The young woman watched with terrified eyes while expensive jewellery all around the store was pocketed by the rather... provocatively dressed woman.

“Mmmpph!” she mewled into her gag as the woman robbing her picked up a particularly valuable elephant sculpture made of crystal, adorned with golden tusks and tassels. Silken fabric had been delicately glued onto its back and head, lined with gold thread. Even its eyes were made of sapphires.

“Oh? You like this one?” the woman asked.

She was rather tall, Saira noticed, but that may have been because of the platform, high heeled sandals she wore, which were bright red. The woman had smooth, ivory skin and Saira couldn’t help but find her beautiful. Her slender jawline, high cheekbones, shining brown hair hanging down to her shoulders... and striking hazel eyes. That was the thing Saira noticed the most. The woman’s eyes were intelligent and... searching. Prodding. Intense. It was hard not to be intimidated by her stare. She also looked vaguely familiar, like she had seen the woman on television before...

“Mmmmppphh!” Saira squealed again, struggling against the restraints that bound her to the chair. Honestly, who carried this many leather straps!?

Saira was rather thin, if a bit short, and the woman who had tied her up couldn’t keep her eyes off her. Bright, soft brown eyes, beautiful black hair, cropped short, and healthy brown skin made Saira easy on the eyes for sure.

She had been ready to leave work when this woman had barged in. Saira was no longer in her more professional attire, running the counter of a store simply called Weston Jewellery. For her trip home, Saira had changed into a blue tank top, a loose, short black skirt and a pair of strappy sandals that matched her top. But this woman had pulled a gun as soon as she stepped back out toward the entrance and now... she was strapped to her chair.

Sitting in a cushioned folding chair, Saira’s wrists were handcuffed behind her back, behind the chair, and strapped down to her waist. Two more black straps framed her chest and held her arms tightly while two more bound her legs together at the ankles and knees. Another strapped her ankles to the front left chair leg and further hindered movement. After that was finished, the woman shoved some kind of spongy ball into her mouth and sealed it in with a tight, white tape that Saira would later come to learn was made of microfoam. Wrapped around her head, the tape pressed tight to her lips and the outline of them, pushed open by the sponge stuffed in her mouth, showed through the tape.

“I won’t break it...” the woman said, eyeing the elephant again. “It’s very pretty, though.”

“MMMPPHH!!” Saira squealed yet again, thrashing against her bonds.

“Okay, I won’t take it. In fact, I won’t take anything.”

Saira furrowed her brow and then her eyes opened wide, fear pounding in her chest.

“Oh relax. I won’t hurt you,” the woman said. “I just like to see pretty girls tied up. That’s what this is all about. I’ve seen you in here, dressed in those tight little pencil skirts, those lovely heels... you’re stunning. And even prettier now that I’m up close and you’re nicely bound and gagged.”

“Mmmmpphh!!”

The woman stepped closer and gently placed a hand on Saira’s face, stroking her slowly with her thumb. “I just want to have some fun. And, trust me, I know how to have fun. I won’t hurt you, either. I would never dream of it. Someone as sweet and pretty as you...”

Saira had to admit, her sweet tone made the woman suddenly more... desirable. The heeled sandals really showed off her legs and, combined with the fishnet stockings she wore to her upper thighs, Saira couldn’t keep her eyes away. The very short blue dress she wore also showed off her black garter belt and her bare thighs. Even though she wore white, fingerless leather gloves her touch was gentle and Saira was... beginning to enjoy this.

“Mmmmpphh....” Saira let out a long breath, sighing into her gag.

“There you go. Of course, honey, I do have to make a living. Money is hard to come by these days. So... I may have to take some things. I’m sorry.”

“Mmmpph!” Saira snapped out of her haze and struggled against her bonds again.

“I know, I know. You don’t want me to. And I promise not to take the elephant. Okay?”

“MMMPPHH! NMMM!!!” Saira screamed, kicking and bucking against her restraints but they held her fast.

“You’ll only tire yourself out, sweetie. Just relax. Being tied up can actually be really relaxing. Just let your mind drift away. It’ll all be over soon.”

The woman stood back up and headed for the entrance, a purse full of jewellery... walking right into someone else.

“Oh, excuse...” she trailed off, looking the woman up and down.

“Alicia West,” a cold, woman’s voice said.

Saira’s eyes opened wide again. The bobbed, red hair, the yellow outfit; cropped, sleeveless shirt, tight shorts, flat shoes, long gloves, the eye mask.... and the golden eyes. It was her!

“Oh, you recognize me, do you? And you... wait. I know who you are. They call you The Maiden.” Alicia smirked. “I remember a different name, however.”

Meryn ignored Alicia’s attempts to taunt her and clenched her fists. “Release this woman,” she said. “You don’t want to piss me off.”

Alicia chuckled. “I thought I already did that. Remember?”

“Shut up,” Meryn said. “Let her go. Now.”

“Or what? Haul me off to jail? Tell the Agency that I’m back in town? Oh, please tell me. What’s my punishment going to be?”

Meryn said nothing, simply cracking her knuckles.

“I see. That’s less fun. Fortunately, I came prepared.”

Before Meryn could react, Alicia stepped back and quickly grabbed something from her large purse, tossing it to the floor. In a flash, the store was quickly engulfed in thick, white smoke and Meryn couldn’t see anything in front of her.

“Damn it! Come back here!” she pushed her way through, pushing the smoke from her lungs with careful breaths to avoid choking, and found that Alicia had disappeared.

A few minutes of frantic searching proved fruitless and Meryn had to reluctantly accept that Alicia was gone. She shook her head, realizing she should have known. After a spate of cases where one woman would leave many other women tightly tied up and gagged, people had taken to calling this strange burglar The Binder. With no identity to attach to her, that was all she had been known as. It was hardly a surprise to learn that she was actually Alicia West, a former city of Weston mayoral candidate.

With the smoke clearing, Meryn remembered the woman tied up behind the counter and went to her aid. She put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and looked down into her eyes.

“You okay?” she asked.

Saira, even gagged, couldn’t find any words to say. While she had liked the look of Alicia she was nothing compared to this... perfection she saw standing before her. In a split second, Saira found herself smitten. The cool demeanour, her toned and well-defined muscles, sharp, remarkably coloured eyes, pretty hair, tough girl attitude.... she was perfect.

She realized she had been breathing rather heavily, causing Meryn to kneel down and meet her face to face, thinking she was afraid. “Hey, you’re safe. I’ve got you, all right?”

The gentle, genuine tone of Meryn’s voice just made Saira like her even more. Saira held her gaze and found she never wanted to tear her eyes away from Meryn’s ever again. She needed this beauty in her life.

Meryn carefully unwrapped the gag from Saira’s mouth and helped her spit out the sponge.

“Th-th-thank you,” Saira said, stumbling over her words. Oh no. I’m crushing super hard... she thought to herself.

“She put quite a scare into you, huh?” Meryn asked. “I will get her for this. Don’t you worry.”

“O-okay,” Saira said. “That’s... that’s good.”

Meryn loosened the straps binding Saira to the chair and used her own universal tool from her belt to unlock the handcuffs on her wrists. She offered a hand to Saira, using a strong grip to help her to her feet.

“Um... thank you. Again,” Saira said, doing her best to smile.

Meryn found herself distracted for a moment, realizing she had never seen a sweeter smile. Even from Lanala or Mirelle... but she gave her head a shake.

“It’s my job,” she said. “It’s what I do.”

“You save... tied up girls?” Saira asked.

“Well, uh, I guess so,” Meryn said, not certain how to answer the question. “But it’s really more about just protecting people and stopping the dangerous ones.”

“Oh. Right! Silly me!”

The girl’s sudden, awkward cheerfulness was incredibly endearing and Meryn found herself having to stifle a smile. What is wrong with me? she asked herself.

“So... did she say anything to you? Like, what her plan is? Where she might be going?”

Saira shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.”

“No need to apologize. There’s really not much you could have done anyway. But thank you.”

“Thank... me?”

“Yes. For the kindness. That’s in short supply these days.”

Saira let out a long sigh. “Yeah. It is.”

Meryn stepped to the door, holding it open. “You need me to walk you home? Make sure you get there safely?”

Saira smiled wide, butterflies in her stomach, just revelling in the opportunity to spend more time with this woman.

For Meryn, she wondered a bit why she was offering all this extra help to the young woman. There were certainly other things to do, though nothing pressing, and getting back on The Binder’s trail was probably more important. But... this girl had been through an ordeal and the cops in Weston were not to be trusted. No, this is the right thing to do Meryn told herself. Though she couldn’t help but feel that there was something more behind it...

“Um... sure. If you would like,” Saira said, smiling wide, her bright eyes staring right into Meryn’s.

Wow. She’s... Meryn caught herself before she could even finish the thought. “Right then. Come with me. I don’t really have any time to waste.”

“Okay. But, would you mind if I asked your name?” Saira asked. “I wouldn’t mind knowing the name of the woman who saved me.”

Meryn cleared her throat. “Um... just call me The Maiden.”

“Well, I knew that. But... do you have another one? You must. And I’d never tell a soul...”

She was silent for several moments, looking into the young woman’s eyes. “Sorry. Can’t do that,” Meryn finally said. “You have to understand.”

“Okay. That’s fine. I understand. I’m Saira, by the way. Saira Anand.”

Meryn nodded. “Good to know you then, Saira. Let’s get going, now.”

As they walked together, weaving their way through downtown Weston, the name would not leave Meryn’s mind. It was as though her brain had overridden any other thought to file away and remember this name. Saira. She thought. Pretty name...

...

“So...” Alicia began, stepping to the chair and straddling the woman who sat there, sitting down in her lap. “Who sent you after me? And why have you been following me?”

“Mmmph!” the woman said, battling her restraints and growling into her gag.

The woman had green eyes and bright red hair and was dressed rather professionally. She wore a white blouse with a red neck tie and a black vest. Her pencil skirt matched the vest, as did the stockings that went up her long legs and her high heels. She glared into the eyes of the woman known as ‘The Binder’ and fought the ropes that held her to the chair.

Her wrists were crossed and bound behind the back of the chair, fixed there by another rope that tightened around her slender waist. A tight chest harness framed her chest and held her arms tightly to her sides. Further rope bound her legs at the ankles and above and below the knees. A final rope pulled her ankles back, attaching to her bound wrists, and keeping her totally restricted.

Alicia had also gagged her with a small, red ball gag followed by a heavy wrapping of duct tape, careful to wrap it underneath the woman’s long red hair.

“Mmmph!” she protested, squirming in the tight bonds.

“Oh sorry... I didn’t quite get that. What did you say?”

“Hmmphh....” the woman groaned.

Alicia stood up again and crossed the room, leaning on a chest of drawers.

She had lured her captive into her old house in Weston, a property that had remained unsold since the former mayoral candidate fled the city. The bound and gagged woman had been following her, for whatever reason, though she had hardly been the only one. So now Alicia was just a bit paranoid but couldn’t help but have her fun at the same time.

“I can’t help but feel like your intentions are less than pure. Are you the one who keeps sending all those people with the cameras?”

Alicia reached to the chest of drawers and held up a heavy camera with a black strap hanging from it. “I see you brought yours.”

“MMMPH!” the woman squealed, shaking her head.

“Are you... worried about this old thing? Well then how about you agree to tell me who sent you and I’ll think about not smashing this thing to pieces. Sound good?”

“Mmmph!” the woman said, nodding.

“Good.” Alicia set the camera back down again and crossed the room. But she didn’t remove the woman’s gag, instead rubbing her hands on her body.

“You sure are a pretty thing...” Alicia said. “And that hair, those eyes... you’re something to look at, Red.”

“Mmmrrghh! Dmmt cmmll mm rmmd! MMMPPPHH!” the woman said, struggling and trying to stamp her bound feet on the floor.

While feeling all around the woman’s torso, her hand slipped inside her black vest and found a pocket there, where she pulled out a small, leather wallet.

“Oh, lookie what I found!” Alicia said.

“Mmmpphhh!!” the woman squealed, battling the ropes again to no avail.

Alicia stepped back and unfolded the wallet, which was really nothing more than an ID badge. She smirked and looked at the photo of the woman, peering back and forth.

“Such pretty eyes... Cheryl,” she said, tossing the ID badge back at her. It landed in Cheryl’s lap and her struggles knocked it to the floor.

“Heard about you on the news, actually,” Alicia said, approaching her again. “Cheryl Sterling. Just a cute little out-of-town P.I. who got herself caught by the big bad Trent White, only for The Maiden to swoop in and save the helpless little damsel. And take down White. Kinda stole your thunder there, didn’t she?”

“Mmmph...” Cheryl said, lowering her eyes, wishing she could forget that particular day.

“And now here you are with me. So, is somebody paying you to get some dirt on me?”

“Mm mmm,” Cheryl said, shaking her head.

“Then why are you following me? Surely it can’t be out of the ‘goodness of your heart’?”

In truth, Cheryl had been wanting to help out in the case of this mysterious Binder around Weston. But she couldn’t just take the work for free so she had spoken to a rather rich woman that The Binder had left bound and gagged and managed to convince the woman to hire her. So she had been trying to simply find The Binder and help get her put away. No digging up dirt necessary for this job. But why was she acting so paranoid?

She remained silent and met the intense eyes of the woman who had captured her. “You’re not seriously saying... really? You just want to help?”

“Mmph!” Cheryl said, nodding once.

Alicia smirked again. “Interesting. So you’re claiming to be one of the ‘good’ ones then, yes?”

“Ymmph!” Cheryl said, squirming a bit in her bonds.

“Then that means there will be no one looking for you...” Alicia said.

Cheryl’s eyes opened wide and she began struggling harder. She didn’t like the sound of that statement...

“Oh, relax. We’re just going to have some fun. Not bad fun. Nothing where you’ll get hurt. Just good, honest fun. Where you’re tied up, gagged and helpless. And I get to do... well, whatever, I guess. And if no one is coming for you, I can keep you here as long as I want.”

“MMMPPPHHH!!” Cheryl screamed, fighting the ropes that held her to the chair but it was no use. Alicia, ‘The Binder’, certainly knew her way around knots. “HHHLLMMMPP!” Cheryl called, hoping someone outside might hear.

“Oh stop it,” Alicia said, walking to Cheryl again and straddling her lap, sitting down on top of her. “You’ll be fine. Just a night or two. I’ll make sure you’re fed, hydrated, everything. Just, you know, you’ll be tied up. You won’t have to do anything but let me look at you, maybe touch you a bit, stroke your hair, that sort of thing. I mean, not that you’ll have much say in the matter but I promise I won’t hurt you. Understand?”

“Mmmmpphhh!’ Cheryl shrieked again, still battling her unyielding bonds.

Alicia sighed, standing up again. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, I could just leave you tied to that chair for a while, bored out of your mind. With no chance of escape. You want that?”

“Nmmm! Plmmph, mmtmm mmm!”

“What’s that? You do want that? Well all right then. I’ll be back later. You and I are going to have fun yet. Just you wait.”

“Nmm! Plmmph! Dmmt lmmph mmm! MMMMPPPHHH!!” Cheryl screamed and mewled into her gag, unable to make much sound and her words completely unintelligible.

Alicia shut the door to her old bedroom, leaving her bound and gagged captive alone to struggle and call for help. She smiled to herself and sighed. “I love my job,” she said.

...

The darkened house was totally silent and Meryn wasn’t taking any chances. She crouched low on a rooftop across the street and watched everything through a pair of binoculars, scanning the ground below for any movement.


After walking Saira home, Meryn had been subtly chasing down Alicia’s trail. Against all odds, it seemed she frequented her old house in her movements around Weston. Meryn had to give her credit, she knew the cops of Weston very well. They would never look in places they informally deemed as ‘too obvious’ even if someone very well known like Alicia West was one of the most likely people to be The Binder. So she had been hiding in plain sight almost the whole time.


But Meryn had seen hide nor hair of the woman since first arriving in this affluent neighbourhood. It had been about an hour as well and there had been nothing. She knew now that morning wasn’t far so she would have to act if she wanted to use the cover of darkness.


Dropping down to the ground, Meryn crossed the street to the house next door to Alicia’s and vaulted the fence, crouching low and peering into the back yard through the slats. She still couldn’t see anyone moving so quickly vaulted the fence and stood at the ready, expecting some sort of ambush. But... nothing hit her. No one spoke to her.


In her confusion, Meryn almost missed a woman’s voice, faintly, coming from inside the house. The voice sounded very muffled, as though covered by something. In her time, Meryn had come to know what a gagged woman sounded like so she knew then that someone was in trouble. And she was... inside Alicia’s house.


Could it be Alicia? That wouldn’t make sense. It was more likely she had dragged some poor woman back here to be her plaything. So Meryn would put a stop to her and end this kidnapping rampage.


Still keeping herself low, Meryn crept to the back door and peered inside. There were still no lights on, no movement to speak of, and no sign that anyone even still lived here, let alone ran an elaborate string of serial kidnappings.


She heard the muffled voice again coming from inside and tried the door. To her surprise, it was unlocked. As she stepped inside, she noticed the place had been tossed over as though there had been a struggle. Though that perhaps wasn’t a surprise, considering the nature of Alicia’s recent activities.


“Mmmpph! Whmmph thmmr? Hlmmmp!” Meryn heard the voice much clearer this time and she clearly called out for help from behind a gag. The voice seemed... familiar though she couldn’t quite place it.


Her hands hovered near her belt for her various smoke bombs and small defensive weapons as she pushed further into the house. Just to her left, through a rather large kitchen, a closed door drew her attention as the muffled voice seemed to be coming from behind it.


She could hear shuffling then as the woman inside was clearly struggling with whatever was keeping her restrained. “Hllmmp! Mm mmn hmmr! Plmmph!”


Whoever was bound and gagged in that room had heard Meryn enter the house. They had to be someone with sharp ears, perhaps a woman with training of some kind. Or at least good instincts.


She tried the door and found it locked. But that was no problem for Meryn. After all, Elyn had showed her quite a bit about picking locks and she had the tools to get the job done.


“Mmmmph!” the muffled voice said again, along with more shuffling movement.


It didn’t take Meryn long to align the tumblers and get the simply bedroom door lock to click open and she slowly opened the door, her muscles tense, not knowing what to expect.


The moment she entered the room, the woman’s eyes shone with recognition. Meryn’s did, too, though she let out a long sigh.


“I thought I told you to leave town,” Meryn said, staring the woman in the eye. “It’s a dangerous place. And it’s for me to handle.”


“Mmmph! Mmtmm mm, plmmph! Mm smmrmm!”


Meryn rolled her eyes as she crossed the room and took some effort cutting the tape from Cheryl’s mouth and removing the ball gag.


“Ah... thank you,” Cheryl said. “I’ve been here for hours.”


“You ignored my advice,” Meryn said, standing back and looking Cheryl in the eye.


“Look, I had to see what was going to happen here. And I wanted to help. Yeah, I’ve got my own stuff to deal with back home but... you’ve been having trouble.”


“Keeping tabs on me?” Meryn asked, raising an eyebrow.


“Just paying attention,” Cheryl replied. “You did kinda save my life, you know. What would you do?”


Meryn just shook her head. “So you went and got yourself mixed up with Alicia West?”


Cheryl furrowed her brow. “Wait, you know her name? How did you figure that out?”


“We’ve got a history,” Meryn said. “Let’s just say I’ve been where you are right now.”


“So she...”


Meryn sighed. “Yeah. In our own office. Tied to my friend’s back... we were supposed to be protecting her. No way we saw that coming.”


“Protecting her?”


“She was being threatened at the time. Though we learned later that she was doing that to herself for ‘excitement.’ And she was running for mayor. That went up in smoke as soon as she pulled her first stunt.”


“Jeez...” Cheryl said. “Hey, you’re not going after her, are you? Because I’ve kinda got a paycheck riding on getting her behind bars.”


Meryn let out another long breath. “I’ll see to it you’re paid. Just talk to the mayor again. And then leave town. You’re way too good at finding trouble in all the wrong places.”


Cheryl shrugged into her bonds. “What can I say? This happens a lot...”


“No kidding.”


“So... can you untie me now?”


“Well, while you’re here, I could use some answers.”


Cheryl sighed. “Fine. What do you want to know?”


“Where’s Alicia?”

“You mean The Binder? She’s, uh... she’s gone.”


“I don’t like the sound of that,” Meryn said.


“Yeah, some woman in this crazy silver getup came in with a bunch of goons and just grabbed her. She was pretty paranoid about being followed when she tied me up. But I guess she was right. Somebody was after her.”


Meryn nodded. “Did any of them say why?”


“I didn’t really hear much. But the woman in silver laughed when she saw me and just left me here. Not a fan of her, that’s for sure.”


“That one is bad news,” Meryn said. “She’s a super soldier with a grudge.”


“Wait... a super soldier?”


“A government experiment, apparently. Super strength, fast healing... who knows what else.”


“So she’s the one who left you-”


“Yes,” Meryn said before she could finish. She still seethed from that particular defeat.


“Oh. She must be big trouble then.”


“She is. And, as much as I hate to say it, I can’t let her have her hands on Alicia. Nothing she’s planning will be good and those two together, even forcibly, makes a bad situation worse.”


“Well, I did hear about some lab I think they’re headed to.”


“Lab?” Meryn asked.


“Yeah. She mentioned something about an old lab the city repossessed from a thief a little while ago. I think that woman in silver controls it now.”


Meryn cursed under her breath.


“What?” Cheryl asked.


“That lab... I know who owned it before. And if Silver is there... I don’t know what she’s planning but I do know that her having access to that kind of tech is... I don’t even know. This is bad.”


“Why? What could she do?”


“Who knows? Anything, really. I just need to talk to the woman who ran it before.”


“I can come with you...” Cheryl suggested. “I mean, if this woman needs persuading or-”


“No, I know her. And her girlfriend is a good friend of mine. The only thing you need to do is leave town.”


Cheryl nodded and sighed. “Fine. But I won’t be able to do that if I’m still tied up, will I?”


Meryn said nothing and knelt down, getting the knots undone and free Cheryl from her bonds. She stretched out her muscles and stood up a bit unsteadily.


“God, I’ve been tied to that chair forever. Thanks for saving me. Again,” Cheryl said.


“Don’t mention it. And don’t make me do it again. Leave Weston to me, like I told you.”


Cheryl nodded again. “I mean, I’ll try. But if something comes up-”


“Don’t. Leave it to me. That’s all there is to it.”


Without another word, Meryn walked to the front door and left Cheryl alone again in Alicia’s house. Collecting her camera, Cheryl followed after Meryn but she was long gone by then. Her head swam a bit as she realized she had exhausted herself from all the struggling and yelling into her gag. Now seemed like a good time to head back to her hotel and get some rest. Maybe she really should just leave Weston to The Maiden...


...


“Mmmph!” The delighted squeal elicited from the woman’s gagged mouth as a riding crop gently lashed against her lower back.


The tall woman was laying on her stomach, squirming and moaning in tight bondage. She was slender, curvy, and had skin like ivory. The long bangs of her short, orange hair swayed as she moved. The woman had soft, red eyes but they were covered over with a padded, leather blindfold. A tough muzzle gag entrapped her head and held her jaw tightly shut with a huge leather panel that covered her entire face from just below the nose, stopping just past her jaw. The muzzle had a soft sort of spongy ball that went into and filled her mouth.


Her arms were fused together behind her back in a black armbinder that laced up tight like a corset, with straps that held her wrists and biceps together so that her elbows touched. More straps bound her elegant legs at the ankles and above and below the knees while one final strap kept her bound arms pinned to her waist.


She wore nothing but lacy red underwear, matching bra and panties, and some bondage ballet heels, also red.


“Do you want another, slave?” another woman asked with a trace of a Spanish accent.


This woman had light, caramel skin and dark, fiery eyes. Long, black hair fell down to her shoulders and she eyed the bound and gagged woman with a sort of hunger. She held the riding crop in her hand and couldn’t tear her eyes of the woman on the bed.


Wearing a tight, black bustier and corset, tight leather panties, fishnet stockings and black stiletto heels, the woman waited for a response from her bound and gagged ‘captive.’


“Mmmmmmpphhh...” the bound and gagged woman moaned, nodding her head slowly.


The riding crop cracked against her backside and another squeal of delight escaped the gagged lips of the ‘captive.’


Before she could ask her again, a knock at the door interrupted them they both stopped dead.


“Elyn? Are you home? It’s me, Meryn.”


When the door opened, the darker skinned woman pulled it open partway but Meryn could tell right away what they were doing.


“We’re a little busy, right now,” she said. “Can it wait?”


“Sorry,” Meryn said. “This is important, Aurora. Elyn is in there, yes?”


“You know what we... get up to,” Aurora said. “Fine. Elyn will be happy to see you, I’m sure.”


Meryn followed Aurora inside to the bedroom. Aurora removed the blindfold from Elyn and rolled her over, helping her sit up on the bed. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked concerned at the serious look in Meryn’s eyes.


“Mmmrmmn?” she asked.


“I suppose you’ll want to talk to her,” Aurora said.

“Actually... I came here to talk to you, Aurora. I just knew that Elyn would be the one to let me in.”


Aurora furrowed her brow. “What is this about?”


“We’ve got a problem. A big one. You remember Alicia West?”


Aurora chuckled. “Delightful woman, if I remember right. Left the whole lot of you bound and gagged, as I recall. Even showed my dearest Elyn a good time.”


“Mmmpph...” Elyn said, remembering that day.


“Well, turns out that she’s-”


“The Binder?” Aurora asked.


Meryn raised an eyebrow. “You knew?”


“We always know.”


In her time with Elyn, Aurora had changed somewhat. Her personality remained the same but her morals were certainly different. Under a false name, she worked for the city government as part of an Anti-Cybercrime task force. She knew most things before even the police.


And on the side, she was still a thief. But, at Elyn’s insistence, she stole from the richest and greediest companies in the city and gave the money to those who needed it. All in secret and without a trace.


“I’ve known she’s been back in town for a while now,” Aurora said. “Heard you had a run in with her. At a jewellery store.”


“I did. And did you hear anything about her going missing?”


“No...” Aurora said. “But that could be a problem. Though, by the sounds of it, might be what she deserves.”


Meryn scoffed. “You’re one to talk...”


Aurora took this in stride, not even hesitating to respond. “I’ve changed. Elyn saw to that. I don’t do those things anymore.”


“Yeah, well someone does. Using your old lab.”


Aurora stood up this time. “What?”


“And it sounds like Silver is the one in control. She’s been after Alicia for awhile, it seems.”


“Oh, that is bad,” Aurora said. “That lab is still functional. We never had time to shut it down. And it is still cutting edge on what it’s capable of. This is really not good.”


“And they’ve got Alicia. Normally, I wouldn’t be up for saving her but...”


Aurora nodded. “No, I get it. Nothing they’re planning with her will be any good. Though I do have a theory.”


Meryn raised an eyebrow. “Really? What’s your theory?”


“Well, you remember how I sort of ‘worked’ with Jhana back then, right?”


Meryn scowled. “Not great days, as I remember.”


“Mmmph...” Elyn sighed along with Meryn.


“Well, not for you,” Aurora said. “But I always had a backup in place. You know, in case everything blew up in our faces.”


“A backup?”


“Jhana,” Aurora answered simply. “Anything incriminating would lead back to her. I made sure of it. She would take the fall for everything I did.”


Meryn nodded. “And you think that’s what Silver will use Alicia for.”


“Why not? She’s already a media scapegoat for everything wrong with the city and a wanted criminal in connection to a series of kidnappings. And that doesn’t even include everything she’s done as The Binder. Chances are Silver is staying under the radar there. I know she’s kept the cops paid off and quiet. They won’t dare go after her. But there’s a chance they might if she starts running my old lab. But if she pins that all on Alicia...”


“There will be nothing to implicate her,” Meryn finished.


“I have to say, she’s smart,” Aurora said. “No wonder she’s giving you a hard time.”


Meryn sighed. “Well... I’d like to take that option from her, at the very least. So there has to be some way in where she won’t see me.”


Aurora smirked and crossed the room to a wall. She tapped it once and a compartment opened up, revealing a glowing blue screen. Various criss-crossing white lines and blinking dots of different colours lit up the screen.


“The subway tunnels?” Meryn asked.


“Better than that. Disused subway tunnels. Still intact and structurally sound. But a lot of it was re-routed after Calloway was elected and started that whole ‘Rail Efficiency’ project. One of them runs right underneath the old lab. And my little cabin.”


Meryn and Aurora locked eyes and a sudden realization struck her then. Meryn shook her head and Aurora chuckled at the anger in her eyes.


“That’s how you stayed hidden for so long,” Meryn said. “And how you kept popping up like magic in these faraway places.”


Aurora chuckled again. “No satellite signals down there, either, so no GPS tracking. All I had to do was walk a few miles, sometimes even just camp down there for a bit... I can only imagine how angry Artema would be to find out how simple it was.”


“And these tunnels are cut off from the new ones?”


“Yep,” Aurora said with a wide smile.


Meryn shook her head again. “If only we’d known.”


“Well, the stairs down in the cabin are hidden, of course. In Elyn’s room.”


Meryn raised an eyebrow.


“It’s re-purposed, of course. Not just some fancy prison cell. Just pull the mirror off the wall. There’s a narrow door there. The stairs are right there. Just follow the tunnels once you’re inside. Right to the end. And you’ll be right underneath the Admin office.”


“Well... thanks,” Meryn said. “I appreciate the help.”


“You remember where my cabin in the woods is, right?”


“I do,” Meryn said. “I’ll get there as soon as I can.”


“Good. And be careful,” Aurora said. “You and I both know how dangerous Silver is.”


“Hopefully I won’t run into her. But I will. Thanks.”


She nodded to both of them. “Aurora. Elyn. It was good to see you.”


“Likewise,” Aurora said.


“Mmmph,” Elyn said.


Once Meryn had closed the door behind her and left the penthouse apartment, Aurora and Elyn locked eyes and stared deep. A smoky voice rang out in Aurora’s head, via the strange, telepathic connection between them. It came from the strange magic of Weston that nobody liked to talk about but Elyn was well attuned to such things.


We’re not letting her go alone, are we?


“So you were thinking what I’m thinking,” Aurora said.


Of course Elyn’s voice said in her mind. So what didn’t you tell her?


Aurora smirked. “Nobody knows me like you.”


Don’t I know it.


Aurora walked to the screen on the wall again. “She didn’t look all that close. Or else she would have seen the tunnels beneath this building that lead to the cabin.”


And you intentionally didn’t tell her that.


“I didn’t want her to think we were coming after her. She would have tried to talk us out of it.”


Elyn nodded. You know her better than I thought you did.


“I studied all of you for a long time. I found out a thing or two along the way.”


So... am I staying tied up all night or are we going after her?


Aurora laughed. “Can it be both?”


Elyn giggled as Aurora crossed the room and leaned down, planting a kiss on Elyn’s gagged lips. In no time, they were lost in each other for quite some time. But both of them had a set plan in mind and knew just who else to get involved. Once they were finished with their bondage session, they had work to do.


...


The Maiden found herself standing at the bottom of a ladder leading up to a hatch. Inside the hatch, she knew the main office of the lab was waiting on the other side. She didn’t know who or what would be in the room but it was unlikely that she would find Silver inside.


From what she knew of Silver, she hated placed like this as she had spent far too much time being an ‘experiment’ inside of one. So Meryn held a theory that Silver would avoid this place like the plague and let others handle it for her.


Hoping her theory was right, Meryn climbed the ladder slowly, unlatching and opening the hatch to the inside. She climbed up and into the room, pushing herself to her feet. The room was rather small for what Aurora called the ‘Admin’ office.


There was just one, single computer on a small desk and one filing cabinet with what looked like an external hard drive resting on top of it. And sitting in a swivel chair at the desk... sat a thin man who had not noticed her yet. He seemed terribly preoccupied with something on the computer.


Checking the room, the doors, and the camera in the corner of the room, Meryn surged forward and spun the chair around, pinning the man to his chair.


“Where you holding Alicia West?” Meryn growled, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck.


He looked back at her with wide, terrified eyes and didn’t look like Silver’s typical underling. Most of the people she brought on were burly and big. They were meant to be intimidating and threatening and not this easy to scare.


The man looked young, perhaps college age, and he was frighteningly thin. Meryn noticed how faded and ragged his checkered, high collared shirt was in her hand. The loose fitting jeans full of rips and tears also spoke to the man’s current station in Weston society.


“P-please... you can’t... I’m not allowed to-”


“Who are you?” Meryn asked a little more gently.


“Look, I-I-I just needed a paycheck! She... I’m not with... I mean I am with them but I’m not like them!”


Meryn let go of him and gently pushed his chair to one side, taking a look at the computer he had been working on.


Several files were open, showing all sorts of chemical formulas, project titles, and something else titled ‘Prisoner Transfers.’


“W-wait... I can’t show you...”


“You didn’t,” Meryn said.


“B-but they’ll know you got in here and I’ll be in so much trouble. I’m afraid they’ll kill me and my mom!”


“Relax, kid. That’s not going to happen.”


“But they know where we live and-”


Meryn reached to her belt and handed him the card Detective MacGinnis had given her, sliding it across the desk toward him. “She’ll help you. She’s a good one. Just call that number and explain your situation to her. She’ll get you safe, okay?”


“O-okay.... um... thanks.”


“Get out of here before they find out I’m in here. Take that hatch back there,” Meryn said, nodding toward the back of the room.


“Hatch?”


“How do you think I got in here? Get down into those tunnels and stay there until I come back out. I’ll get you to safety when I’m done here.”


“What are you going to do?”


“Don’t worry about that. Just get down there,” Meryn said. “Go!”


The young man said nothing more and quickly opened the hatch, clambering down the ladder and disappearing from view. Meryn turned her attention back to the computer.


She remembered where the detainment wing of this lab was... having been held there as a prisoner herself before. That was always the most secretive part of the lab since Aurora had been intent on hiding her illegally detained prisoners back when she ran the place.


But the other files and documents had to explain just what Silver was planning to do with the place. Poring over them, she noticed that they had been collecting several blood samples from Silver herself and then testing it over and over.


The experiments spoke of startling ‘results’ and ‘effects’ that certain substances had when in contact with Silver’s blood samples. And then there were documents about a few voluntary test subjects that read like a who’s who of the worst criminals in the city.


Sonny Davis, a thug formerly with the Trenton twins gang, was listed under a project called ‘Solaris.’ A woman named Freya Erika, a notorious jewel thief, was shown under the heading of a project named ‘Diamond Delta.’ A brother and sister team of doctors convicted of severe malpractice appeared in another project simply titled ‘Project Breadcrumb’ and the siblings, named Schultz, were given the code names ‘Hansel’ and ‘Gretel.’


The reports she read contained information of the effects these experiments were having on these people’s bodies but, in essence, they were becoming almost exactly like Silver herself. Meryn stepped back from the computer when the realization finally hit her.


“Shit...” she said to herself. “She’s making more. More like her...”


All her talk of imploding Weston from the inside out now made sense. She had wanted to destroy it in the most satisfying way possible. What better revenge for her than to create more of herself, as Weston had created her? To unleash that upon the city without opposition... nobody stood a chance. And Meryn was the only one who knew and, therefore, the only one who could stop it.


With this knowledge in hand, Meryn kept her original goal in mind. She had to get Alicia out. One step at a time she thought to herself. Get her out.


It didn’t take her long to find her bearing and get herself down to the detainment level, managing to sneak past many patrolling guards along the way. In all of her time, Meryn had certainly learned a thing or two about not getting caught. It had happened to her too many times and she had to work on that. So she did. And that work paid off as she made it look easy to get downstairs to the cell where they were holding Alicia.


The Binder, as she was still known on the street, was still in her outfit from before. But she had been strapped up with thick leather straps and tightly muzzle gagged, laying on her back on bed in the centre of the cell.


Straps held her legs together at the ankles and above and below the knees. More straps held her down to the bed, stretching and groaning with her struggles.


Her wrists were pinned to her sides by straps wrapping around them and her thighs, further anchored to the frame of the bed. Even more straps framed her chest and pinned her arms, also anchored to the bed frame beneath her.


The muzzle gag fused her jaw shut with a large panel that covered the lower half of her face and a web of straps weaved around her head, under her jaw, and on either side of her nose.


“Mmmph!” Alicia squealed, struggling in earnest against the tight straps. Meryn knew that Alicia was normally into this sort of thing but she did not sound pleased with her current predicament. Of course, that was probably due to the forcible kidnapping by a superhuman woman with ill designs to make her the fall girl.


Meryn was just contemplating how to get the cell door open when a familiar voice called out to her from down the hall.


“Thought I’d find you here eventually,” the woman said.


Meryn narrowed her eyes and turned to face the woman, fists clenched, and all of her muscles tensed up.


“Are we really going to do this again?”


The long, dark green hair, the pale silver eyes, the silver outfit, the mask...


“Didn’t expect to find you in a place like this, Silver,” Meryn answered.


“Not a huge surprise, considering what you’re here for... you must know I control this place.”


“Thought you hated labs.”


“Oh, I do. But I do have to help them acquire... assets. Like Ms. West.”


“Mmmmph!” Alicia mewled, struggling against her leather straps.


“No doubt you’ve also figured out what we’re doing here,” Silver said. “So I guess this means you won’t be leaving. But we’ve got plenty of cells for you to stay in. You can count on that. Now, for how hard that is...” Silver said, rolling her shoulders. “That’s up to you.”


Meryn gritted her teeth. “No point in fighting you.”


“So does that mean you’ll come quietly?”


“I don’t think so,” a smoky voice said from behind Silver. She whirled around and gasped when she saw three people standing there.


Elyn and Aurora both held tranquilizer guns and the broad-shouldered man beside them was dressed... oddly.


Meryn knew right away who he was.


“Jonas...” she said to herself.


He had on a brown shirt and pants beneath what could only be described as body armour. A single, black piece covered his chest, held on by straps, while two more were fitted to his shoulders and covered his biceps as well.


His legs were covered with several more pieces of body armour, held on with white straps all the way down to his black combat boots. With a belt covered in pouches, black fingerless gloves, an eye mask, and some kind of black cloak on his back, he looked every part the superhero as Meryn herself.


“What the hell is this?” Silver asked.


“The cavalry,” Elyn said, holding her tranquilizer gun level with Silver’s head.


“Wait... you’re with that Agency,” Silver said. “And you.”


Aurora smirked. “You must know who I am,” she said.


“The thief. The greatest, the say.”


“See? I knew you’d know.”


“And who’s this guy?” she asked, looking to the man who was loading some kind of wrist mounted weapon while she spoke.


“Uh... well...”


The brown-haired man with the tired grey eyes and scruffy beard exchanged a quick glance with Meryn, who shook her head at him.


“I’m with her,” Jonas said, pointing at Meryn. “Her sidekick.”


“Seriously?” Silver said.


“That’s me. They um... they call me... The Seeker,” he said.


Damn it, Jonas. You just came up with that on the spot! Meryn thought to herself.


“Really? And you think you can threaten me, do you? All of you? If you know anything about me then you know what I’m capable of,” Silver said.


“Yeah, well you don’t know what we’re capable of,” Jonas said. “So I’d say pay attention.”


He raised his hand, and squeezed his hand into a fist once. At the same time, both Aurora and Elyn fired off a tranquilizer dart, hitting each of Silver’s arms. The dart fired from Jonas’s wrist launcher contained a dark blue liquid and hit Silver just below the neck, emptying its contents into her body.


She wobbled a bit on her feet as the thing took its effect and, combined with the tranquilizer, made her feel dizzy.


“What... what’s happening to...”


Silver steadied herself on the bars of a cell closest to her and, while she was distracted, Meryn stole a set of keys from her belt, rushing to Alicia’s cell.


The others ran to her side and helped her get the door open.


“What did you do?” Meryn asked, glaring at Jonas.


“Ask Aurora,” Jonas said. “This was something she’s been hiding away.”


“We don’t have time for that,” Aurora said. “Get these straps off her and let’s move! They’ll be swarming us in a minute!”


As soon as Aurora said it, the alarms of the building sounded all around them and they could already hear footsteps getting closer.


With Alicia untied, the four of them rushed past a still dazed Silver and ran back to the admin office where the shut the hatch, sealed it shut, and ducked down into the subway tunnels again.


“Well, they’ll probably figure out how we got in,” Aurora said. “So I came prepared.”


Indeed, there was a suitcase next to the ladder that Aurora opened. She turned a few knobs, pressed some buttons, and then picked up a small device.


“Step away! Now!”


“Did you seriously bring a bomb!?” Meryn asked, incredulous.


“Just to cover our tracks,” Aurora said, “It won’t hurt anyone.”


As they backed away, Aurora pressed the detonator in her hand and the concrete walls around the ladder collapsed, ensuring that there would be no way to follow them down here.


“We need to go. Now!”


As they moved, they ran into the young man Meryn had sent down into the tunnels. As promised, Meryn led him back up to the surface and to safety. With all five people now out of the lab, their mission accomplished, Meryn had some news to deliver.


...


Meeting back up at Aurora and Elyn’s penthouse apartment, they made sure the kid Meryn had gotten out got in contact with Mac, who made sure to get him and his mother someplace safe.


In the confusion as well, Alicia had slipped away though she left a simple message to Meryn. It seemed to have been written a while ago and indicated that she expected to be caught by Meryn at some point.




Nice work, Maiden


Unfortunately, I’m just no good at staying in cages. As much as I may love them. So I can’t go with you, I’m afraid. Don’t bother trying to look me up. I’ve got myself a shiny new identity. There’s a cute redhead running around town who calls herself a private investigator. I always wanted to try something like that so you can expect to hear from me real soon. Maybe we can even help each other out. Maybe.


So, how will you know it’s me? Just wait. You’ll know when it happens. Until then, dear Maiden, farewell. And stay beautiful.


The Binder


“Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all,” Elyn said. “Still, there is an undeniable charm to that woman. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with her again...”


“But Elyn, that’s what you have me for,” Aurora said. “You don’t need her. Though she did treat you very well.”


“I’ll say.”


“Okay, enough,” Meryn said. “I want an explanation. Why did you follow me? And what did you use on Silver?”


“Why?” Aurora said. “Why else? We wanted to help. And I knew Scruffy was itching to get in and declare himself your sidekick so we gave you backup. You needed it, too. Don’t deny it.”


Meryn sighed. “Yes... you’re right. Thanks for that.” She gave her head a quick shake. “But I don’t have any damn sidekick! Jonas, what the hell are you doing?”


“I’m doing my job,” Jonas said. “And I need to help.”


“But I don’t need your help. I’m doing this alone. You know that.”


Jonas shrugged. “I know, Meryn. But... I’ll still be here. You know. Just in case.”


“You dumb bastard....”


Jonas just chuckled as Meryn repeated her second question. “What was that... stuff you used, anyway?”


“Something I had saved for Jhana, in case she ever directly came after me,” Aurora said. “An old formula I worked on. No matter how strong you are, with magic or otherwise, it’s designed to give you vertigo. Or something like The Bends. Basically, it makes anyone otherwise immune to other things dizzy. But, with her, I thought it would be even more effective with strong tranquilizers. As you saw, it didn’t knock her out but it did buy us enough time to get out of there.”


“So that’s another thing you didn’t tell me,” Meryn said.


“You would have refused the help,” Aurora said. “And you know how good I am at keeping secrets.”


“Speaking of,” Elyn said. “Did you find out what Silver is planning?”


Meryn let out a long breath. “She’s experimenting with her own blood. Creating more people like her. Essentially, she’s trying to replicate more super soldiers.”


“For what?” Elyn asked.


“Really, I think she wants nothing more than to watch the city burn for what they did to her here. And they’ve already made a lot of progress.”


“So... there are more of them?” Jonas asked.


“If not now then very soon. I’m going to have my hands full.”


Jonas grunted. “Then this seems like the perfect time to accept help to me.”


For once, Meryn relented. “You’re right. I may have to... But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, though, I’m going to keep doing what I can.”