HEROES AND FRIENDS

by Femfan1

chapter two

THAT CUNNING ENEMY

Stumbling across the inhospitable terrain of Dhagor, the terrorized figure sought refuge behind a rocky outcropping. Her raven hair matted with sweat and dirt and her cyan clothing in tatters, she furtively peered around the volcanic formation seeking some sign of her pursuer. Relieved to have gained a respite, she sank back against the stone and attempted to catch her breath.

An involuntary shudder ran through Nightveil's body. She had been summoned to Dhagor by her mentor, Azagoth, but no sign of his presence was evident on the desolate plane. Instead, she had been greeted by a dark figure who had wordlessly engaged her in mystic battle. The Sorceress, well-schooled in the dark arts, had easily been able to protect herself from the wizardry which she initially faced and soon she was able to counterattack. In stunning succession, she used a wide array of her powers to hurl bolts of occult energy at her attacker while mentally probing for some clue as to his intentions.

However, the shadowy presence was clearly a powerful sorcerer himself, for he obliterated the energy bolts with a wave of the sceptre he held in his hand and easily repelled her mental advance. Calling out a spell of enchantment, Nightveil attempted to encircle him in a magical net, but again he shattered the energy bands with a mere wave of his staff. Clearly amused by her efforts, he sent a wave of energy toward the mystic maiden which forced her back against a canyon wall. Surprised that her protection spell had been less than effective, Nightveil doubled her defense shields just as the mystic wave broke over her. Shrugging off the pounding, she created a quagmire at the feet of the mage, but with a touch of his staff he again stood on solid ground.

Consternation was evident in the face of the Sorceress Supreme as she eyed her opponent. He was garbed in loose fitting cloth, dark as pitch, which covered him from head to toe. Upon closer inspection, the folds of his clothing revealed all manner of amulets and mystic charms, several of which seemed familiar to the pupil of Azagoth.

"Sorcerer, identify yourself!"

"Is it not clear, witch? Can you not see?!?" His rumbling voice cascaded around her as he strode confidently forward.

Boxed in, Nightveil sought some clue to his identity in his face. His features were obscured by the shadows from his hood. She could only make out his eyes, which appeared to be orbs of fire surrounded by rings of lightning. Her gaze turned again to the amulets. The necklace looked much like the charm worn by the sorcerer, T'uva Ra, and she had once seen a ring like that on the finger of a witch named Saaviena. Nightveil's blood ran cold as she pieced together the mystery.

"Ahh, I see a measure of understanding has breached your peanut of a brain. Yes, witch, I am a predator and, at present, you are my prey!"

The witch hunter conjured a giant fly swatter and brought it crashing down on the stunned sorceress. Her protective spell spared her from injury but she was bashed about nonetheless. Striking back weakly, Nightveil engineered a lightning strike from behind, but the electrical impulse was attracted to the metal sceptre and did no bodily injury. Indeed, the dark mage seemed energized by every attack even as Nightveil felt her power weakening. He laughed when she cast a spell to turn him into stone, and soaked in the occult energy before continuing his advance. As he approached, he eliminated every route of escape until he stood glaring down at her.

"You don't have much left, do you, Sorceress Supreme?" The sarcasm in his use of the appellation dripped off his tongue as he brought his staff crashing down onto her shoulder. In an instant, her protection spell had disintegrated and she was driven down onto her knees. Whirling the staff as a weapon, he twirled it around and brought the head of the sceptre up into her chin. The force of the blow lifted her back up onto her feet for the instant it took him to bring the staff of the sceptre crashing into her midsection. Doubling over, she crumpled to her knees gasping for breath. Nightveil felt icy fingers grasp her by the hair and pull her up off the ground until she was suspended in the air. A gloved hand grabbed her by the neck and slammed her back into the canyon wall. "Any last words?"

A velvet fist punched the Sorcerer in the throat causing him to release his hold, and, as she dropped to the ground, a lavender pump kicked him in the shin resulting in a howl of pain and curses. Memories of her career battling thugs as the crimefighting Blue Bulleteer flitted across her thoughts, but it would take more than fisticuffs to defeat this powerful enemy. Nightveil darted past her assailant and attempted to mystically transport herself back to her Sanctum Sanctorom in the Florida Everglades. To her shock, her power fizzled and her journey took her only to the far side of Dhagor. Again she tried to leave the mystic plane, and again she was unsuccessful. Bereft of sorcery, Nightveil had no recourse but to travel by foot in an effort to elude the hunter who, no doubt, was in pursuit.

She fled across the landscape until she finally found respite behind a volcanic formation. As she leaned back against the stone and attempted to catch her breath, an involuntary shudder ran through her body. Her mystical powers exhausted, she would stand no chance if the witch hunter should find her. He would not again overconfidently allow her the option of a physical assault. Where was Azagoth? Could he have already been defeated? Nightveil put the thought out of her mind. If Azagoth had been defeated then she stood no chance of survival. She strained to think of some course of action which would enable her to defeat the dark mage, but without her magical powers the task would be difficult, if not impossible. Of course, she sardonically noted, she hadn't been all that successful with her powers.

The Sorceress felt something slither across her stomach. Looking down she was shocked to see a rocky tendril snaking from the formation behind her and binding her at the waist. Two stone hands appeared out of the rock and grabbed her around the arms. Her body was pulled tight against the weathered juggernaut while another stony tendril grabbed her around her neck and immobilized her head. Finally, two more hands grew from the rock and seized her ankles. The Dark Sorcerer materialized before her. "It wasn't very nice of you to kick me in my shin, witch!" Trying to quell her growing fear, the Mystic Maiden demonstrated cool arrogance. "Next time, I'll aim higher." Nightveil watched the Mage's sceptre reach out and touch her on the forehead. Immediately, her thoughts were engulfed in a sea of turbulence and her body convulsed as though it were being torn apart from the inside. Quivering lips cried out for Azagoth as her mind went blank and she sank into unconsciousness.

***

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Not long."

"I thought you were jet-setting it in Australia."

"Australia was yesterday. Fiji was this morning. Thought you might be bored out here in the middle of nowhere so I decided to make a little side trip. I'm glad to see you're enjoying your little vacation."

"Ha ha. Very funny. When did you start cracking wise?"

"I've been taking notes."

"Yeah? Well, stop. It doesn't suit you." She-Cat shifted her position on the bed. "So, how much do you know?"

"The way I heard it from most of the villagers, you showed up out here unbidden and, against their wishes, decided to attack the great liberating force of Colonel somebody. He left you beaten, unconscious in a field, and as punishment for your actions took one of the village elders."

"Oh. Is that what happened?"

"That's what they said. They also said they would have left you out there, but apparently the old man's wife got her son to bring you back here to recover from your injuries."

"Ha...owww! Darn rib! Yeah, Mateo probably figured I was too comfortable out there laying on the ground and that I'd suffer a lot more in this bed."

"Yeah, Mateo's not real happy with you. He did provide a slightly more plausible account of what happened, though. He said his father tricked you into coming here to stop some evil men from destroying the village and that instead of walking away from a fool's errand you managed to make the situation worse. Frankly, it has a ring of truth to it which makes me believe him."

An agitated She-Cat glared at Tara. "You have no idea. Don't come in here and tell me I screwed up. I know I screwed up! I just don't know how I could've done anything differently without something else bad happening. You know, sometimes things don't get handed to you on a silver platter!"

"Cat, don't get mad at me cause you got your butt kicked. I won't be your personal whipping girl because you're mad at yourself!"

A knock interrupted the brewing argument. It was Mateo's girlfriend, May. "Excuse me, Ms. Fremont? What are you planning on doing about Mateo's father?"

The Jungle Girl and She-Cat stared at each other in stony silence. Finally, Tara offered, "We'll put our heads together and come up with something. Don't worry."

After May had left, She-Cat muttered, "See? That's how it starts, and the next thing you know, bam, you're fighting 100 people all by yourself."

"I'm not fighting anybody. This country's civil war is none of my business."

"Mm-hmm. Alright, Too Tall, let me tell you a story."

For the next few minutes, She-Cat recounted the previous day's events for the Jungle Girl. When she was finished she waited for Tara's response.

"Sounds like you were between a rock and a hard place."

"I still am. I can't walk away and let the village fall to Colonel Joe's tyranny, but I don't want Gregorio's blood on my hands."

"Mmm-hmm. Well, we have until noon tomorrow to come up with a plan. Maybe a good night's rest will make everything clear in the morning."

"Maybe, but sleep isn't going to come easy. By the way, where are you bunking?"

Tara came over and pressed her hands into the mattress. "Well, I was thinking maybe you'd give up the other half of this bed to a friend in need, but, on second thought, I think I'd be more comfortable finding a nice soft patch of grass on the ground outside."

She-Cat smiled knowingly, and as Tara made her way out of the room called after her. "Just like a pampered rich kid! You just have to sleep in the lap of luxury!"

Tara laughingly shot back, "What can I say, I'm spoiled."

As she disappeared through the doorway, the Jungle Girl barely heard She-Cat say, "Glad you decided to stop by, friend." Tara knew better than to acknowledge the sentiment.

***

"Wow! It's so bright and sunny, it's hard to believe a hurricane just passed through here."

Stardust surveyed the billions of dollars of property damage evident as far as the eye could see. "Umm, Synn? Are you going to help with cleanup or not?"

Synn smiled merrily and turned again to help Stardust repair structural damage to local buildings. Rayda was working to safely restore electrical power, while Ms. Victory did most of the heavy lifting, clearing up the tons of debris strewn across the landscape. It was not overturned vehicles, however, but Gorgana's escape which weighed heavily on the Femforce leader's mind. The ghoul had caused the team a lot of trouble over the years and the thought of her on the loose was not a pleasant one. Moreover, as usual, Nightveil could not be contacted which meant that Ms. Victory couldn't even warn the Sorceress to be on the lookout for her sworn enemy nor could she count on Nightveil's superior magic to capture Gorgana.

As she righted a pickup truck and pulled it away from the shattered storefront through which it had been propelled, Ms. Victory watched Synn make wacky faces in an attempt to get Stardust to laugh. The Rurian scientist obliged her immature companion by cracking a smile before again coaxing Synn back to work. Synn's synestrophic powers had proven very effective in battling Gorgana. Ms. Victory concluded that, in Nightveil's absence, Synn would be the key to capturing the ghoul. If Synn could keep Gorgana mentally occupied, then the ghoul would be less able to protect herself from being knocked unconscious by an undetected physical assault. Ms. Victory could only hope that Gorgana didn't do too much damage before the plan could be put into action. The approach of a police officer interrupted the red, white, and blue clad heroine's thoughts.

"Excuse me, Ms. Victory? There's a priority call for you from a General Strock?"

"Thank you, officer." Ms. Victory had barely raised the receiver to her ear when she heard the General's voice on the other end of the line.

"Ms. Victory, we've got a problem. I need all of you to report back to Femforce Headquarters immediately."

"What's going on?"

"That means now!"

Roberta's curtness with her, which was highly unusual, clarified the urgency of the situation. Ms. Victory dutifully rounded up her crew and they sped back to headquarters. General Strock met them in the conference room.

"Ladies, less than an hour ago, we received an emergency transmission from Colt. There was a lot of static and it was mostly inaudible. We digitized it and took out all the static. Here's what's left. Listen carefully!"

"(begin transmission)....found..........warehouse by...pier. Looks like he's waiting for someone...try to get closer.....Where'd she come from?!? I think I may have been sp........Try to hide...No...(gunshot)...Ungh!...No! NOOOO! (end of transmission)."

***

The sun had travelled halfway in its' arc across the daylight sky when Colonel Joe's men moved across the field where only yesterday they had been engaged in a singular battle. As they approached the village, She-Cat strode out to meet them. The opposing forces again confronted each other.

She-Cat stood alone. Her feet shoulder-width apart. Her arms by her sides. Her fists clenched. From the safety of his rear guard, Colonel Joe ordered his men to bring him the old man.

"I warned you what would happen if you were still here, woman. His blood is on your hands!"

"We're going to stop that from happening."

"We?!? You and who? The same villagers who abandoned you yesterday? The only person who stood with you is about to die!"

Dropping down noiselessly from high in the trees, the Jungle Girl moved out into the field behind the Colonel's unprotected rear flank. Having drawn as close as she could without being detected, she grew to a height of fifty feet tall. She-Cat motioned with her head for the Colonel to look behind him.

Turning to face a leg the size of a tree trunk, the Colonel craned his neck upward. Tara leaned over and snatched Gregorio from his grasp. Sweat streaming down his forehead, the Colonel stumbled backwards away from the Giantess.

"My friend, She-Cat, thinks we should destroy your 'army' and take you in chains to government officials. I'm willing to go along with that, but then you might try to create the perception that agents of the United States crushed your movement for 'freedom.' In the end, wiping you out might put our government on the wrong end of a public relations nightmare. So, we've decided not to interfere in what our government officially considers to be your nation's civil war. Instead, we're going to notify human rights organizations to send unbiased observers to monitor this village. I'm a big contributor, so I'm sure if you do anything out of line, the world will find out the real truth about your movement. Until observers get here, She-Cat and I are going to stick around. If anything happens to these villagers, you'll personally answer to us. Got that?"

Having recovered his composure, Colonel Joe steamed at the unexpected turn of events. His contact in the village had not warned him of the arrival of another heroine. What was it about this village that heroes from half a world away were seemingly rushing to its defense. Still, he was not easily deterred and he knew that if he allowed himself to be turned away from taking this village he would lose the confidence of his men and fuel future displays of intransigence in other villages. Through gritted teeth, he assented to Tara's question even as he plotted a way out of this debacle.

"Good! Then you and your men can leave. Now!"

Glaring back at the Giantess, Colonel Joe gathered his men and marched them away into the bush. She-Cat looked at Tara with a raised eyebrow. "I still think we should have kept him prisoner until the observers showed up!"

"How do you think it would look if we took the leader of another nation's freedom fighters captive?"

"Yeah, but you don't really think he's gone for good, do you? Now he's free to attack us on his terms!"

"If we can protect the village for another day, two at the most, that should be enough time for independent observers to show up. Once the organizations who've mistakenly given him international support are on the scene, he won't be able to risk losing that support by wiping out the villagers."

"That just means if he wants this village, he's got to come after the two of us, hard and fast."

"Yeah, the two of us against an army. I wish we could call in the team for help, but we're not even supposed to be involved in this ourselves."

She-Cat nudged Tara in the ribs. "You know, Too Tall, this would almost be a fair fight...if he had more men."

***

The Dark Mage strode to the very center of Dhagor, adorned with the cloak of darkness. Nightveil, the cloak's owner, was folded neatly across his shoulder. The former Sorceress Supreme hung limply, her arms and legs dangling loosely with each stride. Having reached his destination, the witch hunter grabbed her wrists in one hand and slung her around to hold her up triumphantly as a sign of his victory.

"Azagoth, it's time to come out and play!"

He received no response, save a chill wind whistling across the plain.

"Can't you see I have your pupil, Azagoth? Is this not enough to shame your cowardly soul into facing me?"

Flinging the defeated sorceress to the ground, he strode around her body. "You can have her back if you defeat me Azagoth. I've taken her power, but if you face me I may spare her life."

Like a whisper echoing through cavernous hallways, Nightveil felt the presence searching through her mind. Azagoth explored his unconscious pupil's memories for some hint of a way to defeat the powerful force which was calling him to battle. The being, known as Rehtam Nottoc, had grown substantially in power since the last time Azagoth had been aware of his presence. Eons ago, his crusade against sorcery had posed no threat. However, Rehtam Nottoc had recently obtained the Sceptre of Valoo which drained the power of a sorcerous attack. He had used the sceptre to defeat an increasing number of mages and, with each victory, Rehtam Nottoc's power grew. Azagoth had summoned Nightveil to Dhagor to warn her about the power of the Sceptre of Valoo, but Rehtam Nottoc had arrived on the plane before his pupil. Unable to engage the witch hunter in mystical battle, Azagoth had been forced to secret himself and hope that Nightveil was able to discover a weakness which could be exploited. Obviously, as he leafed through the jumbled file cabinet of her brain, she had been largely unsuccessful. Azagoth could discern no chink in Rehtam Nottoc's armor against magical attack.

In her unconscious state, Nightveil heard Azagoth speaking to her. "My pupil, I have repaired the disorder in your mind and imparted to you all that I know about Rehtam Nottoc and the Sceptre of Valoo. I have also given you enough mystical power to protect yourself for a short time. Soon you will regain consciousness. You must flee this plane. It is the only hope for both of us."

Growing impatient with Azagoth's lack of response, Rehtam Nottoc scowled as he walked over to the fallen sorceress. Pulling her onto her knees by the back of her top, he reached into the folds of his clothing and extracted a vial of puce-colored liquid which he opened and tipped towards her parted lips. "Azagoth, you know the effect this will have on her. Do you wish it upon her to wander limbo as one of the mindless living dead for the rest of her existence?!?"

"Enough!!!"

Rehtam Nottoc let the unconscious heroine fall back into the dirt and replaced the vial in his clothing. "It's about time! I was beginning to think you had no affection for your pupil."

"She has served her purpose and identified your weakness, now I will exploit my advantage!"

"Ha! Your words betray themselves as mere bluster. She identified no weakness. She fell as easily as all the others. The best she could manage was to whimper for your help before I drained her of her power. If she had found a weakness would she be laying defeated in the di...eh?"

To his surprise, Nightveil had regained consciousness and managed to crawl to her feet. Azagoth opened a dimensional hole. "Go, child!"

"No! She will not escape me!!!"

As Nightveil dove through the mystical hole, Rehtam Nottoc reached out a dark arm which extended out to stop her flight. Nightveil felt his hand snare her foot, but she twisted out of his grasp and left him clutching only her lavender pump as she hurtled through the void. Azagoth closed the dimensional hole behind her just as she heard Rehtam Nottoc scream, "Just for that, Wizard, I will bring her back and leave her lifeless corpse at your feet as a reminder to you in your last few moments of the consequences of your cowardice in refusing to face me!"

***

Tara moved through the jungle foliage effortlessly. Mateo had disappeared shortly after the day's excitement and it was becoming increasingly clear to the heroines that he was a rebel sympathizer. Love being blind, however, May had slipped off to find him and now Tara followed the girl's trail and hoped that she could reach her before May came to harm. In only 20 minutes, Tara emerged from the trees and jogged into a clearing near the river bank. She was immediately greeted by the sound of voices which had previously been obscured by the dense bush. It was Colonel Joe and a handful of his men, and they had May! The Jungle Girl stopped and sought to melt back into the treeline, but shouts from the rebels established that she had already been detected. Standing at the edge of the clearing, she started to assess the situation when Colonel Joe called out to her.

"Jungle Girl! What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"I came to check on May. It looks like it's a good thing that I did. You'll let her go if you know what's good for you!"

Tara heard movement in the jungle behind her. Most likely more rebels had circled around for a sneak attack. That would explain Colonel Joe's cavalier attitude toward her presence. She gave no hint that she had heard their footfall. She had to get closer to the Colonel if she was going to be able to help May, but the rebels were well-armed and even if she escaped their bullets in a frontal attack there was no guarantee that May would be alive when she made it to the riverbank. She sensed three sets of footsteps approaching cautiously from behind and allowed a smile to play across her face. Raising her arms and then locking her fingers behind her head, she turned and acknowledged the three rifles trained on her.

Colonel Joe could scarcely conceal his glee. "I think now, Jungle Girl, that you will come quietly if you know 'what's good for you.'"

Tara dejectedly moved across the clearing, prodded by the gun barrels poking her in the back. As she got about 10 steps away she began to use her growing power. The optical illusion that she was just getting closer would buy her some time with Colonel Joe and the men surrounding him, but the three at her back knew immediately what was happening. With lightning quickness, Tara employed her fighting skills to send all three flying with a roundhouse kick. As she continued to grow, it only took her another step to reach Colonel Joe. The Colonel forlornly stared up at the giantess towering above him.

"Heh, heh. Y...You wanted ...the girl?"

A terrified May raced over and wrapped her arms around Tara's shins. The giant Jungle Girl looked at the rebels below.

"Now, what am I going to do with you?"

Colonel Joe responded quizzically, "Why should you do anything to us? It was never our intention to harm the girl."

Tara felt a stabbing pain in the side of her leg and looked at May in time to see the girl finish plunging a large syringe full of liquid into the giant woman's calf.

"You're far too trusting, Jungle Girl. That sedative can stop an elephant, it should at least be able to slow you down. Get her men!

The rebels by Colonel Joe's side rushed the giantess and grabbed hold of her legs. Tara easily shook them off as her size gave her an advantage in strength and leverage, but they were joined by a score of men racing out from the jungle with nets and ropes. Casting the nets over her feet, and encircling her legs in rope, they held on for dear life as Tara's might was still too great to control. Moving carefully, so as not to trip herself up, Tara reached down to remove the netting, but one of the rebels launched himself at the back of her knee causing her leg to buckle. The Jungle Girl crashed to the ground, catching herself with her hand, and before she could recover a handful of rebels grabbed her by the wrist and forearm while others scrambled atop her legs trying to hold them down. With her free hand, she started picking rebels off her other arm, but her position on her hands and knees had made it easier for the rebels to scale her body and now two of the men had managed to reach her head and they were hanging from her hair and ears trying to pull her body down to the ground. To make matters worse, the tranquilizer was kicking in and Tara felt sluggish. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she put her free hand down to get her equilibrium. She realized the mistake immediately, as another handful of men quickly took advantage of the opportunity to grab her by that arm, as well.

The advantage of Tara's size having been taken away by the tactical victory of bringing her to her knees, the rebels began to tug outward on her arms hoping to get her all the way down to the ground, but the giantess managed to maneuver herself closer to the riverbank and the rebels found difficult footing in the muck and mud. The score of men on her legs, however, had good leverage and were soon able to pull the weakened Jungle Girl's knees out from under her. This position made it much more difficult for the giantess to counter the rebels efforts to subdue her. The mire of the riverbank, which had previously been to her advantage, now worked against her. She could get no handhold in the mud, and as rebels she had previously discarded returned to the fray, she now had five or six men pulling outward on every limb.

Exhausted from the struggle, and the effects of the tranquilizer, Tara could feel the river flowing under her chin. Colonel Joe waded out and stood in front of her.

"Arrogant American! If you had just minded your own business, you could have left this island alive! Now, it's unfortunate, but your government will hear that you accidentally drowned while swimming in the unfamiliar waters of this nation."

Grabbing the hair above her forehead, Colonel Joe pulled down seeking to dunk the Jungle Girl's face into the river, but Tara tensed her neck muscles and, looking him in the eye with steely determination, signalled that she would not be so easily dispatched. Furious, Colonel Joe commanded every man who was not securing a limb to assist him in submerging the Jungle Girl's head in the water. The concentrated effort of the half-dozen men not securing her limbs was required, but with rebels standing on her shoulders and pushing against the back of her head, and rebels pulling down on her hair and ears, Tara's face was forced under the river's surface.

The cold, running water was like a slap in the face to the drugged giantess. She felt a surge of energy as her adrenalin kicked in. Caught unaware the rebels securing her arms and legs almost lost their grips as she began to kick and squirm in an effort to free herself. On several occasions she managed to raise her face from the water and draw in a quick breath. The river was only about four feet deep near the bank and it was difficult for the men forcing her head down to control her ability to turn her head to the side and suck in air.

Still, Tara couldn't help but feel that she had squandered her window of opportunity. Her first surge of energy had startled her attackers but now all 30 men had refocused their efforts to drown her. As she bucked and strained in an effort to shake loose her assailants, she reproached herself for never considering the possibility that May might be aligned with the rebels. It was the tiny native girl's traitorous tranquilizer which had been the deciding factor. The Jungle Girl struggled to focus her attention on the battle, but her mind kept drifting. It seemed like yesterday that she had answered the call to join the Femforce in finding Dr. Jimenez' lost Time Triangle. She had gone to meet the legendary heroines full of doubt regarding whether she belonged in such illustrious company, and now... To the surprise of the rebels, the giantess slowly began to shrink. Without oxygen, her red blood cells could no longer feed her giant-sized body and Tara involuntarily began to return to normal size as her body sought to adjust to meet the demand. As she reverted to her non-giantess state, the score and more of rebels had little difficulty controlling her as she continued her efforts to wriggle free of their grip. Eventually, a hardy dozen stood waist deep in the river holding the Jungle Girl entirely under water as her arhythmic efforts to free herself slowed before her hands, straining as if clutching at the sky, finally went limp.

Cautiously, the rebels in the water released their grips and watched as Tara bobbed face down in the river's current. Grabbing a hunk of her hair, Colonel Joe lifted the Jungle Girl's head up out of the water until she hung limply before his eyes. Then, satisfied that she would never trouble anyone again, he removed a golden bracelet from her wrist before releasing her and letting her slide back under the choppy surface to the cheers of the assembled rebels on the bank. "Through my planning and cunning, we have toppled the Giantess! Now May will take word of this tragedy to the village. If anyone still dares to defy us, I will show you how to skin the Cat!"

***

What!?! Tara drowned?!? Say it ain't so, Joe! Click here for the fantastic finale featuring the entire Femforce!!!