THE STONE OF KYSMON

by

Jim Johnston

On a planet unknown to our astronomy in a destination unspected by our physics, a thief flees across a cold barren alien landscape clutching a small leather pouch. He glances fearfully over his shoulder. The hellhounds who had slaughtered and devoured his companions are bearing down on him. In the distance he spies his escape - a tall shimmering portal, narrow at the ends and wider across the middle. Cursing himself for leading his team into this deadly trap, he races towards the portal. Fear charged adrenaline powers his limbs as he dives through his mystic escape hatch.

Instantaneously, he tumbles out onto a dirty hardwood floor. Glancing back, to confirm he wasn't followed, he sees, to his relief, that the portal is closed and he is alone. Standing up, he finds that he is back in the same dusty rundown ballroom of the dilapidated and vacant sea side hotel from which he and his companions had so recently set out on their mission.

He calls out, "Where are you witch? I've got your trinket, but the price has gone up." There is a moment's silence, then a silky sardonic sibilant voice replies, "Oh, and why is that? and, what happened to your companions?" Gorgana steps from the shadows and stands before her hireling.

Even though he is a rough, tough, normally fearless mercenary who has completed jobs in which he has seen and done things that are beyond the abilities, and even the imaginations, of most people, he is momentarily unnerved by Gorgana's appearance. Her shapely body looks inviting and her green skin and bald head exude a certain attraction, even those pointed ears create an exotic allure, but her pug nose and mouth full of razor sharp teeth make for a disconcerting contrast. Then, there are those three blank black eyes, the third one situated in the middle of her forehead. Downright frightening! Totally shiny and soulless, looking into them always gives him the feeling he's being drawn into the pits of hell. Regaining his composure, he rages at his employer, "They're all dead you witch; blasted and burned and devoured by whatever was guarding this accursed thing. He brandishes the pouch, shaking it at her.

The witch smiles and mockingly replies, "But that just means you don't have to share with anyone. You can keep the whole fee. You should be happy." Slyly smiling, she continues, "I won't quibble. I'll increase your fee four times to make up for the loss of each of your comrades. How does that sound?"

The thief considers her offer. Four times the original fee is an incredibly huge sum. It's big enough to make him forget about his dead friends. He agrees, but warns Gorgana as he hands over the pouch, "Don't try to double cross me witch. I've got protection! He gestures to an amulet knotted around his neck. This charm is more powerful than you'll ever be, and you know it!"

"True," Gorgana replies as she extracts a fist sized gem stone from the pouch and clasps it to her ample bosom. Breathing deeply, she looks at the thief and smiles broadly, revealing a double row of razor sharp fangs. "Now, a bonus, to show my appreciation for a job well done." The treacherous witch unleashes a massive mystic blast that easily overwhelms the thief's magical defense and reduces him to a sticky puddle. "You have the honour of being the first one to witness my new power."

Laughing gleefully, she thinks, "With the Stone of Kysmon in my possession, I am truly invincible. I'll soon conquer the entire world, maybe even the whole dimension, but first I'll take care of the Fem Force. This time, those self-righteous fools will be helpless before me.

Looking around at her dingy surroundings, she says out loud, "But, before that, perhaps I'll do a little bit of remodeling."

A Short While Later...

Joan Wayne, a.k.a. Ms. Victory, was flying back to Femforce Headquarters feeling tired and sore. Her mission had turned unexpectedly difficult. Originally, she was assigned to act as back-up for a joint state/federal task force which was designed to let various law enforcement agencies work together to better ensure public safety. The objective of this particular mission, code-named "Collective Security," called for the arrest of a criminal gang whose members were smuggling stolen high-tech military ordinance out of the country.

It should have been a cake walk, but, emboldened by their high calibre hardware, the smugglers decided to stand and fight. Seriously outgunned, the authorities might have been in serious trouble had not Ms. Victory immediately leapt to the front of the battle drawing all of the criminals firepower to herself. This allowed the authorities to re-group and counter attack, overwhelming the criminals.

As the lawbreakers were taken into custody, Joan conferred with the mission commanders in an impromptu session, then, although her part in the mission was complete, she characteristically remained to talk with the rank and file. They were all impressed to have worked with a real superhero and they were all grateful that she had "pulled their chestnuts out of the fire." Modestly, she down-played her role and reminded them that they too were heroes, just as much as she.

So, it was rather late when she left to head back to Femforce Headquarters for the post-mission de-briefing and weekly meeting. Flying back along the coast, Ms. Victory found herself hoping that the meeting would be brief. She was looking forward to getting home and taking a long hot bath before spending some quality time with Chuck (Charles Starret, a.k.a. Captain Paragon, her husband).

She mused, "Invulnerable or not, catching a barrage of stinger missiles, fired from point black range, directly in the chest while getting raked with heavy machine gun fire still hurts." However, she also felt a sense of pride and satisfaction at having taken part in a successful mission. All in all, she concluded, no matter what the cost there's nothing like knowing you've done your duty and helped to make your country a better place for everyone.

Suddenly, from out of the clear blue sky, an enormous bolt of green lightning silently slashed through the azure and struck Ms. Victory right between her shoulder blades. Stunned into unconsciousness, the heroine dropped like a stone onto the sand and rocks below. Lying face down on the wet sand, she did not hear Gorgana's approach as the evil witch, chuckling softly, regarded the helpless heroine and remarked, "So much for the high and mighty Ms. Victory. I'm sure your friends will be along looking for you, but, in the meantime, I think I'll have a little fun before I dispose of you permanently!"

A few hours later...

Back at Femforce Headquarters, it's time for the weekly meeting. Nightveil is the first to arrive and materializes into the conference room directly from a sabbatical to Dark Dhagor where she had been refining her mystic abilities under the tutelage of the wizard, Azagoth, her mentor and teacher. The mystic maiden is glad to be back. It had been a long hard session. Her vocation required constant practice and ongoing study, and Azagoth was a demanding taskmaster.

Laura smiled to herself as she looked around the room dominated by the large oval conference table inlaid with the Femforce logo. Gazing at it, Laura felt a familiar rush of pride at being a member of a team of genuine heroines dedicated to the good of all. She noticed a bank of computer terminals, keyboards, and video screens along the back wall. "Must be part of the upgrade program," she thought. She is looking forward to the meeting. Her omnipotent powers and omnipresent experiences have given her a perspective that is often entirely removed from the mundane concerns of regular people. She finds these meetings help to keep her "grounded" in this world. Plus, she truly enjoys the time spent with her teammates, who are also her friends and true comrades.

Just then, General Roberta Strock enters through a side door, directly from her office. She greets Laura, "Ahh, Nightveil, just in time for the meeting. Welcome back. How are you? How was your session on Dhagor?"

Nightveil responds, "Hello, General. Thank you, it's good to be back. I'm well. Dhagor was strenuous but rewarding.

This pleasant small talk is interrupted by She-Cat sauntering through the main doors.

"Hello, General. Hiya, witcheepoo!" Looking around the room, She-Cat continues, "Looks like I'm not the last one here for once. I know that Tara is off doing her eco-thing, and that Dusty is away working with NASA, and that Bubblehead, uh, I mean Synn is studying for her GED finals, but where's Ms. Victory? She's usually the first one here."

Nightveil and General Strock are silent. It's not like Ms. Victory to be late. An uneasy feeling settles over the group as General Strock speaks, "I'll make some inquiries and see what I can find out."

The general steps back to one of the newly installed keyboards and, contacting NORAD, she types a request for information. Momentarily, a response flashes onto a large overhead screen, first displaying a map of the eastern seaboard before rapidly magnifying down into an outline of the Florida coast. "That's the Florida coastline. A NORAD satellite was routinely tracking Ms. Victory as she returned from her assignment. I'll bring that up now." As General Strock hits another sequence of keys, a red line accompanied by a series of times and coordinates appears. "The red line follows the coastline until it abruptly stops. According to the data, Ms. Victory simply dropped off the radar screen about 2 hours ago at a location about 200 miles away. I'll direct the communications department to try and contact her." General Strock works the keyboard again while all eyes stare at the big overhead screen. A long minute passes then "NO RESPONSE" flashes across the screen.

"I hope nothing has happened," says Nightveil.

"Ahh, Joanie's okay," responds She-Cat, "She probably just stopped to rescue a kitten from a tree and lost track of the time." She-Cat's bravado camouflages the unease they all share. "We might as well go get her."

"I concur," replies General Strock, "Take the quinjet to Ms. Victory's last known coordinates and search the area. I'll stay on the computer and relay any further information."

The two Fem Forcers immediately set out on their search. A short while later, they stand on the beach before an enormous Gothic mansion with dark wooden walls and a sharply peaked tiled roof. Gable windows set with darkly stained glass offer no clue as to what lurks within.

Even though it sits in the bright sunshine of a Florida late afternoon, the structure seems to drain the vitality out of the air, creating a grim and foreboding atmosphere. The effect dampens Jess' normally brash persona and she speaks softly, "It looks like a combination of every haunted house I've ever seen. What do you make of it, Laura?"

The mage responds, "General Strock's info says that this place is an old abandoned hotel that went out of business in 1952. However, this doesn't look anything like that. I do detect the presence of a massive concentration of mystical energy which could explain the structure."

"What about Joanie? Any sign of her?" She-Cat's question sounds uncharacteristically nervous and concerned.

Laura concentrates, "There's some kind of mystic fog that is blocking my psychic probes." Concentrating harder, "But, I can definitely feel her presence. She's in that building and alive!"

"Any idea where in the building?"

"Below ground, in a basement or cellar..."

"Or a dungeon," states She-Cat. "We'd better get started!"

"I agree," replies Nightveil. "I propose a two-pronged approach. I'll go in through the front door and confront whoever is responsible for all this. While I'm dealing with them, you go around back and quietly enter the building. Try to get down stairs and locate Ms. Victory, then the two of you will make your escape and I'll rejoin you back at Femforce Headquarters."

"Once I've found Joan and made sure she's okay, don't you want us to join you? You'll probably need the help," asks She-Cat.

"No," replies Nightveil, "I appreciate the offer, but whoever is responsible for all this is almost certainly a powerful mage well-versed in the arcane arts. Your formidable fighting skills would not prevail against such power. Besides, your primary mission is finding Ms. Victory and getting her to safety."

"Well, okay then. Good luck!"

"Same to you, and don't worry, Ms. Victory knows how to deal with situations. We'll soon find her and everything will be fine."

"I hope so," responds She-Cat. "We better get started."

"I agree," answers Nightveil, "Give me a head start."

Meanwhile, the object of their concern, Ms. Victory, was indeed in a dungeon. Regaining consciousness shortly after being struck by the green lightning, she found herself elabourately and extensively chained up within a small steel-walled cell with a glass door. A little groggy at first, she asked herself, "What happened? One minute I'm flying home and then the lights go out. What's going on? and, where am I?"

As her head cleared, the heroine's confident character re-asserted itself. Looking out through the glass door, she saw what looked to be an old-fashioned chamber featuring a rack, whipping stacks, and even an iron maiden. In the centre of the room, mounted on an elabourate pedestal, rested a glowing green gemstone. The arcane object bathed the room in an unearthly green light. Only a single door at the far end of the room provided access.

Ms. Victory was unimpressed. Except for the green gem and its' unsettling illumination, she had seen it all before. "I'll just free myself of these chains and break out of this cell, then I'll find and deal with whoever is responsible for this," she thought.

Confidently, she had pulled on the chains securing her wrists and ankles to the cell wall while simultaneously flexing her upper body muscles and arching her back to expand her chest. With this maneuver she expected to shatter the chains which bound her upper arms to her sides and snap the links that held her wrists and ankles. She had used this move many times in the past and always with impressive results, the chains bursting in an explosion of shattered steel much to the dismay of whatever villains thought they had bested Ms. Victory.

This time, however, was different. The chains did not yield. "Hmm, that's odd," she thought, "These chains must be made of some new high strength alloy. I'll just have to try a little harder." Try as she might, she could not break free. She continued to pull and flex and strain but all she got for her efforts were some strained muscles, more bruises, and a growing sense of frustration.

As she paused a moment from her efforts, a voice mockingly addressed her, "Give up? You might as well. Thanks to my magic those chains are stronger than you'll ever be."

Ms. Victory knew that voice. It was...

Gorgana stepped into view. Standing triumphantly, her hands on her hips, she regarded her prisoner as the captive heroine re-doubled her efforts to break free. The grotesque witch laughed and told Ms. Victory, "All right then, go ahead and keep trying. It won't do you any good. I've cast a spell over those chains. The more you pull, the stronger they become. You'll never be able to break them."

Ms. Victory's brain worked feverishly, "We've dealt with Gorgana before and her magic has never been this powerful. She's also never been this smart. Someone must be helping her." Seeking information, Ms. Victory sought to irritate the ghoul by pointing out her past deficiencies. "I know you're not powerful enough or smart enough to come up with this on your own, Gorgana! Who's helping you?"

"I don't need any help. I did this all on my own," the green-skinned monster replied. Gesturing toward the green glowing gem, she continued, "I wisely acquired the Stone of Kysmon which amplifies my already formidable powers. Now I can achieve my destiny as the most powerful mage in this dimension. As a first step, I will destroy you and all of your ridiculous teammates. Not even that fool Nightveil will be able to stand against me."

"That's big talk for a second-rate loser like you, Gorgana. The Fem Force has beaten you every time you came up against us and this time won't be any different. That dime store novelty you found won't make any difference."

Gorgana sneered, "Ill take care of your teammates as easily as I took care of you, but until they arrive I'll give you a personal demonstration of my new powers. After all, I don't want you getting bored."

A time of torture and torment for the captive Fem Forcer followed. Using her enhanced magical powers, she created an inlet pipe and began to fill Ms. Victory's cell with water. As the water level rose, Ms. Victory continued straining in her effort to break free. The heroine found the water of little concern as she could easily hold her breath for long periods of time, but she was frustrated that she was unable to break free of her bonds. Rather quickly, the water had risen to such an extent that her body's buoyancy left her floating without solid footing. Nevertheless, she continued to tug at the chains in her efforts to free herself. Focusing on the task at hand, she expended a supreme effort and could actually feel several of the links begin to give way, but the length of chain that had allowed her to tread with her head above water was no longer sufficient and she knew in moments she would have to draw her last breath before being completely submerged.

An agonizing groan as she made a last desperate attempt to pull free of the chains before going under left her seemingly just shy of breaking several of the links. However, in the moment when she relented slightly in order to draw a final breath before the water lapped over her nose and mouth, she was dismayed to find that the links had repaired themselves pursuant to Gorgana's spell. Now submerged, she faced a daunting prospect. While it was true that she could hold her breath for considerable periods of time, her ability to do so was directly related to the amount of physical exertion required. The strain that had previously been required to part the links would likely deplete the resource of oxygen in her lungs and she knew that any breath before breaking completely free of her bonds would likely be her last. Deciding to trust in her capacity to remain submerged for hours and wait for an opportunity down the line to free herself rather than chance an untimely end if she were unable to burst the chains holding her under, Ms. Victory calmly allowed herself to float effortlessly in her torture chamber while watching Gorgana's every move.

Irritated at her prisoner's seeming lack of concern, the witch created a school of piranhas that attacked Ms. Victory in a feeding frenzy. However, although their sharp teeth inflicted painful bites, they were unable to penetrate her invulnerable skin, or even her spandexx costume, and so they did not real harm.

Annoyed that her prisoner was not suffering enough, the green skinned ghoul tried again. Draining the water from the cell and dematerializing the fish, she created a swarm of viciously stinging wasps, but, once again, thanks to the heroines invulnerability, the insect attack, while uncomfortable, was ineffective.

Inwardly relieved at her captor's haste in discarding the water torture, Ms. Victory laughed at Gorgana's efforts. "Is this the best you can do? Even with the Stone of Kysmon's power, your magic isn't very effective."

Angry at Ms. Victory's cocky attitude, Gorgana created a mini-sandstorm within the cell. The helpless heroine choked and coughed, and was nearly blinded by the dust and stinging sand. To complete the experience, Gorgana raised the cell's temperature until the heroine appeared to be truly suffering. The sight of Ms. Victory's agonized writhing delighted Gorgana who crowed triumphantly.

All of a sudden, Gorgana became alert, as if listening for something. The sandstorm immediately dissipated as the witch addressed Ms. Victory, "My enchanted magic reveals that someone is approaching. It looks like your friends have finally arrived. I'll give you a ring side seat so you can witness their destruction and learn what a truly powerful wizard I am." Gorgana gestured twice in a circular motion and muttered a brief incantation. Nothing. After her second attempt at the spell, a shimmering appeared in mid-air that turned into two side by side images like disembodied TV screens. While mentally noting the difficulty Gorgana had creating the images, and that she stopped the sandstorm to do so, Ms. Victory regarded each of the "screens."

On the first screen...

Nightveil walks up the front stairs, flanked by leering stone gargoyles. The ornately carved wooden doors silently swing open at her approach. She crosses the threshold and enters what appears to be a huge grand ballroom. Cautiously, she enters, noting that the doors have swung shut behind her. Crossing the marble floor, she surveys the vaulted ceiling and walls hung with gaudy tapestries depicting scenes of murder and mayhem. "Crude and tacky," she thinks.

Approaching the center of the room, she stops intent on making an easy target of herself. As planned, she's hoping to draw out whoever is responsible for her teammate's disappearance. All the while, she is psychically searching, hoping to detect some sign of Ms. Victory's location. She believes she can make out a faint presence although her probes are still being blocked.

Then, she hears a chorus of low gutteral moans. She turns to see a crowd of classic zombies, all hideously decayed, their eyes alive with unholy hunger. Arms outstretched, they walk towards her. "Where did you come from," she thinks, as she assumes a classic magic attack pose, her arms extended straight ahead, palms up, with her thumb and forefingers crossed. She speaks a brief incantation, confident that this move will easily take care of these undead intruders, but it doesn't work out that way. A blue beam of mystic energy flashes from her hands and strikes shuffling horde. There is a bright flash and the front rank is knocked down, but aided by their undead companions they struggle to their feet and continue onward.

Laura is puzzled. "That move should have vaporised the lot of them, but it barely slowed them down. Also, they seem to be smarter and more energetic than I would expect, they walk rather than shuffle and help their fallen comrades back up."

As she takes a few steps back to put more distance between herself and her assailants, she hears another low gutteral moan. Looking over her shoulder, she spies another crowd of similar zombies close behind her. Reacting decisively, she turns to face them. Extending her right arm while drawing back her left as if pulling a bow string, the mystic maiden quietly intones a stronger incantation. Instantly, a brilliant blue pulse of concentrated mystic energy is let fly against this new threat. This has even less effect than the first attempt. The pulse stops short of its' target and bursts apart in a shower of blue globules which rapidly dissipate.

"Something's wrong," thinks Nightveil, "These zombies seem to have some sort of protection against my magic!"

Noticing that both crowds are getting closer and are starting to spread out as if to surround her, she decides to make a strategic retreat. Raising her arms above her head, then bringing them down to her sides in a wide arc, she casts a levitation spell upon herself intending to rise above the oncoming horde and onto the second floor.

It is not to be. As she levitates, two zombies, displaying more of the uncharacteristic energy and coordination she had earlier noted, leap up, each grabbing a wrist and obviously intending to drag her back down to their ravenous companions. They halt her ascent, although Laura is able to maintain her concentration enough to stay aloft. She deals with her clinging assailants by going back to her roots as the crimefighting Blue Bulleteer. Swinging her arms together, she sends the zombies clawing at her wrists crashing into one another. The impact is enough to break their grips and they fall down to the hard floor. With her concentration shaken, Laura is unable to reboot the levitation spell. She instantly decides on another tactic. Dropping back down she conjures a protective dome around herself. The zombies soon surround the dome, but, unable to penetrate the magical protection, they can only pound on the side and attempt to clamor up onto it as if they intend to collapse the dome by sheer undead physical force.

Laura realizes that they might well succeed. Already bulges and dents are beginning to appear on the smooth surface. Her latest tactic has only gained her a brief respite. She needs to come up with something else. Quick.

Meanwhile on the other screen

She-Cat watches as Laura goes up the steps and disappears inside the house. "Okay, Laura, you're doing your part," she thinks, "It's time for She-Cat to get into the act!"

Moving swiftly and silently, and keeping low to the ground, she works her way around the mansion looking for a suitable entrance. Arriving at the back of the house, she comes upon a small courtyard strewn with empty boxes. Noting a big loading dock, she concludes, "This must be where they take deliveries." She notes a window, off to one side of the dock. She-Cat ponders briefly, "Go in through the window or use the loading dock doors?" Deciding on extra stealth, she moves quickly across the courtyard, vaults easily up onto the dock, and creeps up to the window. It easily slides open.

She enters the mansion. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jess can't help thinking, "Isn't this typical? Laura Wright, the debutante, enters through the front door while I get stuck with the tradesman's entrance." Looking around she finds herself in what appears to be a large commercial kitchen. "Just what I'd expect to find," she thinks to herself. Looking around, she sees a side door and, opening it, she discovers a wooden staircase descending down into the darkness. "Bingo!"

Knowing that Laura had said Joan was below ground, She-Cat hopes the steps will lead right to Ms. Victory. Cautiously, she descends down into the darkness as the kitchen door swings closed behind her. The straight wooden stairway soon gives way to a winding web strewn passage, with stone steps, illuminated by an ethereal green glow which seems to have no direct source. The passageway appears endless, but Jess resolutely presses on determined to find her teammate. Suddenly, she is aware of a presence behind her. She-Cat turns just in time to see a sinewy arm wrapped in tattered dusty bandages reaching for her throat. Responding instantly, the feline fury grasps the outstretched arm at the wrist, intending to snap it off and make short work of this distraction. She isn't expecting what happens next.

The mummy pulls his extended left arm back, yanking Jess off-balance. As she falls forward, the mummy brings a hard right fist up and busts her in the chops, knocking her down on her butt. Spitting blood, Jess glares up at her unexpected opponent. "You're a lot stronger and faster than I would have expected, but I don't have time to play!"

Leaping up and charging at the mummy with fangs and claws bared, She-Cat plans to reduce him to a pile of shredded rags. The mummy stands immobile, presenting an easy target. Then, at the last possible second, he nimbly sidesteps her onslaught, tripping her as she charges past. She falls down hard on the stone steps, but she's up again in a flash.

Confronting her foe, she raises her fists and growls, "Okay, Bandage Boy, let's see how well you do in a stand-up fight." Jess lets fly with a flurry of stinging left jabs. Each one finds its' mark but with no apparent effect. She follows up with a hard right cross and a mean left hook. Either blow would have surely staggered any other opponent but neither has an effect on the mummy. Indeed, the fighting feline thinks she sees a slight sneer of contempt in the bandaged features. Undaunted, she unleashes a devastating series of body blows, pummeling his chest and stomach. She's literally trying to pound him into a pulp, putting her strength into every blow, but it's like hitting a canvas punching bag as the mummy just stands there absorbing all the punishment she can dish out. Finally, intent on getting some sort of response out of her opponent, she delivers a straight-legged karate kick right between his legs, saying, "Okay, let's see you shrug that off!"

She steps back to catch her breath, looking for some reaction. The mummy's only response is to slightly incline his head in what Jess takes to be an infuriatingly patronizing attitude. It's as if the mummy is asking her if that's all the little lady can dish out. Angered at his perceived insolence, she charges at him again with fists flying but the mummy has seemingly tired of being a punching bag. Jess throws a hard right, intending to smash his face out through the back of his head. This time, "Bandage Boy" blocks her punch and responds with a punch of his own that smacks her right in the eye. Jess sees stars but shrugs it off and presses her attack with a left hook. The mummy parries her blow and counter punches, landing another blow on her already swollen eye. "Damn," thinks Jess, "You've gotten good all of a sudden, but not good enough to beat me!"

Her attack continues, but now her opponent blocks every punch while landing plenty of his own. Jess is on the ropes. Her face is bruised and bleeding with one eye nearly swollen shut. Her arms are sore from trying to block his blows and it feels like a couple of her ribs are cracked. She's now fighting a purely defensive fight, trying to block a storm of murderously powerful punches. A gut punch causes her to drop her guard and is followed by a hammer blow to the face that has her seeing stars again. She-Cat tries to step back, hoping to gain some breathing space, but, her equilibrium shaken, she slips and falls landing on the stone steps. The mummy advances menacingly as he prepares to finish her off!

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon

Ms. Victory watches the action on the "screens" with dismay while Gorgana cackles with glee. The witch brags to the heroine, "Thanks to my skill and power, my mystic minions and magical creations are destroying your pathetic friends. Soon their miserable lives will be over and then your's will be, as well!"

Though concerned for her comrades, Ms. Victory's reply betrays no fear as she taunts Gorgana, "Is that the best you can do, witch? You'll have to do a lot better than that to beat She-Cat and Nightveil. They'll both soon be back up and kicking your creatures butts!"

Angered at the Fem Forcer's fearless demeanor, Gorgana merely snarls as both turn their attention back to the screens.

In the ballroom, inside her protective dome, Nightveil coolly considers her situation. "These zombies seem to be somehow immune from my magic, so let's see how well they do against the results of my magic." Creating a tiny opening at the top of the dome, she unleashes a thin beam of complex mystic energy which travels straight up until it hits the ceiling. Under Laura's direction, it spreads out until nearly the whole ceiling is covered, then the mystic maiden concentrates as little points of light appear all over the magically coated ceiling. Cracks begin to appear at each point of light, subtlety manipulated by Laura to grow wider and deeper. Thanks to a lifetime of study and practice, she has the skill and mental discipline to accomplish this complex maneuver while still maintaining her protective dome, undistracted by the pounding of the zombie horde. A long minute passes, then, all at once, the ceiling collapses completely, burying the zombies and Laura's dome.

"How in Hades did she do that," screeches Gorgana, but before the ghoul can react Ms. Victory mockingly directs her attention to She-Cat's "screen."

Bloody and bruised, laying on the stone steps, She-Cat has also decided to switch tactics. "I can't beat him head on, so I think I'll try something else." Ignoring the pain of her previous pounding, she leaps up and charges again, as if to make another fruitless frontal assault. The mummy moves forward to pound her down again, but, at the last second, Jess vaults over the top of the mummy, landing behind him. Before he can react, she turns and gives him a shove, allowing gravity to do the rest. The mummy tumbles down, striking the hard stone surfaces again and again.

"Hope you're enjoying your trip," Jess calls out as she strides along behind him administering a series of swift kicks aimed at his head and spine to keep him rolling along. When he finally crashes into the ironbound wooden door at the bottom of the stairs, he is little more than a collection of broken bones wrapped in torn, dusty bandages. He tries to get up but all he can do is twitch impotently like a puppet that's had its' strings cut. While it's plain to see that he won't be getting up again, She-Cat stomps down hard on his badly dented skull just to be sure, shattering it in a satisfying coup de grace.

Gorgana shrieks in unholy rage as Ms. Victory taunts her, "Well, Gorgana, even with your precious Stone of Kysmon, you've failed again. Maybe, you're just not a very good sorceress?"

Gorgana turns on the Fem Forcer, "Silence, you hyper-patriotic simpleton! Up till now, I've just been toying with your do-gooder friends, but no more! I'm going to destroy the lot of you!!!" Fixing Ms. Victory with an icy three-eyed stare, she continues, "You'll be the first to die, and when your friends arrive, I'll let them live just long enough to see your corpse!"

Striding over to the wrought iron stand, Gorgana snatches up the Stone of Kysmon and clasps it to her ample bosom. She breathes deeply, as if to drain more of the mystic energy into herself.

"Excellent," thinks Ms. Victory, "Now's my chance!"

Minutes later, Nightveil materializes in the dungeon just as She-Cat bursts through the door.

"Well, hi there! Glad you could make it!" Ms. Victory greets her comrades. Though disshevelled and bedraggled, she stands triumphantly over an unconscious Gorgana who lays on the stone floor wrapped up in the chains that had formerly held the heroine.

"Better late than never," replies Nightveil, "Although it looks like you have the situation well in hand." Just to be on the safe side, the sorceress casts a stasis spell over Gorgana putting her in a psychic coma.

"You'd better take charge of this," says Ms. Victory as she hands a glowing gem over to Nightveil.

"The Stone of Kysmon! That explains where all this magic energy came from," says Laura as she puts the stone into a pouch under her belt. "I'll make sure this is kept in a safe place."

Suddenly, there is a low grinding sound as everything seems to melt and blur around them. When their surroundings solidify, the Fem Forcers find themselves in what appears to be the basement of a run-down, abandoned sea-side hotel.

"Someone wanna tell me what's going on," asks She-Cat.

"It looks like Gorgana's spells are dissipating," answers Nightveil, "Only an amateur would waste so much mystic energy on window dressing."

"It's lucky for us that she spent more effort on creating appearances than honing her abilities," observes Ms. Victory.

She-Cat waves her hand dismissively, "Ahh, we coulda beat her anyway. We always find a way to win in the end. We're a team of winners!"

On that note, Nightveil levitates the unconscious witch into the Quinjet before Ms. Victory pilots them home. After contacting Femforce Headquarters and making an interim report, the three friends share the details of their separate adventures and fill in the blanks of the overall story.

"When I regained consciousness," says Ms. Victory, "Gorgana helpfully told me about the Stone of Kysmon and explained her plans."

"Yeah, they always talk too much," interjects She-Cat.

"Yes, well, anyway," Joan continues, "I knew she didn't have the skill or mental discipline to effectively use her enhanced powers. When her surrogates failed to defeat either of you, she became more and more enraged and was so distracted that the bonehead forgot to maintain the strengthened my chains. I was able to break free and knock her out before she could launch another more powerful attack on you two."

"That must have been when the mystic fog suddenly lifted. Shortly after I'd brought down the ceiling on the zombies, crushing them all, I was suddenly able to psychically pinpoint your exact location and I teleported there immediately."

"That's right when I finished off the mummy and came running. Of course, you were already okay." She-Cat, wincing slightly from her cracked ribs, continues, "I guess I was just a fifth wheel on this mission!"

"Not even close," responds Joan, "I would've never been able to free myself if you and Laura hadn't defeated Gorgana's creations. Like you said, we're a team!"

Noting her comrades discomfort, Ms. Victory continues, "Jess, it looks like you had the hardest fight of the three of us. Make sure you go down to the infirmary ASAP and have the doctors check out your injuries."

"Eh, I'm okay. It'll take more than one bandage wrapped bag of bones to hurt me." However, wincing, Jess adds, "Still, I could go for some time in the hydro pool and maybe some massage therapy from that hot new male nurse. I'll go down right after the meeting."

"Good," says Ms. Victory as she begins their final approach to Femforce Headquarters. She thinks to herself, "I hope it'll be a short meeting. With luck I can still get home in time for that long hot bath and some quality time with Chuck. Of course, I may have to combine the two!" She smiles at the thought.

Epilogue

Ms. Victory got her wish. The meeting was very short. However, what happened to her on the way home is another story.

The End

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