." She got up and paced about the room. "Can we get into the lab where the chamber is?"

"Chambers." Danielle corrected. "There are six of them, and no, the whole area is secured and heavily guarded. There is also a restraining field that blocks all mutant powers that only Lady Domina knows the sequence to disable. Our powers would be useless against the guards."

"What about the files? You said that you were created with mine and Sam’s DNA, not Samantha’s. That must mean that they have his original DNA on record."

Danielle threw up her hands helplessly. "If I knew that you were going to ask these questions, I would have looked into it before hand... sorry."

"It’s alright, Dani." Karen patted the exasperated girl’s shoulder. "Maybe your clairvoyant abilities will kick in soon."

Danielle noted the tone in Karen’s voice. "That’s not funny."

"Sorry." Karen apologized and then sat back down across from her. She then pulled out Sam’s picture again. "Any bright ideas, Lover?" Of course it did not answer her. "Figures. You’re no help at all."

Danielle looked at the picture in Karen’s hand. "Can I see it?"

Hesitantly, the older woman handed it over and watched as the girl’s eyes lit up.

"This is what he looked like... before?" Danielle asked with a note of appreciation in her voice. "He was handsome."

"And he will be again." Karen told her firmly. "Just as soon as we get his DNA records and a schematic of those chambers, and we get out of here."

"But we can’t change him back now." Danielle said frantically. "Not while he... she, is pregnant with Andrea."

"I understand that." Karen said patiently, "but we can still do everything else. Are you willing to help me?"

There was no hesitation when Danielle answered. "Of coarse. All of the Cat Pack wants to get away from here."

"What about the others?" Karen asked.

Danielle shook her head. "I don’t know about them, but I doubt it. They’re... different somehow. Lady Domina does not le t us train or even socialize with them. I don’t even know their names."

"But I thought that you were the leader."

I am. They followed my instructions today, at least, but that was the first time that we worked together. They didn’t even talk."

"Domina must have them completely under her control then. We’ll have to do this without alerting them; otherwise we’ll have an unnecessary fight on our hands."

"I believe it is too late for that." A new voice said.

Karen and Danielle spun around in surprise and watched as a wall panel slid open to reveal Lady Domina and three of the Second Sisters. There was a muffled double thump from outside the door before it opened and two more Second Sisters entered, dragging Lisa and Linda in behind them.

"That was quite entertaining, Danielle, but did you really believe that you could hide anything from me? I’ve known about your new abilities for some time now, and suspected that this is what you planned."

"I will never let you hurt my mother!" Danielle screamed. With a surge of mental power, she lifted a large oak dresser and hurled it at the woman.

It never reached her target. Instead, it stopped in mid-flight and reversed direction with just as much force.

Karen barely avoided having her head knocked off as she tackled Danielle to the floor. At the same time, a crack of blue energy flashed over their heads from the direction of the door and struck the wall in a shower of sparks.

"Okay. This is not good." Danielle said dryly.

"You don’t say?" Karen asked in the same tone of voice as the dived for cover behind the fallen dresser.

"It is useless, Wild Card." Domina taunted. "You are outnumbered so you might as well surrender."

"Go to Hell!" Danielle yelled back and ‘threw’ the vanity stool at her.

Domina managed to avoid it, but the sister at her side caught the full brunt of the impact in the face. She lay on the floor unmoving, but still breathing.

"That’s one down." Karen said, cringing as white knives of energy struck the dresser by her head.

"This would go a lot quicker if you would help." Danielle commented.

"Hey, you’re the one that took my ammo belt away." Karen pointed out.

"You need ammo? Then I’m just going to have to get you some."

Before she could begin to look for something that Karen could use, the whole house shook as a series of what sounded like explosions came from nearby.

 

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Calvary

"Knock, knock." The eight-foot tall Toroth said as he hefted his large poleaxe onto his shoulder.

"Subtlety was never you strong point, was it?" Stalker asked as he flicked his cigar away.

The big man just shrugged and joined the others that were rushing in through the hole he had just made in the stone wall of the house.

"All right, people." Stalker said into his headset. "You know your positions. Breeze, Tiger, and ghost, you’re with me. Toroth, your our backstop. Everyone else, go with rock and secure the top floors. Remember that there are innocents in the house, so choose your targets carefully." There was a chorus of acknowledgements as the M.An.T.A.S. set off on their tasks.

 

"Fall back!" Domina yelled to the Second Sisters. Then after instructing one of them to retrieve their unconscious sister, she led them back through the alcove and the maze of secret passageways beyond.

"They’re on the run. Let’s go." Karen said, pulling Danielle to her feet.

"Wait." The girl said, kneeling down to where the twins lay.

"They’ll be alright for now." Karen assured her. "We’ll come back for them, but first we have to get to Sam and the others before Domina does."

"Right." Danielle agreed as she climbed back to her feet. "Come with me. I know where she’s at."

 

"Any more bright ideas?" Jennifer asked Stalker as another series of machine gun bullets ricocheted off her shield of compressed air.

"I’m thinking, I’m thinking." He growled as he returned fire.

"Well don’t strain yourself." Sharron retorted.

He spared a second to glare at her before returning to the task at hand.

 

"I’m getting too old for this shit." The major grumbled as he ducked back behind the corner he was using for cover.

"Sir?" One of the troops asked.

"Nothing." He snapped, "give me some cover fire."

As the troops complied, he took out a grenade and threw it down the passageway only to see it floating back into the midst of his soldiers. He never had a chance to shout a warning as high velocity shrapnel tore into his body and those of his troops.

 

Danielle went to her knees and heaved at the sight of the carnage she had caused. Karen put a supporting hand on her shoulder in understanding.

"Who’s your friend?" A familiar voice asked from behind her.

She turned and watched as Stalker and the others rushed towards her. "One of my daughters." She answered. "I’ll explain later, but right now I need to go find Sam, and I need someone to get down to the lab and get the files on Sam and the chambers."

Stalker nodded. "We can do that. Any idea where it’s at?"

"Two levels down. Take the stairs at the end of this hallway." Danielle answered as she regained some of her composure.

"I’m going with you." Jennifer told Karen.

Karen looked at the scarred face of the once beautiful woman and knew that there would be no point in arguing with her. "Alright. Stalker, do you have anyone else you can spare? I have two more daughters, blondes, in the room two corridors back and the third door on the right. They’re unconscious."

"I’ve got Toroth back in reserve. He can take care of them."

"Right. Just be sure that he tells them that he’s with me if they wake up. Otherwise, they may hurt him."

"Got it." He said as he handed her a spare headset and then call for the giant as he, Sharron, and Gwenith started off down the hallway.

"Okay, Dani," Karen said to the girl, "lead the way."

 

Chapter Thirty-Three: Revelations

Sam woke to the sounds of explosions and gunfire. He, Cynthia, and Rebecca struggled to untangle themselves before they were able to get out of bed and hurry to get dressed.

"What’s going on?" Cynthia asked.

"Isn’t it obvious? Mother is trying to escape."

"Yes," another voice said from the shadows of the room, "and you are not going with her."

All three girls spun as one as a Second Sister approached in a predatory crouch. Large claws extended from her fingertips with the sound of ripping flesh and she displayed them tauntingly.

"My fight is not with you, Sister." Sam said uneasily.

"No, but mine is with you." Her voice was a hissing growl. "The Mistress has no further need of you, or your weak kindred. I have been given the privilege of killing you personally."

Rebecca and Cynthia stepped in front of Sam protectively. "You will have to go through us first."

The Sister sneered. "Merely the appetizers before the feast. So be it!" She had barely begun the first move in a series of combinations that would have left the two girls bleeding and dying when she suddenly found herself flat on her back and struggling to breath.

Sam knelt over her with his knees pinning her arms painfully to the floor. "I may let you get away with threatening me, but I’ll be damned if I let you harm my sisters." With that, he gave two sharp blows to the girl’s temples and sent her into unconsciousness.

"Come on." He said to the others as he made his way to the door.

"Samantha, wait." Cynthia said. "If Mother is trying to escape, then Danielle and the twins are helping her.’

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief that quickly turned into a feeling of betrayal. "But why?"

Rebecca took his head in her hands and forced him to look into her eyes. "Lady Domina has been controlling our minds, just as Andrea was controlling our emotions. Everything that you think you know and feel about Mother is a lie. They were planted in you so that your hate for her would make her weak and susceptible to the Mistress’ powers. Danielle realized this and told us. She also told us the truth about you and Andrea. We all know what Lady Domina intends for us, and we have agreed that we want no part in her quest for power."

"If what that Sister said was true," Cynthia said, "then we don’t have to worry about that any more. Looks like the Second Sisters were meant to replace us... permanently."

Rebecca kept her attention focused on Sam. "Look, the hate you feel for Mother is not real. Andrea planted that into you a long time ago and Lady Domina just reinforced it."

Sam felt lightheaded as the revelation struck him. He knew that their words were true as soon as he heard them. He felt sick to his stomach and his heart tightened as he remembered what he had done to Karen just a few short hours ago. He sank to his knees and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"You all right?" Cynthia asked after a long time and his tears seemed to be abating.

He nodded uncertainly and let them help him to his feet. Karen may never forgive him for that, but he knew that she was going to need his help now. "We should get going."

 

"Ah, there’s the little pantywaist now." Rock said as he saw Sam and the two girls approach.

"Fuck off, Pebbles." Sam snapped. "Where’s Karen?"

"She’s on her way up with Breeze, so just cool your panties." He said dismissively as he turned his attention to the reports from his team coming over his headset.

Sam ignored him and hurried past towards the stairs.

"Hey! Get back here, Mini-Bitch. I was told to keep you here." He shouted. Then when he saw that he was being ignored, "fucking little priss-ant."

"If he were not one of our allies, I would have to seriously hurt him." Rebecca said.

"Don’t let that stop you." Sam replied.

 

There was a long moment of uneasy silence between the two lovers when Sam and his sisters met up with Karen’s group halfway down the stairs to the first floor. Then, in a rush, they fell into each other’s embrace.

"I’ve missed you so much."

"I’m so sorry." He said at the same time. "How can I ever repay you for what I’ve done to you?"

Karen held him out at arms reach and noticed Danielle and the other two sisters looking on emotionally. She then placed her hand on his swollen abdomen. "Just promise me that you’ll leave the child bearing to me from now on. Okay?"

His face became flushed and he buried his face against her. "Okay." He cried.

"And I would like to have a son for a change." She said with a pointed look at their daughters who joined them in their embrace.

Sam saw Jen standing off to one side and he pulled her in to the group hug. "Thank you for coming after me... again."

"You’re welcome... again." She laughed and kissed his forehead. "Besides, I had to get it right this time for what all you did for me in Madagascar."

The intimate moment was quickly broken up when Stalker’s voice came over her headset. "Jen, Karen? We could really use your help down here. We’ve got five, possibly six mutants down here and a squad of regular soldiers. They’ve got the lab barricaded."

Karen was on the move as soon as he had called out. Jen, Sam, and the Cat Pack were right on her heels.

In a matter of moments, they reached the sub-basement where they found Stalker, Sharron, and Gwen huddled behind a doorway that was filled with gunfire.

"Can’t leave you alone for a minute without you getting into trouble." Jennifer teased her husband.

Stalker gave her a helpless shrug and gestured to the women with him. "I guess it’s the company I keep."

Sharron cuffed him across the back of the head, but Ghost decided to ignore him. "Okay. We’ve gotten this far. Now what?"

"We can’t let Domina or her clones escape." Sam said determinedly.

Karen waved him off. "Getting a schematic of those cylinders and a copy of Sam’s original genetic code are our priorities, Stalker. That’s the reason that I came here in the first place, and I’m not about to leave without them."

Stalker nodded and then glanced around the corner. Several soldiers crouched behind machinery and consoles. Beyond them, he could see Domina and a technician working furiously at a terminal with the Second Sisters forming a protective ring around them. He told Karen as much and they gave each other a knowing look.

"Wild Card Special." They said together with the other M.An.T.A.S. joining in.

"What’s that?" Sam asked, looking from one face to the other in confusion.

"You’ll see." Karen assured him and then turned to Cynthia. "Come on, Half-Deck, I can use your help with this."

They conversed quietly and then spent a few seconds charging up several handfuls of ammo before announcing that they were ready. The girl was obviously nervous, but she was determined to help her mother anyway that she could.

Jennifer took a couple of deep breaths and then stood out in the middle of the doorway with her arms stretched out before her. Bullets and energy fire ricocheted harmlessly off her shield. "Ready when you are." She called back to Karen.

Sam watched openmouthed as Karen and Cynthia dove headfirst through the shield. Only Stalker’s firm grasp on his shoulder kept him from rushing after them, but soon, everything became apparent. Jennifer had created a horizontal vortex that stretched the length of the hallway and opened into the laboratory. As Karen and Cynthia jumped into it, Jennifer compressed the air behind them, pushing them with incredible speed safely into the soldier’s midst. They erupted from the far end as if shot from a cannon. Kinetically charged missiles flew from their hands, decimating Domina’s front line of defense.

"Go!" Stalker ordered the others.

Sam did not hesitate. He was down the hallway and into the lab before the others had even stepped through the doorway. His target saw him coming, but she seemed oddly unconcerned. He had no time to ponder this as he suddenly ran right into an invisible barrier. The impact was so great that he rebounded clear back across the room.

"Sam!" Karen called out when she saw him tumbling to a stop against a wall. She left the others to finish off the few remaining soldiers and rushed to Sam, side just as he was getting his feet back under him.

"Oww." He said aloud, rubbing his shoulder.

"That was pretty stupid." Karen pointed out unnecessarily.

"You’ll get no argument from me."

Domina’s laughter drew their attention. She was holding up a handful of compact discs. "Are these what you want?" She teased, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "I’m afraid that I can’t let you have them. The information is just too valuable and you will never have enough to pay for it."

Then, as if talking to an infant, "I’m afraid that poor little Samuel is just going to have to live with being Samantha."

Kinetically charged missiles exploded against the invisible barrier. "I want my father back the way he was, Bitch!" Cynthia screamed.

Domina laughed. "You have never had a father, and you never will."

"Hand over the discs, Domina." Stalker called out. "You’re trapped and there is no escape."

Domina cocked her head. "You think so, you pathetic male?" She smiled as a section of the wall opened up behind her. "You always underestimate me. That is why you will never defeat me."

She turned away and followed the Second Sisters and the technician through the entryway. Just before it sealed back up, she called back. "Oh, I do hope that you are able to rescue all of the students before the facility self-destructs."

The M.An.T.A.S. and the Cat Pack all looked at each other. As one, they knew that the demented woman was not bluffing.

"Shit!" Karen exclaimed and charged back down the hallway. The others quickly followed.

 

They managed to evacuate all of the girls with just minutes to spare. They had not been surprised that the Second Sister that had attacked Sam in his room had also somehow managed to escape.

Stalker finished talking with the S.A.S. commander and the woman from children’s welfare then walked over to where Karen, Sam, and their daughters huddled together on the lawn. "Well, all of that’s taken care of. Buses will soon be arriving to pick up the girls, and the S.A.S. will be sending a team down to the laboratory to see what they can salvage after the place settles and it’s safe to enter."

"That’s good." Karen said without much feeling.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Stalker asked. "Are you going to continue to hunt down Domina?"

Karen looked over at Sam.

He gave her a reassuring smile and then said, "not right away. Karen and I... and our daughters, have a lot of reacquainting to do. Plus, when we do go after Domina, we’re going to do it together." He placed a hand on his swollen belly, "and that’s going to be a few months away yet."

"By the way, Stalker, You never told me how you managed to find us." Karen said.

Stalker just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, but I can’t disclose that information."

Karen eyed him shrewdly. "More of that ‘secret mutant ability’ stuff of yours, huh?"

"Perhaps." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

 

Epilogue: New Beginnings

The white tuxedo looked out of place on Sam‘s ultra feminine body, but Karen didn’t care. She thought that he was still beautiful despite the somewhat odd look. But that didn’t matter, all that really mattered was that he was now finally her husband. She watched as he danced with each of their daughters and felt a pang of jealousy that she knew was foolishness. The girls would never be more than daughters to him now, despite whatever they had done together under Domina’s influence. Just as the six-month old Catherine who was currently sound asleep in her arms. With the girl’s blessings, Sam had decided not to rename the baby Andrea since the name would bring back too many painful memories for them all. Besides, the little urchin looked nothing like the former girl that she had been. Her hair was a paler pink than Sam’s was, almost white, and she had the most startling blue-violet eyes. She also was thankfully free of the accursed mark on her face.

After Dancing with her father, Karen was not surprised to see Danielle drag Sharron onto the dance floor. The two had hit it off soon after they had first met and were nearly inseparable. In fact, the felinesque woman had taken an extended leave of absence from the M.An.T.A.S. and had moved into their home where she and Danielle shared a room. Karen had ignored whatever misgivings she had felt about them. Because of their upbringing, it was understandable that the girls would tend towards being lesbians. Danielle, Rebecca, and Cynthia certainly were at any rate. The twins, Linda and Lisa still seemed to be experimenting. Their current targets for tonight however, didn’t seem to mind being their test subjects. Sam’s brother, Daniel, had brought his two sons, Eddie and Brian to the wedding from Texas. The two boys were in heaven with the constant attention that the twins were giving them.

"You aught to be ashamed of yourself for making me a grandmother at such a young age." A woman’s voice said from behind her.

Karen looked up just as Catherine Rasputin became intangible and phased through the empty chair beside her before re-solidifying and sitting down. "It wasn’t my fault, so don’t you go and start harassing me, Granny."

"Harassing? Me? Never!" Kitty laughed at the sour expression on her foster daughter as she looked fondly down at her namesake. Anyways, I’m just glad that one of you girls finally got around to it. Whatever the circumstances of their being. Lord only knows how long it’s going to take Alexandria to get around to having children of her own, let alone finding a man to have them with."

Karen laughed. "Alex is unique in her own way, but after seeing how you reacted to my six girls, I should warn her to put off having kids for as long as possible."

"You do, and I’ll disown you." Kitty said sternly.

"What, and deprive my girls of the only grandparent they’ll ever know?" Sam asked when he approached.

Catherine eyed him sharply. "You do know how to make a person feel guilty. Don’t you? Just remember, all of those horror stories that you hear about mother-in-laws are true. So do get on my bad side or you’ll regret it."

Sam knelt and kissed her cheek. "Somehow, I just can’t picture you as the wicked mother-in law type, but knowing all that you have accomplished in your very short life..."

"Flatterer."

"... I know what you are capable of. So I promise to be on my best behavior."

"You had better." She said with false menace before turning back to Karen. She reached for baby Catherine and stood. "Why don’t you go dance with your husband while I put Kitty Jr. to bed?"

"One more dance," he whispered to Karen as he led her on to the floor, "and then on to the honeymoon."

Karen gave him her patented lopsided grin and fell into his embrace as he led her in the slow dance. Everyone else stepped off the floor and watched the newlyweds, then broke out into applause and catcalls when the song ended and Sam gave Karen a long and passionate kiss.

"Shall we go upstairs?" He asked mischievously.

Karen nodded and followed him into the house. She stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Nothing. I’ll be right back." She disappeared down the hallway only to return a moment later. She held up a book. "I forgot that I hadn’t finished reading ‘The Courtship of Princess Liea’. Figured I could do that tonight."

Sam just watched dumbfounded as she walked purposefully up the stairs. "I don’t think so." He growled and chased after her.

He didn’t use his Cheetah speed, so by the time he caught up to her, she was already in their bedroom and laughing. He snatched the book from her fingers and tackled her onto the bed only to find himself on his back and her astride him.

"If you act like this over this book," he said, "I can’t wait until you start reading about Mara Jade."

"Who’s Mara Jade?" She asked.

"Later." He laughed, pulling her head down to his and kissing her. The kiss led to a long and energetic honeymoon.

 

Deep in a remote valley of the Himalayas, an Isolated steel structure withstood the snow and sub-zero temperatures of a fierce blizzard. The occupants within were oblivious and unconcerned with the weather outside however.

"So that is it then?" Lady Dominique Fleming asked her new major, a woman, as were the rest of her new soldiers.

"I’m afraid so, M’Lady. All of our suppliers report that they are under close observation from their prospective governments. Some even suspect that agents have infiltrated their companies."

Domina scowled, but gave a nod before turning to her accountant, a bookish brunette with wire-frame glasses but nevertheless very attractive, and very anti-male.

"You still have several stocks under various aliases and you have roughly seven hundred and eighty million in your Swiss bank account." The woman informed without having to be asked, yet another favorable quality. "However, I have found evidence that those assets are being tracked by the United Nations Security Council as well as several other government agencies."

"So it will be impossible to draw from those accounts without being noticed." Domina surmised.

"For the time being, M’Lady." The accountant confirmed, "but give me a few days, and I can take care of our snoops."

"How will you do that?" The Second Sister named Lace asked. Her ability was to charge the air particles around her and direct it towards a target in a concentrated bolt much like lightning. She was fascinated electricity and computers in general.

The accountant smile at the girl’s interests. "I plan to create a computer virus that will totally destroy their systems. Your assistance would be much appreciated, Miss Lace."

Lace looked to her mistress for her approval and then beamed when Domina nodded her assent.

The metal building and its underground facilities was a small place for over a hundred women. They were going to be stuck there for a long time so it was best for Domina to encourage camaraderie where she could.

She then turned her attention to another woman in the room, an attractively rugged redheaded archeologist who specialized in the histories, myths, and legends pertaining to women. She was in her late fifties and had been drawn to Domina’s cause by the promise of rejouvination once the new chambers were completed.

"Susan, how are you coming along with your research?"

The older woman folded her arms across her ample breasts and looked speculaively down at the papers before her. "I have managed to locate twenty-three items of power so far that have been mentioned in various myths. Three of those are currently in use by ‘heroines’. Seven more are in museums, and there are four excavations at sights where others have been mentioned to be. Two more were reported lost during the ‘Fall of Heroes’, but it’s possible that they may be around somewhere, and the rest, I’m still researching. However, at first thaw, we can send teams out to retrieve the ones we know about."

Domina nodded. "Good. For my... our, new government, the government of women, to succeed, we will need every tool available to protect us from the male dominated world and to secure our position of legitimacy. I have worked for and with men before and have always failed, but with my daughters at my side, and you women as support, we shall be victorious."

There was a round of applause and cheers followed by a moment of silence that was broken when the oldest Second Sister, Natasha, spoke up.

"What are we going to do about the Wild Card and the Cat Pack? We can not let them go unpunished for their betrayal."

Domina looked at her raven-haired daughter. Her nose had been broken by the stool thrown by Danielle and without the chambers to rejouvenate her to her former beauty; she had to endure a more conventional mode of healing. As a result, her nose had mended crookedly and there was a large bump just below the bridge. She wanted revenge, but that was something that Domina had to deny her for the time being.

"Karen Stevens and your siblings are no longer a concern of ours," she said calmly, "but if they dare to interfere with our plans, I assure you, THEY WILL BE CRUSHED!

 

Fin.

 

 

 

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© 2002 by Stephanie C. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.