The bright lights of the padded training cell had to be turned on this time. Lanala, Elyn, and Taria all stood on the other side of the thick glass and watched Artema struggle within.
Agent Hunter had come prepared for this training. She had changed out of her casual outfit and into workout gear. She wore a short, spandex wrestling unitard that clung tight to her shapely, toned muscles. The one-piece garment was shaped like a tank top and a pair of short shorts, except fused into one solid piece of fabric. It was coloured mostly purple, with white stripes down the side. She had initially worn low cut running shoes for her sparring but she opted to go barefoot in the training cell.
Artema was heavily restrained by a tough, black straitjacket. It hugged tight to her body and was made of a strict, tough material like Kevlar. The jacket kept her arms crossed in front of her and was buckled on tightly behind her back by a web of straps. A strap met in the middle and cinched her wrists tightly together. Two straps tucked between her legs and met the other straps behind her back, ensuring the jacket could not be slipped off. A final strap wrapped around her arms and pinned them in place. It, too, was buckled on behind her back. With her hands sealed away it would prove difficult to get out of. And that wasn’t even the last of it.
Her legs were strapped together with thick, medical style straps that were coloured a light brown. Two restraint cuffs looped around her ankles and were attached together by a thin strap. More straps bound her above and below the knees and at the thighs. Topping that off, a huge sponge was shoved into her mouth and sealed inside by a heavy, leather muzzle. The muzzle part of the gag was brown but all of the straps that wound around her jaw, forehead, and neck were all coloured white. To finalize her total confinement, a soft, stuffed blindfold made of black canvas covered Artema’s eyes and shut her away into darkness.
The three agents had been instructed by Artema to watch her escape demonstration. She would first be restrained as she was and then she would be tied down to a medical bed to demonstrate the escape techniques there as well. All three of them wondered if even Artema could escape such strict and heavy bondage. But to underestimate Agent Hunter was a fool’s errand.
The mighty woman kicked and bucked and wriggled her torso furiously within the padded cell. The occasional grunt would escape her heavily gagged mouth but she was otherwise silent. To their astonishment, the strap binding her wrists had come loose. She was actually escaping.
With more movement for her arms, Artema worked the strap that tightly pinned her arms. She swung her powerful torso back and forth, pulling hard against the tight strap. It took some strength and flexibility but the strap was starting to pull loose.
Lanala shook her head, awestruck by her amazing wife. Not only was she a physical specimen, Artema was smart and resourceful, too. She smiled sweetly while watching her wife struggle.
“She’s so amazing,” Lanala said, dreamily.
Taria folded her arms and smirked. “There she goes again, making goo goo eyes at the boss.”
“I can’t help it. She’s so beautiful.”
“Can’t fault you for thinking like that,” Taria said. “It’s hard not to be drawn in by strength like hers.”
“Careful, Taria,” Elyn said. “Or you’ll make Lanala jealous.”
“I don’t get jealous. Why bother? I’d spend all my time jealous. I know people are drawn to her and attracted to her. She’s just too perfect.”
Elyn smiled. “Ah, you two are cute together. Really, it’s adorable. You make for one hell of a love story.”
“Thanks, Elyn,” Lanala said. “Where did all these feelings from you come from, all of a sudden?”
“I can’t have feelings?”
“I didn’t say that. You just don’t really show them”
Elyn shrugged. “I guess so.”
“And there. She’s back to normal,” Taria said.
Elyn smirked at her. “That’s not the word I’d use, Taria dear.”
Taria chuckled. “Yeah. You’re right there, Elyn.”
The three of them fell silent and watched their bound and gagged leader in the training cell, still working her way free of the straitjacket. With two straps already loose, Artema had managed to pull her arms further apart. She worked them up and down, pulling them further and further apart until she could get them up over her head. The straps pinning her arms to her back pulled loose and Artema was now trying to pull her hands free of the sleeves. With some effort, and incredible strength, Artema managed to slide her hands down to a wider part of each sleeve so she could move enough to work on the straps between her legs. This took her the longest.
With no firm grip, her hands kept sliding off the straps and she couldn’t get them to loosen. Finally, she managed to loop one sleeve through one strap and, with a mighty pull, the left strap between her legs fell loose.
“Look at that!” Lanala said. “She’s almost out of it!’
“Shame. She looked good with it on,” Elyn said. “Can’t wait to try it out for myself.”
It took some doing, but Artema jumped to her feet and worked the second strap between her legs free. Now was just a matter of pulling the jacket off. Most of the straps were still very tight on her back but now there wasn’t much holding it to her body. Artema moved with such nimble flexibility, the others could swear they were watching a lithe ballet dancer. With a mighty heave, Artema had the straitjacket up and over her head. She pulled her hands free of the sleeves and thrust her head through the neck hole, tossing the jacket aside like a discarded wrapper.
She freed her legs from the myriad straps holding them so she could have better balance, pulled off the tight, padded blindfold and finished by removing the web of straps around the muzzle. When it was off her face, she spit out the sponge in her mouth and walked to the door. Artema put her running shoes back on like nothing had happened and knocked on the cell door.
Lanala rushed over to it and unlocked the door. She threw it open and jumped into Artema’s arms.
“You did it!” she said. “You’re incredible!”
Lanala planted kisses all over Artema’s face and the stoic, hulking woman couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips. “Lanala, please...”
“She’s been dying to do that since we first put you in there,” Taria said.
Artema finally managed to get her wife off of her and looked at her sternly. “Lanala, this is serious,” she said. “There will be time for that later.” Artema tried to look stoic but she realized then that she was still holding Lanala’s hand. Artema stifled the smile that wanted to curl her lips and swallowed hard.
“Now, ready the bed restraints. I have one more demonstration for you three.”
“Oh, I can’t wait! You’ll get out of it for sure, Artema!” Lanala said. Artema couldn’t stifle the smile this time. Lanala was like an excited little kid at a carnival.
“I can’t wait to get put into those restraints,” Elyn said. “When’s my turn?”
“Have some patience, Elyn. And you have to try and actually escape when it is your turn.”
“You’re the boss, boss,” Elyn said.
Artema huffed and stepped out of the training cell. She stretched her incredible muscles and tired limbs to ready them up for her next challenge. When she felt ready, Artema walked back into the training cell and removed her running shoes again. A heavy bed, like one from a hospital, lay against the far wall of the cell. She laid herself down on the bed on her back and held her arms out to her sides.
“Restrain me,” she said. “And don’t forget the muzzle.”
Agent Hunter stayed perfectly still and allowed her muscles to relax while her agents when to work. Elyn worked on her powerful legs, attaching medical restraint cuffs to both ankles and to both thighs. Elyn wrapped light brown straps through D-rings on each cuff and pulled them tight against the bottom of the bed. Artema’s legs were now fully restrained.
Taria, meanwhile, worked on Artema’s arms. Four more cuffs attached to Artema’s wrists and impressive biceps. Taria strapped them down as Elyn had and stepped back to allow Lanala through. Taking in a deep breath, Artema opened her mouth wide for the huge sponge that Lanala pressed into her mouth. She lifted her head to give Lanala enough room to strap on the muzzle again. One final, thick strap came up from under the bed and pulled tight over top of Artema’s forehead, keeping her head in place. When Lanala was finished, the three women stepped outside and locked the cell door again.
Artema closed her eyes and breathed easy. She took in the feeling of the tight restraints, allowing it to fill her mind. These were no joke; they were meant to keep even the largest and most out of control patients safely restrained to their bed. It would prove to be perhaps as much of a challenge as the straitjacket and straps had been.
When Artema was ready, her eyes shot open and her powerful muscles tensed. She struggled and shook the bed with her bucking and writhing.
“Mmmph,” she grunted.
At first, nothing would come loose. The cuffs held her tight and she couldn’t slip out of them no matter how hard she tried. All of the buckles on the straps were too far to reach. Artema’s arms were firmly held in place at her sides by the soft and comfortable cuffs and, no matter how much she kicked her strong legs, they remained spread out on the bed. Her legs were latched on to the bed by the thin yet strong straps looped through the D-rings on all eight pairs of cuffs.
Artema needed to rest, as the muzzle made heavy breathing difficult. She closed her eyes again and allowed herself to breathe easy and slow. There was just no panic to Artema. Every movement was a careful calculation and every bit of expended energy was used as efficiently as possible.
Outside the cell, Lanala eagerly watched her wife struggle away with the bed restraints.
“This is a tough one,” Taria said. “Might be even tougher than the jacket.”
“Bound and comfortable in bed,” Elyn said. “My idea of heaven.”
“She’ll escape. Just you watch,” Lanala said.
“I have no doubt of that. I’m just... daydreaming,” Elyn said.
“You do have to actually try, though. You heard what Artema said, Elyn.”
“Ever the teacher’s pet. You’ll always be the favourite won’t you, Lanala?”
“Artema doesn’t-”
Elyn’s wry smirk made Lanala stop speaking. She’s just winding me up she thought.
Lanala’s attention was suddenly grabbed by the creak of the bed dragging across the padded floor. Artema’s violent struggle had shifted the bed’s position. Elyn chuckled.
“Remind me never to make the fearless leader angry,” she said. “That bed has to weigh a ton and she moved it while bound and gagged. No small feat.”
“Why stop now?” Taria asked.
Elyn laughed. “I mean properly angry, Taria. Not just mildly annoyed.”
The three of them became enraptured when Artema had managed to work one of her wrists down toward the strap that held the cuff in place. It took her less than a minute to pull the strap free and allow her to move her wrist and bend her elbow. But the cuff around her bicep was still snugly in place and virtually impossible to reach. That was until she did the same thing and pushed down on the cuff to allow more movement.
Artema’s incredible flexibility came into play then and she managed to twist her arm just enough to reach the strap’s buckle and free her right arm. Getting free was just a matter of minutes now. It took her less than five minutes to undo the six remaining cuffs and the strap that held her head down. She sat up on the bed and pulled the muzzle off her face a second time. When she spit out the sponge, she stood up from the bed and crossed the room, once again pulling her running shoes back on. With another knock on the cell door, the three women pulled it open and Artema stepped out, victorious once again.
“How much were you three paying attention?” she asked.
“You were amazing,” Lanala said. “Like always.”
“I’ve been making mental notes,” Taria said.
“And I’m just looking forward to it,” Elyn added.
Artema folded her arms and stepped aside. “All right. Lanala, you’re first. Ladies, ready the straitjacket.”
A knot formed in Lanala’s stomach. She wasn’t sure about any of this. Lanala wasn’t as good at escaping as Artema was but, then again, she doubted that anyone could be. Even still, it looked difficult even for Artema. What chance did she have?
“All right,” Lanala said.
She walked into the cell and stood with her arms out in front of her.
Like Artema, Lanala had chosen something light to wear for a workout. Her cropped, spandex top was black in colour and bared most of Lanala’s midriff. The tight shorts she wore were more like wide panties than anything as they showed off almost all of her toned and shapely legs. Differing from Artema on this one, Lanala kept her shoes on, which were light and stretchy flats designed specifically for working out or dancing.
Artema slipped each of Lanala’s arms into the jacket sleeves and began strapping it up in the back. Taria, meanwhile, affixed two cuffs to Lanala’s ankles and attached them together with a short, leather strap. Taria worked her way up Lanala’s legs and bound her exactly the same way as Artema had been bound; straps above and below the knees and at her thighs.
When Artema finished with the straps on Lanala’s back, she pulled the two between her legs and cinched them tight behind her back. Lanala yelped when Artema pulled them up.
“Are you all right?” Artema asked.
“Just startled me is all,” Lanala said. “I’m fine.”
Artema then guided Lanala’s arms to opposing hips, crossing them in front of her chest. She strapped the sleeves on behind Lanala’s back and stepped around to the front of her. She pulled the wrist strap as tight as it would go, keeping Lanala’s hidden wrists immobile and stuck in place. The final strap was pulled snug over Lanala’s biceps and pulled taught.
Artema stepped back and allowed Elyn to stuff the sponge into Lanala’s mouth and strap on the webbed straps of the medical muzzle. The finishing touch was the padded, canvas blindfold, plunging Lanala into complete darkness. The three of them left the cell with Lanala standing there, completely bound, and locked the door behind them.
Lanala could only hear her thumping heartbeat and nervous breaths, trying to psych herself up for the task of escaping. It took her a few minutes to get going and she suddenly began struggling wildly.
...
“Taking her an awful long time, isn’t it?” Elyn asked.
It had been over an hour and Lanala had made no progress. Elyn was growing impatient for her turn to be restrained and Artema could only shake her head.
“It is a tough jacket,” she said. “Perhaps none of you are ready for it.”
Lanala, meanwhile, felt an increasing frustration and panic at being unable to remove herself from her heavy bondage. She pulled as hard as she could against the unforgiving straps with each of her well toned muscles but she just couldn’t do it. Lanala knew she wasn’t weak. Artema often remarked on how physically strong she was and her weightlifting prowess was only surpassed by Artema and maybe Meryn. But no amount of strength could prepare her for this horrible straitjacket. And with her legs also tightly bound, along with the stifling muzzle and blindfold, it just made her panicky and frustrated.
“Mmph! Mmm MMMMPHH!”
Artema shook her head again and unlocked the cell door. She stepped inside and removed the blindfold from Lanala.
“We’ll have to get you used to this thing,” she said. “Which means some time in the SD room should help you achieve the concentration you need.”
“Nmmm!” Lanala shook her head.
“Yes, Lanala. But not now. Afterward. For now, we’ll get you loose and try the bed restraints.”
Lanala sighed. She always hated failing in front of Artema. It wasn’t that Artema was ever disappointed in Lanala but, ever since she first laid eyes upon the amazonian beauty, Lanala had a compulsive need to impress her.
With her out of the straitjacket, the other three women set to work restraining Lanala to the same bed Artema had just escaped from. The eight cuffs were affixed to Lanala’s arms and legs in the exact same way as Artema had. While her muzzled head was being strapped down, Lanala kept the image of Artema pushing down on the restraints in her mind. Lanala knew she was perhaps even more flexible than Artema. If she could pull off the same trick then maybe she could escape these bed restraints. Maybe...
The cell door clicked shut and locked again and Lanala spent a long time laying still and psyching herself up, just like with the jacket. She still couldn’t stop the knot forming in her stomach and the slight, panicky sensation that came with the tight bed restraints made her uncomfortable. Still, Lanala supposed it was rather exciting. Perhaps Elyn was onto something.
Feeling perhaps a bit more confident than before, Lanala pulled hard against the tight bed restraints, tugging furiously and shaking her whole body. She carried on like this for awhile and made no progress. But her determination grew when she pictured Artema escaping again.
“Mmmrrrrgghh!” she growled into the muzzle, fiercely battling the tough restraints.
Even with this newfound determination, Lanala was still firmly tied to the bed. Nothing had come loose and nothing would budge. But then, a miracle happened. With all her strength, Lanala pressed hard downward with her left forearm and found that her wrist had slipped downward, well within reach of the tight strap that bound it to the bed.
She heard Artema squeal with excitement and a smile crossed her lips. Lanala had never heard such an excited noise from her wife in front of others before.
Elyn and Taria couldn’t help but laugh at their tough, stoic leader when she made such a cute sound.
“I’ve never heard that before!” Elyn said.
“I think someone is in love, don’t you, Elyn?”
Artema cleared her throat and her expression faded back to its normal, dour self. She stiffened her posture and stifled the smile that threatened to curl her lips.
“Of course I love my wife,” Artema said, plainly. “That was, um, just a pleasant surprise is all.”
Elyn stepped up beside her and gently nudged Artema with her elbow. “It’s okay to be cute sometimes, you know.”
“I’m not... cute. I’m your leader.”
“And a damn fine one,” Elyn said. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be cute. I think we all are, in our own way. Maybe not as much as Lanala or Mirelle but being cute doesn’t take away your toughness, you know?”
Taria chuckled. “Wow. That almost sounded smart. Are you feeling all right, Elyn?”
“Oh, a joke? From Taria the Stoic? That is what those mercs called you, right?”
“Don’t talk about that...” Taria said.
“See what I mean, Artema? Even Taria can be cute. Especially when she gets embarrassed like right now.”
“Stop it now,” Artema said. “Let’s just focus on... yes! You’re doing it, sweetie!”
Artema’s excited tone brought their attention back to the cell. Lanala had freed her left wrist and was now working away at the cuff around her left bicep. It took her longer than Artema had but Lanala eventually managed to free herself from the tough bed restraints and stood up from the bed with the biggest smile. She crossed the room and knocked on the cell door.
Artema didn’t care if the others saw her this time. She charged to the cell door, threw it open, and picked her wife up off the ground.
“I’m so proud of you, my dear.”
Artema planted a long kiss on Lanala’s forehead and scooped up her legs into her mighty arms and cradled her. Lanala giggled.
“Artema... you showed me how. You’re the best.”
“No you’re the best, Lanala. I love you.”
The two shared a passionate kiss. They kissed for a long time and when more than two minutes had passed, Taria cleared her throat behind them. She couldn’t hide the warm smile on her face. “If you don’t mind, I think the rest of us should continue with training.”
Artema put Lanala down and straightened her back again. “Um... yes. You’re right, Taria. I will prepare Lanala in the SD room and then Elyn and I can get you into the straitjacket. Wait here.”
Artema and Lanala walked, hand in hand, down the main hallway toward the Sensory Deprivation room.
...
Restrained as before, Lanala was jacketed, strapped, and muzzled within the SD room. But before Artema blindfolded her and put headphones on her head, she knelt down and gazed deep into her wife’s eyes.
“You did wonderfully in there,” she said.
“Hmmm ymmm, mmm,” Lanala said, almost completely inaudible and unintelligible behind the thick muzzle and huge sponge stuffed in her mouth.
“It’s going to be loud but it should be relaxing this time,” Artema said. “A nice, soothing nature mix. I know how much you miss those walks we used to take in the woods.”
“Hmmmm...” Lanala sighed.
“We should take some time off tomorrow and go out for lunch, maybe take a walk in the park. What do you think?”
Lanala nodded. “Mmm hmmm. Smmmdph lmmphlmm!”
“I don’t know what you said but even gagged your voice is adorable,” Artema said.
Lanala giggled and leaned closer to Artema’s face. She rubbed the muzzle against Artema’s lips and then pulled back. Artema kissed her on the forehead and then pulled the cushioned blindfold taught around her eyes.
“See you later, my dearest sweetheart,” Artema said.
“Mmm lmmph ymm!” Lanala said, before the wireless headphones went on over her head. But there was no mistaking what Lanala had said that time.
“I love you too, dear,” Artema said.
Artema left her wife alone, locking the SD room door and heading back down the hallway toward the other two women waiting for her.
Taria was already sitting down, cross-legged, in the training cell. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be meditating.
Even for escape training, Taria had chosen to dress in her preferred casual outfit for the day. It consisted of a black tank top, tight black shorts that reached to just above her knees, and thin, comfortable yoga sandals. Around her waist, a thick blue belt with a green buckle held up her tight shorts and a short, blue and white scarf around her neck completed her casual ensemble.
“Are you ready?” Artema asked, stepping inside the cell.
Taria stood up and removed her scarf. She simply nodded.
“Very good.”
It only took a few minutes for Artema and Elyn to fully bind Taria in the straitjacket and strap her legs. When the muzzle and blindfold were fitted, they both stepped outside of the cell and watched Taria slump to the floor and lower her head. With a clear picture in her mind, Taria began the furious struggle.
...
When the last of the straps fell away, a wide smile spread across Taria’s face. She hadn’t expected to actually escape the straitjacket. Artema beamed with pride at Agent Blade. It always pleased her when escape training paid off and her agents proved themselves as capable as she knew them to be.
“You ready for the bed restraints, Taria?” Artema asked.
“Bring it on,” Taria said, with a wry smirk.
Artema didn’t say anything in hopes that Taria would recognize and curb her overconfidence on her own. If Taria had any weaknesses it was her temper and her occasional overconfidence. Otherwise Artema couldn’t ask for a better field agent.
Unfortunately, even while Elyn and Artema restrained her to the bed and muzzled her, Taria’s brimming confidence did not fade. She assumed the straitjacket was the hard part. How tough could a few soft cuffs be?
When Artema and Elyn left the cell, Taria got her answer. The cuffs were way tougher than she had been expecting. Her anger and frustration consumed her when she failed to do as she had seen both Artema and Lanala do.
Bucking furiously, Taria screamed into the stifling muzzle with all of her rage. “MMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPHHHH!!!!!!”
She pulled hard against all eight cuffs with her toned arms and legs but they did not move. After more than an hour, Artema called it with another scream of rage from Taria.
“GMMMM DMMMM MMMMMMMMPPPHHH!!!”
“Calm yourself, Taria,” Artema said from beside her. “You’ve failed this time. A bit of time in the SD room with these restraints will help you. And I’ve got some nice, soothing Tchaikovsky for you to listen to. And no 1812. It’ll calm those frayed nerves, all right?”
Taria nodded as much her restraints would allow. “Mmm hmmm.”
“All right. Let’s get you out of there and off to the room then.”
With Elyn’s help, Artema had Taria free and headed off to the SD room. When they entered, Lanala didn’t even notice. She was humming away to herself underneath the muzzle and Artema couldn’t stop smiling while restraining Taria to a similar bed in the corner of the dimly lit room.
“Elyn’s right. You really are cute, the two of you,” Taria said.
Artema stuffed a big sponge in Taria’s mouth and began strapping on the thick muzzle.
“That’s enough talk out of you, Agent Blade,” Artema said.
“Hmmph!”
“Relax now, Taria. Just let your mind empty of all thought.”
Artema placed a leather blindfold over Taria’s eyes and pulled the final head strap tight from the bed to pin Taria’s muzzled head in place. With some soft, classical music playing in the headphones, Taria relaxed when she had them placed over her ears and let out a gagged sigh before Artema left the room and locked the door behind her.
When she returned to the training cell, Elyn had already bound her legs with the straps and placed the sponge and muzzle over her mouth. The padded blindfold sat snugly around her eyes and she had her arms slipped into the sleeves of the straitjacket, waiting for Artema to come back and finish tying her.
“You’ve gotten too good at that,” Artema said.
Elyn laughed underneath the muzzle.
“Just promise to actually try and escape this time, Elyn. At least humour me and nod your head yes that you will.”
“Mmmm hmmmmm,” Elyn said, nodding her head.
“Good. Let’s get you strapped in then.”
Beneath all the restraints, it was hard to see Elyn’s favourite casual outfit. She had thought like Taria and decided that comfort was important if she was to be tied up. Not that she cared either way, considering how much she loved it, but the red outfit was something she liked too much to pass up. Her cropped top was covered by the black straitjacket, but her red, denim short shorts were not. Red flip flops clung to her bound feet as she wriggled them excitedly in the tight straps.
With the jacket firmly on, Elyn let out a moan as Artema left the room. It was such heavy and thrilling restraint. It gave her quite a rush. When the door was locked, Elyn could hardly move. This heavy bondage felt like bliss. She just wanted to submit to these restraints forever and become like a cocooned caterpillar.
Artema bellowed at her from outside the cell.
“Elyn, come on! Please try! Please?”
Elyn shuffled slowly and wriggled her legs a bit in the thick straps. From her standing position, she tumbled and fell to the floor, giggling all the way. Artema lowered her face into the palm of her hand.
“Damn it all.”
...
Artema could only shake her head as Elyn moaned and mewled into the muzzle gag. She had failed miserably to escape from the straitjacket and now she was just lightly wriggling away with the bed restraints after almost an hour and a half.
With a heavy sigh, Artema shook her head and realized that she should have seen this coming. Elyn was strong enough and limber enough that she could possibly be an excellent escapologist. But her love of bondage prevented her from trying very hard so she almost never passed an escape test. It made things difficult when she actually needed to escape while captured in the field since she didn’t have much knowledge or practice with actual escape techniques. Still, Elyn needed to undergo the same training regimen as everyone else and couldn’t get special treatment just because she liked being tied up more than the rest of them.
Despite her disappointment, Artema rather liked how much Elyn enjoyed herself. She was a good agent, after all, and a good person to boot. Artema couldn’t slight Elyn for liking the things she liked.
Without a word, Artema unlocked the cell and began wheeling the bed down the hall to the SD room. She freed Elyn from her arm cuffs and sat her upright. Elyn gave her a quizzical look and grunted behind her muzzle. Artema flashed her a smile and held up another straitjacket. Elyn giggled.
“You’re welcome,” Artema said. “Don’t let it be said I never do anything nice for my agents.”
“Ymm tmmm bmmmpht,” Elyn said.
“Yeah, yeah. Just hold your arms out, you kinky fool.”
Elyn did as she was told and son Artema had her strapped tightly into a straitjacket on the bed. She attached some arm cuffs to her biceps and strapped them down to the bed. With another strap keeping her head down and a padded blindfold, Elyn was soon in complete bliss, moaning into her thick muzzle gag. Artema smirked when she slipped a bright red pair of wireless headphones over Elyn’s head, blasting her ears with extremely loud death metal. Elyn jumped at the sound and writhed in her restraints at the painful sensation in her ears. But she soon came to even enjoy this total deprivation of her senses.
Artema turned the music down a bit, so as not to hurt Elyn’s ears, and left her three agents to silently await their freedom while meditating in extreme asylum bondage.
She walked back to her office and leaned over her computer for a moment. Celia’s report from her last mission still lay open on the monitor. Artema changed out of her workout clothes and into a skintight, full body stealth suit that showed off her curvaceous and muscular amazonian figure. Flat, knee high boots completed the lightweight, white outfit. The report of Jhana’s secret asylum concerned her and she was unwilling to send any of her agents out to follow up on this. She decided to do it herself.
Artema kept the location of Aurora’s penthouse in her mind and headed out the front door of HQ with nothing but her wits and two heavy fists. She had work to do.
...
Artema didn’t have much to go on but that never stopped her in the past. She had broken in the back entrance to the apartment building and had begun climbing the stairs, crouching low and moving silently. It took her five minutes to reach the twelfth floor at the top of the building.
In front of her, and ornate, cherry wood door lined with gold trim indicated a very wealthy occupant. The owner of the penthouse suite in front of her also displayed her name quite proudly, for all to see, right on the door itself. A golden plaque with the carved, cursive name of Aurora Moreno gave Artema an immediate clue that she was in the right place.
She had scouted ahead with a security drone and found that Aurora wasn’t home. Now was the perfect time to find out just what she knew about this asylum Celia had mentioned.
Artema reached to the small pouch on her right hip and removed a pair of lock picking tools. She knelt down close to the door and started picking away at the lock. Elyn would have made this easier but she was currently occupied, still bound and gagged on that bed and wearing a straitjacket in the SD room back at HQ.
Still clad in her skintight, white stealth suit and flat, knee high boots, Artema worked away at the lock to the door. She found it easy work as the lock clicked open. No alarm sounded and the earpiece she wore indicated that no silent alarm hadn’t been tripped. Artema smirked. What kind of thief didn’t protect her own belongings with any kind of security? Her instincts went on high alert when she realized that this was too easy. But she needed whatever information she could find on Jhana’s secret certainly illegal asylum that she had planned to imprison Celia within.
Artema turned the knob and gently pushed open the door, still crouching low. She crept inside and shut the door behind her. It took everything in her to stifle the grin that threatened to appear on her face. What a ridiculous and garish room.
Everything was red, black, and gold. The shag carpet was thick and a deep red in colour. It was lined with gold painted trim along the bottom of the walls. The walls themselves were painted in red and gold stripes with a black, floral pattern adorning the red stripes.
Black curtains hung from the windows and they appeared to be made of a type of silk. Golden framed paintings of elegantly bound and gagged women appeared all along the walls. Great. Another one Artema thought. Elyn will just love you, Aurora.
Artema froze when she heard movement coming from the red door to the bathroom. She crept closer and hid beside it, hoping to be shielded by it when it opened. Listening carefully, Artema heard someone scrabbling away at the door.
“Hello? Is anyone out there? If anyone can hear me, please help me!” A desperate woman cried out from within the bathroom. Artema reached forward and tried the handle when she realized that it was locked from the outside.
“Someone is there!” the woman called. “Please! She’s holding me captive in here! I tried to escape from that awful asylum-”
“Asylum?” Artema said. “You were a prisoner?”
“Yes! Oh, thank the Lord! Please, let me out of here! That woman will be back any minute!”
Artema managed to unlock the door knob and pull open the bathroom door. When she did, however, she didn’t see whoever the woman was. Instead, a cloud of gas engulfed her vision and she choked on it. She immediately started feeling light headed. More of the gas surrounded her and a dark figure emerged from the bathroom. Artema collapsed to her knees and gasped for breath.
A woman in a gas mask knelt down into her face and Artema saw into her dark brown eyes. The woman herself wore a red catsuit and a long, black coat over top of that. A wide brimmed, black hat rested on top of her head and she chuckled behind the mask.
“Good night, my dear. See you when you wake up.”
“A-aurora,” Artema gasped. The gas was filling her lungs now and causing her to pass out. Now she realized what a foolish idea it had been to do this mission on her own.
“Oh, I can’t wait to find matching restraints for that luscious hair, dearest Artema. You’ll make for a lovely prize.”
“You’ll... never...” Artema didn’t finish the sentence as her head swam and her vision went dark. A second later, she passed out cold on the carpet of Aurora’s penthouse suite.
...
“I do believe she’s starting to wake,” a low, woman’s voice said. It sounded familiar.
“Oh she is just perfect.” This voice was slightly lighter pitched and Artema was not familiar with her voice just yet. But she did sound a lot like...
“Ammrmmph!”
Artema’s eyes shot open when she realized how muffled her speech was. She tried to sit up straight but found that she couldn’t. With a mighty tug of her arms, she found she couldn’t move them either. It took her a moment to realize that there were two faces staring down at her from above.
Taking in her situation, Artema realized she was laying on a soft bed. The room around her was all white and padded like the training cell back at HQ, only this one was much smaller. Artema then shuffled her body to get a feeling for what she had been restrained with.
Artema still wore her stealth suit and boots but her legs were tightly strapped down to the bed with thick cuffs wrapped around her ankles and thighs. Heavy chains kept them held down and rattled with each movement. The same could be said for her waist; a thick strap was pulled taught and prevented her from bucking too far upward. A heavy, leather straitjacket tightly enclosed her arms. Several straps at the back clung the thing to her body. Loops at each hip tightened around each of her wrists and pulled them far apart, anchoring them in place. Another strap wrapped around her thick forearms and kept them pinned together. One final strap pulled against her biceps and chest, just above her ample chest. This was accompanied by a final strap that pinned her shoulders down to the bed. Topping it off was a huge, rubber ball that was wedged in her mouth and sealed in by a leather panel that covered the entire lower half of her face.
Her attention was suddenly drawn back to the faces that peered from above her. Artema growled beneath her gag when she saw Farrah smirking down in her face.
“Told you Aurora wanted you. Shouldn’t have left me in that alley, eh?”
Artema growled again and thrashed against the extreme restraints but even she couldn’t get them to budge.
Aurora then leaned down into her face and smiled at Artema sweetly. “My dear Farrah told me what you said to her. So what are you going to do now you’ve found me?”
“Mmmrrgggh!” Artema growled.
“My, you’re just as fierce as I’ve always heard. And such lovely hair.” Aurora stroked Artema’s purple locks which made Artema writhe and buck against her restraints.
“What’s the plan with her, boss?” Farrah asked.
“Jhana would want to know that we’ve captured Agent Hunter of the Weston Agency. But I do detest that dreadful woman. And I’ve wanted to lay eyes on this visual feast of a woman from the first time I saw her. Why would I ever give her up now?”
“You’re going to keep her here?”
“For me to ogle and drool over. Yes, Farrah. I just love her. Don’t you?”
Artema growled again. “Long as she’s like this, I can get used to her.”
Aurora scowled and turned her attention to her big field operative. “Farrah. I sense a sort of... hesitation in your voice. Would you care to join her? You’re a specimen yourself, you know.”
“Boss?”
“Oh do call me Blaze. That is what your lovely Agency calls me, isn’t it Agent Hunter?”
“Mmmph!”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Aurora stepped closer to Farrah. “Is there something you’re not telling me, Ms. Heavy?”
Farrah’s face didn’t betray a single emotion. “What do you mean? I restrained her like you asked. I even tracked that cute little one that followed her in secret. I’ll even go bring her in, if you want.”
“Hmmph?” Artema didn’t notice anyone following her. But if they were, they’d have to be a master of stealth, not to mention quick to keep up with... “Cmmlmmnmph!”
Aurora’s attention was grabbed by Artema’s gagged exclamation. “What did you say, Agent Hunter? Was that a name I heard escape those gorgeous, gagged lips?”
Artema growled again and glared at both of her captors. Aurora smiled again. “Oh my. It’s that lovely little vixen I almost gave to Jhana, isn’t it? Oh, I did so love her! Farrah, go and capture Agent Swift for me. We can put her in here with Agent Hunter!”
“Nmmm!”
Farrah nodded. “Right, Boss.”
“And Farrah.”
Farrah stopped short of the cell door.
“Do take care to bind her tightly this time. I don’t want any more escapes like what happened between you and Agent Hunter here last time. I don’t like hesitation as a character trait among my operatives, Heavy.”
“Of course, Aurora.”
Farrah shut the heavy cell door behind her and left the two of them alone for the time being. Artema fought wildly against her restraints but nothing would come loose for her. These restraints were far stronger than anything they trained with. She might not be able to escape in enough time to save Celia. Artema realized then that she might not be able to escape at all.
Aurora stroked Artema’s hair again, which made her violently shake her head and snarl into her gag.
“Such ferocity. I do love a woman with some fight in her.”
“Mmmrrggh!”
“I must say, Agent Hunter, you may just be the most precious prize I have ever stolen. And that includes this.” Aurora removed her right glove and revealed a shimmering, golden ring on her index finger. It was inlaid with one perfect amethyst, which sparkled in the light. “They had it on display in that old history museum. It once belonged to a Roman Queen, did you know that?”
“Mmmph!”
Aurora leaned down and kissed Artema’s gag where her lips would be. Artema struggled furiously but she could nothing to stop it.
“Mmmph to you too, darling,” Aurora said. “Before I leave you I have one final gift.”
Before she realized what was happening, Aurora had shoved two foam earplugs into Artema’s ears. She pulled violently against the straitjacket but it was no good. Artema was helpless to fight back. Knowing this, Aurora quickly pulled a heavy, leather hood over Artema’s head and pulled the straps snug behind her head. Plunged into darkness and completely deaf, Aurora left the mighty Artema to squrim and struggle in her heavy bondage. With no one coming to save her, Artema might well and truly be hers to toy with. The thought pleased Aurora greatly as she shut the heavy cell door and locked it tight. Now even Artema’s gagged screams were silenced and Aurora left the great Agent Hunter, desperate to escape.
...
It had taken no time at all to track Agent Swift down. The little woman was quick, Farrah would give her that. She was good at her job and were it not for her desperation in keeping track of Artema then Aurora’s goons might never have spotted her.
Farrah stood perched atop a small guard tower and watched Celia approach the rear of the building and crouch low beside a fire exit. While she watched, Farrah thought back to what Aurora had said. Had she figured out that Farrah was a double agent? If Aurora ever did find that out the Farrah’s goose was cooked. She would need to be more careful. Another nasty parting, like with that mad Jhana, was not something Farrah would abide a second time. She had been captured enough by that crazy sorceress.
Sorceress. There was a word foreign to this strange world. But there was no other word for Jhana. Even in this world, Jhana had seemed to harness... something. Farrah did her best to not be seen anywhere near Jhana but she picked up tidbits here and there from Aurora and her goons. Despite its appearance, this world they all now found themselves in did, indeed, have some form of power. It was faint and difficult to control but it existed and whatever Jhana had unearthed made her a powerful threat to Weston’s government. Why Jhana wanted access to the local government, nobody knew, but there was no way it was good. Still, at least she wasn’t trying to usurp power and turn people into statues anymore so Farrah had no qualms about letting her be. But she never missed a chance to spite an old enemy, which was why she decided to help the Agency as an informant.
But even they were enemies to her so she felt no regret at having helped capture Artema and now re-capture Celia. As long as Farrah was collecting two paychecks then she would work for whoever wanted to employ her, regardless of their motivations.
Watching Celia made Farrah smile a bit. Aurora was right about the little spy. Celia sure was a pretty young woman. It was no wonder that the boss wanted her back in her clutches.
Farrah smirked when she reached to her hip and plucked a small radio from her belt. She spoke into it. “Move in on target,” she said.
Before Celia could react, four heavily armed women in black suits emerged and pointed automatic weapons in her face. “On the ground!” one of them ordered.
Celia did as she was asked and laid down on her belly with her hands on her head. One of the goons cuffed her hands behind her back. Farrah smiled wider and brought the radio to her lips once more.
“Nice work, ladies. Now bring her-mmph!”
A heavy hand clamped down tight onto Farrah’s mouth. She fought back hard but the person behind her was even stronger than she was. The person who held her was also taller and more nimble; a highly skilled fighter who was completely unmatched in hand-to-hand combat.
Farrah only caught a glimpse of purple hair and was dumbfounded by the sight. How could she have escaped from that? Aurora had even tested the restraints on Farrah herself to make certain that even supremely strong women like her and Artema couldn’t escape! But Artema had somehow managed it.
Despite her struggling, Farrah’s right arm was forced behind her and a heavy pair of hinged, police handcuffs were locked onto her wrist. When the other was placed behind her and she was firmly handcuffed in place, her captor spun her around and glared into her face.
“That’s not possible!”
“I’ll show you what’s possible,” Artema said. One heavy fist was all it took to knock Farrah flat and unconscious. Artema finished her work, placing a pair of leg irons on Farrah’s ankles and looping the chain through the handcuffs to place her in a hogtie position. With her prisoner locked in place, Artema rushed forward and jumped down to the ground where the goons were moving in on Celia. One of them had her back to her. Perfect.
The black-suited woman was rendered unconscious by a heavy blow to the back of her head but her gun didn’t even hit the ground. Artema caught it in mid-air and fired a burst over the heads of the other goons. This caused them to scatter and duck for cover. Artema then ran to Celia and picked her up off the ground.
“Artema! I saw them capture you! How did you...”
“No time to explain! We’re about to be in a hailstorm of bullets!”
Right on cue, the remaining three goons opened fire on the two of them as Artema charged forward, pushing Celia ahead of her. With the machine gun in one hand, Artema swung around and fired at one of the women. This forced the goon to take cover again. In one swift movement, Artema spun around and fired another quick burst at the other two women and made them duck into cover as well.
Artema pulled Celia up into the safety of the guard tower where Farrah still lay, hog-cuffed. Celia gawked in amazement.
“Did you... I can’t even... how?”
Artema removed the cuffs from Celia’s wrists and placed them on Farrah for good measure. She pulled Celia down when the goons on the ground started firing again.
“Stay down! I’ll get rid of them!”
“You’re not going to shoot them, are you?”
“Shoot them, no. Shoot at them and scare the daylights out of them? Just watch.”
Artema stood proud and tall and gripped the sub-machine gun in both hands. She bellowed and fired the entire magazine of bullets down on Aurora’s goons. The three women stopped firing at the pelting of bullets that whizzed past them. One of them tapped her ear and shouted above the noise.
“Fall back! Fall back! Target is too dangerous! Fall back!”
The three goons fled as fast as they could run while Artema’s gun rattled away and her warrior cry echoed off the buildings around them. With the goons out of sight, Artema stopped firing and set the gun down on the floor. She knelt down to Celia and looked her in the eye.
“Are you all right?”
Celia was speechless. To her mind, she had never seen something so awesome in her entire life.
“Wh-what... you’re... I mean, that...”
“Celia. Are you all right?”
“I-’m fine, Artema. That was just... amazing.”
Artema smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. “Good. Now let’s get her back to HQ,” Artema said, indicating Farrah. “I’ve got a few pressing questions I need her to answer.”
Using a nearby roll of duct tape, Artema gagged Farrah with a heavy wrapping eight layers thick. She then slung Aurora’s field operative over her shoulder and carried her down the stairs. With Celia trailing behind, still amazed, the two of them left the compound and headed back to HQ. With a prisoner in tow, the two of them were soon out of sight, free and clear.