"Your brother may have escaped us Jinn," said a strange voice from the darkness. "But we will have him back soon enough." Jinn fidgeted in the chair that she was bound to, she knew that her brother would come back for her and when he did, they would have him again.
"We wont have to wait for Tam to return," the voice said again. "Already I have sent my agents to the task of returning your sibling, and then I will have your family's secret power all for myself." Jinn began to cry.
Didi found a note from Josie in her locker. It read "Meet me in the girls room after next period. Signed TP" TP was Bra Buster Secret Code. It let Didi know that it involved their secret identities and who it was from by using the initials for their secret powers.
Josie's was TP for teleporter, Lydia's was MM for morph mistress, Cat went by SG for sensory girl, and Jazz used SS for sonic shriek. Didi simply signed DD, there never was a need for anything more. As Didi entered the girls room, she checked under all the stalls. They were all unoccupied except for the last one. Didi knocked on the door to that stall. "Avon calling," she quipped.
"That you Didi?" said Josie from within.
"Yup," Didi replied. "What's so important?"
"Hang on a minute," Josie replied. "I need to rehook before I can show you." Half a minute passed before Josie came out of the stall, all six-foot three of her. She was wearing an oversized flannel shirt that she had been wearing to school for a while now. Underneath Josie wore a super stretchy halter style tank top. Now Didi realized why she wore it.
"Josie," Didi whispered excitedly. "Take off your bra, before someone sees you." Josie held up her hand to calm her. "Relax Fearless Leader," said Josie. "If someone comes in, I'll just teleport up to the roof of the school."
"I had to start �porting to school cause my parents left town on a business trip," Josie explained. "They won't be back until next Monday, and I didn't want to be late to school. So for the past couple of days, I've been teleporting to school and using the girl's rooms as sort of a landing pad, I just teleport into one of the stalls."
"And if someone is using the stall when you land?"
"Simple," Josie replied. "Before I leave school, I put a �Do Not Use' sign on one of the stall doors, and no one uses it." Didi sighed and said "What was it you wanted to show me Josie?"
"A new wrinkle," she replied. "Check this out." Josie unhooked one of the hooks in her sizable bra. She slowly shrank down to her normal size and shape. Didi looked confused. "So?"
Josie shrugged off her shirt and pulled down one of the straps on the tank top. Her bra had shrunk along with her. "Neat huh?" said Josie. "Now we don't ever have to leave our superbra's at home. We can take them with us."
"Yeah," said Didi. Didi dug her block of post-it notes out of her backpack. She then wrote �BB' on one of them in black felt tip and then stuck it on the bathroom mirror where the rest of the girls would see it. This note meant meeting at Lydia's house. Her parents worked the latest hours so they could be assured secrecy. Didi then stuffed everything else back into her pack and rushed off to class. Josie quickly followed suit.
"I am so late," thought Jazz to herself. She had been held after school because of her short tempered History teacher. "If they call me Serena because of this..." Jazz ran down the street and into an alley that she knew was a good shortcut to Lydia's house. It was well used and the bad elements stayed away during the day.
As she neared the turn that took her out of the alley, she stopped. Jazz listened for a bit to what sounded like someone popping firecrackers, then she heard someone fall, or get thrown, into the trash cans at the end of the alley. Jazz peeked around the corner to see what was happening.
A man dressed in black ninja togs was beating up an oriental boy of about Jazz's age. He had two curved swords strapped to his back and a red sash around his waist. The boy simply wore street clothes. "Come Tam, it is useless to resist us," said the man in black. "Your just wasting your time."
"Never," the boy replied and he threw what looked like a handful of white marbles at his opponent. Though as each �marble' made contact, either with the man in black or the street behind him, they exploded like an old fashioned cherry-bomb.
"Wow," thought Jazz. The man in black emerged from the cloud of smoke raised by the explosion. "He needs help," she thought to herself as she pulled her pink bra out from her backpack. "I think Tom Petty would be appropriate here."
Tam was almost out of power, Ming's black warrior was simply stronger than he was. He needed his sister to tap into the great well of power. His family had looked after the well for centuries. "Well Tam," said the Dark Warrior "Do you come quietly, or in pieces." Tam closed his eyes. "I am sorry Jinn," he thought to himself. "They got to me before..." He trailed off, as someone began singing.
Jazz burst in from around the corner. She was singing the finale from Tom Petty's "Don't come around here". The first long note caught the Dark Warrior in the chest, knocking him off his feet. "I believe," sang Jazz. "Don't come around here no MORE!!" That �more' caused an explosion that sent the Dark Warrior flying across the street, and into the side of a dumpster. The impact dented the metal basin rather severely.
As he got to his feet, the Dark Warrior drew his swords. It seemed that he was still eager for a fight, but as he made two slashes in the air with his swords, a great, ragged, black X appeared in the air. Then, both the X and the Dark Warrior were gone. "He teleported," said Jazz. "Just like Josie does." She then turned to examine the boy she had saved. He was unconscious, but he wasn't hurt badly.
"What's all the ruckus about?" Jazz leaped six feet into the air as Josie teleported into the alley. "Don't do that!" said Jazz, landing on her feet.
"Sorry," Josie replied. "What happened to him?" she asked upon seeing Tam.
"Long story," said Jazz as she picked Tam up in her arms. "Can you teleport us the rest of the way to Lydia's?"
"Sure," said Josie. She put her hands on Jazz's shoulders, and then the rest of the world turned into a kaleidoscope.
Ming Sin Fou was not pleased. "You were beaten by a girl?" she shrieked. "And this girl then took Tam from you?"
"She was no ordinary girl mistress," replied the Dark Warrior. "She threw me a league with but a scream."
"A scream?" Ming replied. "Never have I heard of such power." Her brow furrowed with worry. "Enough" she said. "You have told me enough, return to the darkness I brought you from until you are needed again."
"Yes Mistress," and with that he vanished, as though he were made of smoke. Ming sat back in her throne of polished jade and thought for a moment. She then traced a circle of fire in the air. "Kyojitsu, Black Arrow," she called into the circle. "Appear." The archer's masked face appeared in the circle.
"You have summoned me mistress?" said Black Arrow. Ming nodded, gracefully. "Yes, Black Arrow," she said. "I have a task for your sharp arrows and your tracking skills."
"Is he all right Cat?" asked Jazz. Cat listened to Tam's body sounds with ease, his heart was strong and he was breathing well. "He'll be alright Serena," Cat grinned as she unhooked one of the hooks in her bra. Jazz scowled at her. "Keep that up me bucko and no more Sailor Moon tapes."
"Okay, okay," grinned Cat. "So tell us more about this black clad sword swinger." Jazz looked at her. "It was really weird," Jazz replied. "It was like one minute he was there, swinging his sword, and then bamph, he was gone."
"Wow," said Didi, bringing in a Coke for Jazz. "That is weird, so what do you think they want with this kid?"
"Search me," said Jazz. "The guy in black said that they were after his power, and that they had his sister. Maybe this kid is some kind of prince, or something."
"Or something," said Cat. "Whenever I get near him, it's like the room becomes full of static. I must have shark senses or something, but it feels like I'm standing beside a big static charged balloon." Didi placed her hand on Tam's bare arm. "I can feel it as well," she exclaimed. "Probably not as much as Cat, but it's definitely there." Josie reached over to touch Tam's bare foot, he stirred at her touch and opened his eyes.
Tam's head hurt. He had been having nightmares about Tom Petty, and shadows with swords when he felt someone tickle the bottom of his foot. He opened his eyes slowly, to discover that he was surrounded by girls. They were very pretty, not very full figured, but pretty none the less. "Wha-, where am I," Tam slurred. His head spun suddenly as he tried to sit up."
"You're in my parent's backyard garage," said a voice from behind. Tam relaxed, he wasn't Ming's prisoner, yet. "After you got tossed in the trash I brought you here," said another of the girls. They all introduced themselves to Tam.
"What was that thing that was chasing you?" asked Jazz. Tam slowly sat up with out his head spinning and began his story.
"My name is Sang Van Tam, I am of the land of the Fox and the Seagull. For centuries, members of my family have been able to tap into a great well of power. Doing so gives us abilities that no one else has, except for maybe in a comic book."
"Wanna bet," said Josie, under her breath. Didi frogged her arm.
"Those that have the greatest of these abilities, are those who are born twin brother and sister," Tam continued. "My sister Jinn was kidnapped three days ago, by Ming Sin Fou, she is the ghost of a powerful sorceress, and she wants the power that my sister and I possess, and somehow I have to stop her. I am almost out of power as it is, and I can't recharge without my sister."
"Girls we have just stepped into a John Carpenter movie," quipped Josie. Everybody giggled, including the bed Tam was resting on. "Why is my bed shaking?" Tam asked. "And why does my bed have a navel?" Tam slipped his finger into the hole and rubbed it around the rim.
"Don't do that," said Lydia. "I'm ticklish, very ticklish." Tam's eyes bulged in their sockets, he was sleeping on one of the girls. He accidentally stroked his finger down one side of the �bed' he was laying on and started a chain reaction. "Oh no!" cried Lydia as she started to giggle. Tam held on for dear life as his �bed' began to swell and roll like a bowl of bread dough. Before his back touched the ceiling, Tam slid down the other side of the bed causing Lydia to laugh even harder. She began to grow out of control until Didi massaged her shoulders and got her calmed down to just a few giggles.
"Sorry," said Josie. "We should have warned you. When Lydia gets the giggles, she can't control her shape. She just starts twisting out of control, but she's never done that before." Tam placed his hand on Lydia's swollen side and tried gently not to tickle her. "Amazing," he said. "But how is it that you have such power?"
"Didi made a wish on her birthday," explained Jazz. "And it came true. It's a lot of fun even without the bad guys." She hooked up her bra, and grew into her super form. "We each have a different colored bra that gives us each a different power. You got a taste of mine in the alley." Jazz then blushed slightly. "Sorry about that."
"That was you?" said Tam. "You sing very prettily." He smiled at her.
Didi stepped out of the garage for a minute. Josie followed her. "Ok Fearless Leader, what do we do?"
"We help him get his sister back of course," Didi replied. "But we have never fought against other supers before. This one is making me a little nervous."
"I know what you mean," Josie replied. "That black swordsman gives me the creeps. I wonder if they all can do that?"
"What, teleport?" asked Didi. Josie nodded. "Probably, if their boss is a ghost of some kind, then the rest of them may be ghosts as well. I just hope they don't know where we are."
Thunk. A six-foot arrow buried itself into the garage's cinder block wall. "Back inside quick." Didi shouted. Josie dove back inside followed by Didi. Another arrow thunked its way into the garage's concrete floor. "It's her archer," said Tam. "The Black Arrow."
Cat hooked up her bra, and swelled into her super strong form. She then crossed her legs into a lotus position and concentrated. "He's on that tall roof across the street," Cat reported. "The one with the green shingles." Cat wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, he smells like mildew or rot."
"He is a ghost, then," said Tam. "Like the Dark Warrior. His arrows are no doubt supernatural as well."
"Then it's a job for me, then," said Josie, and then she vanished.
Black Arrow chooses his next shot with care. He selects a long arrow with a glob of poison smoke potion on the end. Letting to two girls escape into the building was part of his plan, now to get them out so he could grab Tam, as well as see how many of these super powered girls there were. Black Arrow pulls out his tinderbox to light the glob of smoke potion.
"Gotta light?" Black Arrow jumps at the voice behind him. One of the girls had snuck up behind him, and he didn't even hear her. Black Arrow launches into a flip over her head, at the same time drawing one of his special arrows from his quiver. He nocks the arrow, it has a wide cutting blade in the shape of a crescent moon, and fires it at her.
She vanished. The arrow passed over where she was standing and clattered to the ground. He leaned over slightly to see what happened, and got a strong kick in the butt. The Black Arrow rolled down the slanted roof swearing a blue streak of Vietnamese expletives before landing on the ground with a heavy thud.
"Had enough?" Somehow the girl had beaten him to the ground. The Black Arrow's ribs ached from where he had hit the ground, but he still managed to get the drop on Josie. As he drew back his bow, it and the arrow warped and twisted in his hands. Then his weapon wrapped itself around the Black Arrow, binding him tightly. "Nice work Lydia," said the girl.
"Now that we got him, what do we do with him?" asked Lydia.
"There are rules that ghosts, like him, must follow," explained Tam. "Each one of us can ask him a single question. Because he has been bound, he must answer the questions asked. We will take him back to your garage."
"Ugh," grunted Cat. "Do we have to bring him in there?" Josie carried the Black Arrow by his feet, as Didi held his shoulders. "If the smell bothers you too much," Didi replied. "Just power down." Cat reached around and unhooked the bottom hook on her bra, the smell was much better. Jazz brought a chair for the ghost to sit in, and placed it in the middle of the garage
Tam walked around to face the Black Arrow. "You know who I am?" he asked the ghost.
"I know," the archer replied. "You are he that Ming sends us out to hunt. I would care less, if not for the fact that my task keeps me out of that damnable darkness."
"What darkness?" asked Josie. "Oops." For she had wasted her question
"In your language, it means Hell for the Dishonored," the archer explained. "A place of nothingness that only the worst of those who have lost their honor, willingly or not, are sent after they die."
"I was tricked by a thief named Sien Ti." continued the Black Arrow.
"I was one of the emperor's guards. On the eve of the day that the emperor's youngest niece was visiting, the thief gave her a mask that had been coated with foxfire. Then, Sien Ti started rumors about how a demon had come to infect the palace with plague and suffering."
"So you were the guardian of the emperor's sword who killed his little niece," said Tam. He didn't expect the ghost to answer, but was surprised when he got one. "To my shame," the ghost replied.
"Why does Ming want Tam's power?" asked Didi.
"She feels she was cheated in life," said the Black Arrow. "A rival clan killed her brother when they were very little. Thus she was never able to access the Spirit Well like the rest of her clan." Tam slumped to his knees.
"She's part of Tam's family," asked Lydia. The archer nodded. "Few of his clan are ever told about her for fear that they will summon her spirit accidentally, though how she was summoned to this world I do not know."
"Where are they holding Tam's sister," asked Jazz.
"She is being held in Ming's palace" explained the ghost. "Getting there will be difficult, but it is possible. There is a field at the edge of town where two ash trees grow side by side. Between them is the first gate that will lead you to Ming's palace. To enter the gate, you must enter facing east, facing west will accomplish nothing. The next two gates will be easy for you to find, do not worry."
"You are helping us more than you have too," said Cat. "You could have just told us about the first gate, or nothing about the gates at all. Why?"
"The Emperor's niece," said the archer.
"Yes."
"As my penance," stated the archer. "Whenever I am free of the darkness, I can ignore no evil, but until you bound me, I could not act on it. What Ming wants is evil, she has become evil in her quest for the power she seeks. You must stop her, for with all that power, she would be more dangerous than she ever was."
"Have care though," continued the archer. "Ming draws most of the power she uses from dark dimensions. But there is a limit to how much she can draw upon. So she is vulnerable. Use that against her."
"Thank you for your help," said Tam. "Lydia please release him." The Black Arrow's bow and arrow returned to their normal shape, and clattered to the concrete floor. The ghost stood up from the chair, and picked up his weapons. He slipped the arrow back into its quiver. The ghost then drew back the string of his bow and then released it. The Black Arrow vanished quick as a wink, with only the sound of a volley of arrows in flight to mark his departure.
"Those guys are friggin eerie," muttered Cat.
The six of them stood on the field, facing the pair of trees. They decided to come in their normal forms so they wouldn't attract attention.
"Alright girls," said Didi. "Let's hook up." All five of the girls hooked the last hook on their bras, causing the transformation to send its usual erotic tingles up the girl's spines and through their limbs. Didi swelled up into her super-form that she had nicknamed Raven. Her breasts filled out to ten times their normal size, as she grew an extra couple of feet in height. Lydia and Josie transformed similarly except for a few extra pounds that would go to Lydia's bottom, but she wore it better than most.
Cat's transformation was even more spectacular. Her muscles rippled and bulged under her skin and turned her into an amazing mountain of a woman, and then her breasts filled out her shirt and then split it asunder. "Oops," she said blushing.
For Tam, however, the most fascinating transformation belonged to Jazz. The boy watched as Jazz's body grew and rippled with power. Her eyes sparkled as she filled her lungs and sang a sweet wordless melody. "That was amazing," said Tam. "I could see the patterns in your chi shift and alter as you transformed."
"Our what?" asked Josie, slipping into her costume.
"Chi," said Tam. "It means fighting spirit. Watching Jazz I would say her Chi has taken on the properties of the Element of Wood. And the rest of you seem to taken on the properties of the other four elements as well."
"Other four elements," said Lydia. "I thought there were only four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water."
"In the western world yes," answered Tam. "In the east, there are five: fire, water, earth, metal, and wood. Maybe because you have allied yourselves to my cause, these elements have loaned their extra power to your transformations, or something like that."
"Element of Wood," muttered Jazz to herself.
"Sure," said Cat. Jazz had forgotten about he sensitive ears. "A flute is made of wood," Cat explained. "So since your power uses sound and music as it's base, that particular element loaned you it's power. Neat huh."
"Lydia appears to have the power's of the element of water." said Tam. "And Cat the power of earth."
"Well she looks a little like an earthquake when she walks like that," teased Jazz. Cat scowled at her. "That's for calling me Serena," she finished.
"Are we gonna get on with this rescue or what?" said Cat, gruffly.
"Yes," said Tam. charging into the gate. Didi and the rest of the girls followed him through the two trees. "Whoa," said Jazz. "That was just like teleporting with Josie." Her head spun wildly due to their passing through the gate. The others were similarly affected. As the dizziness passed, the girls became aware of where they were. They stood on a barren field that was about a mile across, according to Cat's super vision on the far side of the field, stood two stone pillars carved with oriental ideograms. "Alright guys, we go that way," directed Cat. The group started to walk towards the pillars. As group walked a quarter of the distance, the ground began to twist and bend. It formed a wave that sent them all back to the first gate where they had all began.
"What was that, a portable earthquake?" quipped Josie. Tam shook his head. "One of Ming's guardians," he explained. "The whole field is alive, if anyone unfamiliar walks across it a certain distance, then we get tossed back to where we started."
"Oh really," replied Josie. "Well I don't have to walk across anywhere. I can just bamph across."
"Bamph across?" said Didi. "You've been reading X-men again haven't you Josie?" Josie's face reddened slightly. "Can I help it if I think Nightcrawler's sexy. Besides, I can take all of you across with me."
"That's right," said Jazz. "She ported me and Tam to Lydia's house, I held tam and she put her hands on my shoulders. So if we link hands, Josie can take us over all in one trip."
"Two trips," Josie clarified. "This field is a mile long, and I am limited to half that."
"Right," said Didi. The group linked hands and formed a circle. Josie closed her eyes and gave the mental command. The results were not what she expected. Josie became surrounded in an aura of multicolored lighting. Then the bolts turned inwards and caused a great snap of energy that threw poor Josie back three yards. "Are you all right?" asked Cat.
"Yeah, I'm alright," replied Josie. "My ears are ringing, but I'm all right. What happened?"
"I dunno," said Didi. "You've never ported so many at one time, maybe we overloaded you?"
"I don't think so," said Josie. "It felt more like I was being blocked. Do you think it could be Ming?"
"Maybe it's just that this place blocks teleporters," said Tam. "Another barrier of Ming's."
"Could be," said Didi. "Now what?" Then Lydia had a brainstorm. "How about if we fly?"
"Fly?" said Cat. "None of us can fly."
"Yes we can," said Lydia. "We just never tried." She spun around and sprouted a pair of wings from her shoulders. They were long and slim and had blue-gray feathers. "That's a great idea Lydia," said Jazz. She turned her back to Lydia. "Now do me." Lydia concentrated and a beautiful pair of cream colored wings sprouted from Jazz's back. "Ooh," said Jazz, with a bit of surprise. "They tickle, a little bit." Jazz flapped her wings gently and lifted herself off the ground. "They work," she said with glee. "They actually work."
"Was there any doubt?" said Lydia. She grew wings on everyone's shoulders and soon they were all ready to fly. Lydia bent her legs and pushed upwards and spread her wings open. She flapped and flapped until she had attained a decent altitude, and then she circled as she waited for the others.
Of the rest of them, Tam and Cat had the most trouble taking off. Tam, because he had never been transformed before, and Cat because her wings were larger that the rest to accommodate her mass. "This is fun," said Josie. "I can't believe that we've never tried this before."
Halfway across the field, though, trouble began again. Cat was the first to hear it. "The wind is picking up," she said. Josie saw grass in the field ripple and swirl like water. "You don't suppose Ming thought of this, too?" asked Jazz. Her answer came in the form of a strong updraft. Jazz was tossed head over heels as a whirlwind formed in the middle of the field. As she recovered, Jazz decided that she had had enough. She thought for a minute of a proper song for the moment, and then remembered the CD that Cat gave her for her last birthday, and fell into a dive.
"Waiting, for you," Jazz sang, causing a couple of good sized explosions around the base of the vortex. The tornado tilted as it lost its balance, and then sent another blast of cold icy air at Jazz. Jazz spun out of control, and would have crashed if Cat hadn't caught her. As the vortex readied another blast of wind, another volley of explosions rocked its base. Tam had decided to join the fight. He summoned another handful of white marbles and hurled them at the whirlwind. The vortex slithered and twisted away to avoid the deadly little spheres.
As Jazz recovered, the girls regrouped with Tam. "This whole place must be meant to keep intruders out," Didi surmised.
"If that's so, how the heck are we gonna get to that gate?" asked Cat.
"Judo," said Tam bluntly. "Turn this place's power against itself."
"Now just how are we going to do that?" asked Jazz as she came to. Josie smiled. "I have an idea," she said. "Can you two fly beside me, and make sure that tornado doesn't move?" She asked Tam and Jazz.
"Sure," said Jazz, as Tam nodded. "What do you have in mind." Josie explained her plan.
The three of them flew in tandem; Jazz on the left, Tam on the right, and Josie in the middle. The vortex turned it's attention towards them as the three began their run. The trio swooped in from a high angle. Tam concentrated his power into a strong beam and cut a furrow to the right of the vortex, as Jazz did the same to the left. This prevented the whirlwind from moving to the left or right. It helped Josie stay on her target. As soon as she was sure that it wouldn't move, Josie tucked in her wings and dove into the vortex. It was hard for Josie to keep her equilibrium, but all she needed to do was to concentrate on staying upright long enough. "Now," she thought as she triggered her teleport, and hoped that her plan worked. The aura of static surrounded her once more, and reversed itself. The energy discharge disrupted the vortex, and threw poor Josie to the ground. Didi swooped in and grabbed her friend, before the field could toss her back to the beginning.
The vortex twisted and warped in an attempt to recover its victory. Jazz, however, saw this and dove in to deliver a coup de grace. "Waiting, for you," she sang. "All my sins, I would pay for them if I could, come back, to you, all my innocence is wasted on THE DEAD AND DREAMING." The ground exploded causing the vortex dissipate into a series of dust devils.
"Cool song, Jazz," complemented Josie. "What's it called?"
"Angels of the Silences," Jazz replied. "It seemed appropriate."
CRACK-KOOM
"Now what?" asked Cat. The sky began to darken and the wind picked up a bit. "I don't like this," said Didi.
SNAP. A bolt of lightning missed the girls by a few feet. "This is getting serious!" shouted Didi. "I have an idea!" Didi grabbed Tam by the ankles. "Form a chain," she shouted above the storm. "We'll be harder to hit this way, we're gonna play a game of snap the whip. Cat's behind me and Jazz is at the end."
The six of them linked up, hand and ankle, with Tam in the lead. Tam dove, leading the group closer to the ground. The chain slithered along like a snake, sometimes missing a bolt by no more than a few inches. "I can see the gate," Cat called out. "It's straight ahead."
They needed speed. Tam flapped his wings and led the chain higher and higher. Then suddenly, he dove suddenly, snapping the whip and throwing poor Jazz off into free fall.
Jazz's eyes widened as she lost her grip on Josie's feet. She watched as the rest of them spiraled downward, and through the stone pillars of the gate. Jazz furled her wings and began to dive quickly trying to catch up. She almost made it, when she was cut off by a sudden ZAP of lightning. Jazz flew to the right and tried to swoop around the crackling bolts. She flew in low until she was about a yard from the ground. She pumped her wings as hard as she could to stay a few feet ahead of the lighting as it struck. As the lightning got closer and closer to hitting it's mark, Jazz's flying became more and more erratic.
Soon her wings became a flurry of rapid beats. As one near miss scorched the soles of her feet, Jazz tucked in her head and screamed. This propelled her faster across the field, just as one bolt nearly caught up with her, she was through the stone pillars of the gate, and safe from the lightning.
The other side of the gate was a large room. Set in the floor of the room were thick silver poles. Some of the poles were about two feet apart, while others were slightly further apart. Right now though the group's main concern wasn't the room.
"Where's Jazz?" asked Didi. Lydia busied herself with removing the girls wings. "She lost her grip on my feet when we dove," said Josie. "I tried to tell you, but-"
Suddenly, everyone heard a high pitched wail coming from the gate. As it got louder and louder, everyone recognized it as Jazz's sonic scream. Jazz shot out of the gate propelled by her scream, and sped between two of the silver poles. Then she appeared on the far side of the room, bursting out from one set of poles and slipping into another. The whole effect was like watching someone run through a funhouse mirror maze. One minute she was here and the next minute...
Cat tuned her ears to Jazz's scream and positioned herself at one of the portals. As Jazz burst from between the two silver poles, Cat reached out and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Jazz," she said "It's me Cat. I've got you now, you can stop screaming." Jazz kept on screaming however, the lightning had made her panic. Cat felt her scream blast against the walls of the room, it was getting hard to hold on to her, Jazz was seriously scared.
"Knock it off Serena," shouted Cat. "Your being a total ditz." Cat's words penetrated Jazz's panic, and calmed her down enough that she stopped screaming. Jazz was panting heavily from the effort. "Just cause I'm...a little late at times...doesn't mean... you can call me... Serena," Jazz was back to normal. Cat hugged her friend tightly. The worst, for now, was over.
"Lots of gates," said Tam. Didi stuck her hand into one of them and watched it appear across the room. "Neat," she said. "I guess they're meant to confuse anyone who gets this far." Tam nodded. "You may be right," he said.
"How the heck are we gonna find the right gate with all these decoys here?" asked Lydia.
"I don't know," said Didi. "I honestly do not know. It's worse than a maze of mirrors." Cat walked up with a sleeping Jazz in her arms. Lydia let herself swell up again as Cat put Jazz on her friend's greatly swollen midriff. "That storm seriously scared her," said Cat. "I am majorly gonna put the hurt on someone before this is over."
"Chill out, Cat," said Josie. "We have to get there first, and so far we're stuck here."
"No we're not," said Cat. She sniffed the air and caught a whiff of something she didn't like. It was the mildew rot smell that traveled with the ghosts when ever they went anywhere. Cat walked up and down the rows of gates until she found where the smell was strongest. "This one," she said finally, almost a half hour later. By then, Jazz had woken up.
Gently sliding down the enormous swell of Lydia's girth, Jazz walked over to where Cat was standing. "Let's do it," she said.
"Are you sure you don't wanna rest a little more Jazz?" Cat asked concerned.
"I'm sure," she said. "We have to rescue Tam's sister, and we're gonna need everyone for that, including me. So whether I am at my best or not, I gotta do this."
"All right," said Cat, but she was going in first to make sure it was safe.
"Kendo, Dark Warrior," called Ming into the circle of fire. The Dark Warrior appeared in a heartbeat and kneeled before Ming. "Yes, mistress," he said. The air in the room grew a little colder than usual.
"Tam has returned," said Ming. "I can feel him at the final gate. His powers are much weaker now so he will be that much easier to catch. Prepare an ambush inside the courtyard, summon what help you need. We should take no chances on his escaping again."
"Yes Mistress," replied the Dark Warrior. He drew his swords, slashed his X in the air, and vanished. Ming closed her eyes and thought to herself for a moment. As she thought, an evil scheme began to form in her brain. Ming concentrated on the stream of energy that fed her spectral form. She concentrated on reducing her intake of energy, to a thin trickle, soon she would begin to grow thin, and after that. "Well," she thought to herself. "They will not be expecting what's left to be much of a threat to them." She chuckled to herself with confidence.
The outer gate of Ming's palace was a thing of beauty. Carved from the greenest of jades and decorated with magnificent pearls, the girls had to stop for a moment to admire it.
"It's beautiful," said Didi.
"It's not real," said Cat. "I can see through it's illusion. It's not jade, it's iron." She thumped the gate with her middle finger and it gave off a dull metallic bong. "That's the element of earth helping you," said Tam. "Revealing the true nature of the elements before you."
"Interesting," said Cat. She placed her hand on the gate and was about to go in when she stopped. "I hear movement inside," she said. "An ambush. Ten regular soldiers, and maybe a few with special powers."
"More ghosts, huh?" asked Josie. Cat nodded
"One of these days, Cat, I gotta trade bras with you," said Didi. "Just to see what it's like to sense things like that." Cat pushed the gate open and walked in. No one was in sight, everyone was hiding and all but invisible, except to Cat. "Well since you guys went to all the trouble of setting up this ambush," Cat shouted. "We figured that it would be rude not to attend."
The soldiers came out from their hiding places, brandishing long knives. The were being led by the Dark Warrior. Tam doubled up his fists and mad ready to charge the specter, when Jazz placed her hand on his shoulder. "He's not worth it," she said. "Let me." Jazz let loose with her best scream straight into the Dark Warrior's chest, blasting him into three of the soldiers and knocking the four of them back over a yard. "Lets get �em," shouted Didi. Cat tackled four of the remaining soldiers as Didi took the other three. Josie was about to help Cat with the extra soldiers when a man in a black gi and cape, and armed with a pair of sais, appeared in front of her. He made a stab at Josie. She was able to dodge the slender blade, and was about to introduce its wielders face to her elbow, when her opponent vanished.
"That's the Ebon Wind," Tam shouted. "He's Ming's ninja, he can teleport as well as you can, Josie." At that Josie vanished with a bamph.
Cat threw two of the undead soldiers over the outer wall and slammed the other two into it. She had hardly broken a sweat, when she felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. From around the corner of Ming's palace, came the biggest man Cat had ever seen. He was twice as tall, and three times as wide as she was, and looked to weigh several tons. That was all right, she liked a challenge.
Didi stuffed the last of the soldiers upside down into a tall vase. "Lydia," she called out. "Find Tam's sister, we need all the help we can get." Lydia nodded and grabbed Tam's arm. "Where would they keep your sister in this place," asked Lydia.
Tam thought for a moment and said finally, "I do not know, they kept us in separate cells in separate dungeons. That way we couldn't recharge our powers from the Spirit Well, and escape." Lydia shook her head. "Where are the dungeons?" she asked, with some frustration. Tam pointed at the great palace before them.
Lydia broke in the lacquered doors of the palace. Tam followed her into the great golden hall and tried to remember where the dungeon was where he was kept. On one side of the hall was a great red wooden arch, carved in the shape of an oriental dragon. It reminded Lydia of a giant red snake with short muscular legs, a beard, antlers, and a tail fin shaped like a wide spear blade. On the other side of the hall, were three doors that each led to a stairway going up.
"This way," said Tam. "I remember running out of that door when I escaped." The pointed to the far door on the right. "And if I were Ming, I would have kept my sister as far away from me as I could so I would have put her in here." Lydia followed Tam up the stairs. The came to a landing that revealed a row of lacquered doors with windows near the top. "Yes," said Tam. "These are the dungeon cells, my sister should be in one of these."
Tam stepped forward to look into one of the little windows. Lydia grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Hold on for a minute," she said. "If this is where she is being held, then why aren't there any guards?"
"You're right," said Tam. "Lets go back and try that middle door."
"No," said Lydia. "We're in the right place, I am saying that it's curious that there are no guards." Lydia began to examine the room more carefully. The door they had just entered through had a dragon carved into it just like the arch downstairs. "Hmm," said Lydia. "Tam get back into the stairwell, I am going to try something." Lydia walked over to one of the empty cells and ripped the door right off its hinges. The carved dragon above the door began to creak and split, as it tore itself free of the frame. The wooden monster was only half as long as the hallway, but wide enough that it couldn't turn around to attack Tam. Lydia concentrated trying to increase the creatures mass and pin it to the floor, but for some reason, her powers wouldn't affect it. She was going to have to fight this thing on her own.
Lydia concentrated and shifted her shape. Her neck grew long and sinuous, as her face morphed into a long mouth filled with needle sharp teeth. Lydia changed her limbs into short stubby legs with webbed toes and thick sturdy claws. She then grew a long whip like tail, edged with a sturdy and sharp fin running along its length, from the base of her spine. She then grew to the same length as the dragon was, but not nearly as wide.
Tam could see Lydia's transformation from the stairwell. "A Nothosaurus," he thought to himself. Lydia lashed her head forward and sank her teeth into the dragon's neck. The wooden beast roared like a great oak that was being felled.
Josie had never fought another teleporter before, but then again neither had her opponent. The both of them led a fearsome chase that seemed less like a battle and more like a game of �Hide and Seek'. One would appear and try to strike home a blow, only to have their opponent vanish into thin air before them, it was frustrating. Suddenly the ninja appeared in front of her, his sai barely missing her by a few inches. Josie teleported back a couple of yards out of reflex. Then an idea flickered into her brain like the sparkling wings of a dragonfly. Then she vanished, and bamphed into the ninja's view for an instant. She then reappeared, slightly to the left and about ten feet off the ground, and then she disappeared again. This time she appeared to the far right, and ten feet higher.
The Ebon Wind watched as Josie zig-zagged higher and higher, timing his opponent so he could attack her and finish her off quickly. Just as he readied his blade for a stab, the girl appeared in front of him and stuffed her fist under the ninja's ribs. The Ebon Wind felt his own breath rush out of him in a sudden rush, that drove him to his knees. As Josie raised her fists together to finish the fight, the ninja vanished. The fight wasn't over yet.
"Get off me," said Cat. She wasn't sure how old ton o' blubber had gotten on top of her, but now he had one foot in the small of her back and the other between her shoulder blades. To make matters worse, he seemed to be getting heavier.
Cat dug her hands into the ground beneath her and bent her elbows, and tried to push up. The wrestler lifted his foot and slammed it between her shoulder blades. Cat's arms flew out into a spread eagle position. Cat scowled, the son of a bitch was laughing at her.
"So I look like an earthquake when I walk like this, huh?" she thought to herself. "Ok one earthquake coming up." Cat bent her elbows again and slammed her hands into the earth. She then gunned out five fast reps that threw the wrestler of his balance, and sent him slamming into the ground.
"I asked you nicely," she said, angrily. Cat grabbed his ankle and threw him hammer style into the far wall, where he left a hole about the same size as he was.
Lydia's opponent tasted terrible, the lacquer that was used on the beast was horribly bitter. It was also very slick, so her needle sharp teeth had barely anything to hold onto. The dragon on the other hand had managed to get a hold of one of her forelegs. The wooden beast's teeth weren't sharp enough to tear flesh, but its jaws were very strong and could crush the bones beneath.
Lydia reflexively increased the mass and density of the bone in her leg. She then raised up on her hind legs, and pushed on her opponent with her free �hand'. The bottoms dragon's feet were also coated with the slick lacquer, causing it to slide across the floor, and nearly into the stairwell. The dragon released Lydia's foot and tried to charge again.
Lydia backed off from the dragon, and began to change again. her legs grew thicker and stronger, as her long neck shrank and grew thick with muscle and bone. Her long snout shrank and became short blunt muzzle as her heat became capped with a thick helmet of bone.
Tam was confused. "A Pachycephalosaur?" he thought to himself, then in a flash. "Oh I get it." He ran back down to the bottom of the stairwell. Lydia raised upon her powerful hind legs and charged the dragon. She slammed her great, bony helmet into the dragon's side with such force, that it partially broke in half as it slid into the stairwell.
Tam heard the wooden beast tumble down the lacquered stairs and break into several large pieces. As Tam ran up the stairs, Lydia had almost returned to normal. "Ooh..." she said. "My head hurts."
Tam grinned at her. "Come," he said. "I can feel my sister's energy, we are very close." The pair ran down the corridor to the last door and stopped. "Figures that Ming would put her here," said Lydia. She reached up to grab the door to the cell and was thrown back by a nasty jolt. "Ouch," she said, shaking her hands.
"Mystic barrier," said Tam. "Are you all right?"
"Just shocked me," said Lydia. "Can you get it open?"
"I can try," Tam replied. He balled his right hand into a fist and made his left hand flat and rigid. Lydia had to turn her head, as Tam's hands flared and crackled with white hot energy. He then charged the door chopping with his left hand. The door, now crackling with it's own dark energy, now had a shimmering white crease in it. Tam drew back his fist and charged the door. "KIAI!!!!!"
Jazz was screaming. No pretty song to go with it, just a raw scream. The Dark Warrior had decided to attack her while she wasn't looking. Now he was getting what he seriously deserved. Jazz had him pinned to the wall with her sonic scream and was not going to let him down until either the fight was over or until there was nothing left of him.
Josie and her problem, suddenly teleported in beside her and distracted her for a moment. She stopped screaming just long enough for the warrior to get away, and draw his swords. Jazz ducked his slash and tripped the Dark Warrior before he could ready another. As Jazz inhaled to let loose another blast, the Dark Warrior slammed the butt of one of his swords into her gut. With the wind knocked out of her, Jazz could neither scream nor keep her balance. Jazz fell on her side and rolled onto her back.
"I've had enough of you," said the warrior in his cold stony voice. He raised his sword to deliver the fatal blow.
"I cannot ignore this evil," came a yell from the parapet. "RUNE FLARE ARROW!!!!!!" Jazz rolled aside as volley of fiery bolts rained down on the Dark Warrior. Some punched holes in his tunic, some exploded on contact, and some bolts set him on fire. The now blazing warrior looked up to the parapet wall and shouted, "Traitor!"
"Never," said the Black Arrow, jumping off the parapet to the ground. "I was never loyal to your foul mistress's goals." Then to Jazz. "Are you alright?" Jazz picked herself up off the ground. "I'll live," she said.
"Good," replied the archer. "Then lets finish him off." The Black Arrow drew another shaft from his quiver and nocked it to his bow. As the archer drew back the arrow, Jazz took in as deep a breath as she could hold and screamed. The blast caught the Dark warrior in the chest and knocked him over backward.
As the Dark Warrior picked up his swords and charged the girl and the archer, the Black Arrow loosed his shaft. The arrow immediately transmuted into a bolt of lightning. It then traveled down and along the ground, appearing as though it would fall short of it's target. The arrow then circled the Dark Warrior, stirring up a small whirlwind. It grew faster and taller until it lifted the swordsman off the ground and carried him far into the air. The sudden CRASH of a thousand bolts of lightning running down the length of the tornado, caused Jazz to jump. Somewhere in the chaos of the tornado, Jazz heard the Dark Warrior screaming.
Then suddenly in a heartbeat it was over, the vortex just vanished. A few bones fell from the sky, but other than that, it was over. "Divine Wind Arrow," Said the Black Arrow. "Saved especially for you, Sien Ti."
Jinn covered her face as the door exploded. She was unsure of what was happening, until her brother ran through the remains of the door. Jinn was delighted to see her brother again, but the strange woman who accompanied him made her nervous.
"It's all right," said Tam. "She and her friends came along to help rescue you." He turned to Lydia. "To you I present my sister, Sang Van Jinn." Jinn bowed slightly to the big woman. There was a slight glint of envy in her eyes, Jinn herself wished that she could be as tall and as pretty as this woman was.
Jinn was about 5'3" and as slender as a reed, her mother always cropped her hair in a short Vietnamese style. The girls at the American schools would tease her sometimes about her figure.
"Tam," said Lydia. "You and your sister better recharge your energies, I'll guard the door and watch for trouble." Tam and Jinn both gave a short nod and clasped hands. As they concentrated on the Spirit Well, their auras began to glow; Tam's a brilliant white, Jinn's dark and seductive. A slight breeze filled the room as the twin's auras became more and more pronounced. The wind swirled around the twins in a definite circle, as a strong corridor of energy erupted from the floor to the ceiling.
Jinn, all the while concentrating, still wished that she was as tall and as pretty as Lydia. Her eyes then shot open as she felt a change begin to happen to her. Her eyes flared with ebon energy as she began to grow taller. She began to get a little scared as her slender body began to bulge and swell with new curves. Her back shivered as her short hair began to cascade down her back like a dark waterfall, but what surprised her the most, was her breasts. Under her silk clothes, she felt her own petite bosom begin to swell and grow fuller and fuller. At the time when she and her brother felt that they could hold no more power, they released their hands.
"Wow," said Lydia. "Does that always happen when you two recharge?"
"The breeze and the brilliance, yes," said Tam. "But nothing like this has ever happened before." Tam had grown to over six feet tall, his shoulders were broader than anyone on the school football team. His hair had grown down to past his shoulders, and he looked to have as much muscle as Cat when she was transformed.
Jinn tried to shift back into a corner of her cell. "I just wanted to be pretty," she muttered under her voice. Lydia giggled. "Well you got your wish," she said. "And then some. Jinn you are knock down, drag out, beautiful."
"But my brother," Jinn said shyly. "I forgot what ever happens to me in the well, also happens to my brother."
"She is afraid that our mother will scold her for abusing the power of the well," explained Tam. "She once used it to turn her hair red, and mother scolded her for a week, and made me wear a hat until we could change back.
"Big deal, you turned your brother into a stud," said Lydia. "You have done nothing to be ashamed of." Lydia hugged the frightened girl. "Now come on and lets get out of here before any more trouble shows up."
Jinn looked up, as Lydia gave her a smile that made all of her troubles go away at once.
Josie was unready for what her opponent had planned next. The Ebon Wind came blinking on and off along the parapet wall. Josie teleported and tried to catch him off guard when he next appeared. She appeared beside the wall and made ready to strike out at her opponent. What she got was the pommel of a sai slammed between her shoulder blades, and a knee to her solar plexus. Josie vanished before she hit the ground.
Josie couldn't believe it, the ninja had taken her trick and improved it, and now he was using it against her. "Well two can play that game," she thought to herself. It look her a bit to recover, but she was ready for him none the less. Josie vanished as she went over the plan in her head.
Lydia led the way out of the cell. Jinn was still a little skittish about leaving the dungeon, fearing that Ming had set some sort of trap and that this was a part of it. Tam put his hand on his sister's shoulders and promised to stay behind her and make sure that everything would be all right. With that in mind, she slowly followed Lydia to the stairwell.
Jinn still felt a little awkward in her new body, her long legs made taking her usual short steps difficult. Jinn's new center of gravity made it necessary for her to hold tightly to the stairs' handrail. The great hall hadn't changed that much, the dragon arch across the way was still there, and beyond the arch, was a pair of double doors carved out of ebony. "Ming's throne room," said Tam. "It is from there she draws her magic."
"Any idea's on how to deal with her?" asked Lydia.
"Wait for the rest of your friends to deal with the guards," said Tam. "That is the best I can think of for the moment."
"Old ton o' blubber is back," said Didi. Cat turned to see the huge wrestler uncover himself from the huge pile of wall that fell on him. As he got to his feet, the wrestler began to run, charging faster and faster in Cat's direction. And just as he was nearly upon her, Cat leaped nimbly, for Cat, over the wrestler.
The man-mountain tried to slow his approach to the wall, but his feet skidded against the dusty ground. The huge wrestler crashed into the other side of the parapet wall.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," tsked Cat. "Can't believe Ming hires such clumsy help." Didi couldn't help but giggle.
"C'mon you Ebon Fart," grumped Josie. "Show yourself." Josie had perched herself on top of a pagoda style tower, so as to get the drop on her shadowy opponent. The wind, however, was blowing, and it was colder than a witches left one.
Then she saw him, looking for her in the courtyard below. The ninja was standing on the corner of the parapet cat walk. He then vanished and appeared on the opposite corner.
Josie bamphed off the tower, and appeared behind the ninja, slamming her fist between his shoulder blades. The Ebon Wind fell almost all the way to the ground before Josie appeared beneath him and placed her knee right where he would fall on it. The ninja rolled off Josie's knee and vanished again.
This time, however, Josie was ready for him. Josie strobe-ported across the courtyard and found the ninja waiting for her. "Ok," Josie thought to herself. "ShowTime." She ported directly in front of the Ebon Wind, and then strobe-ported to the side. She then strobe-ported back and to the right, then forward and slightly to the left. Then backward again, and then forward and two the right, and finally across again forming a five pointed star.
The ninja, confused by Josie's action's, stood still in the center of the star trying to figure out what all was going on. As he did this, Josie strobe ported across again, and gave him a quick jab. As he recovered from the punch, Josie tagged his shoulder with a cross that sent him spinning into his cape. Tangled thusly, the Wind couldn't avoid Josie punching him between the shoulder blades again, and then catching his cheek with a hard right cross. The ninja became so punch drunk, he didn't think to teleport. Then in a blink, the girl was gone.
Her strobe images vanished, save for the lines of the star furrowed into the ground by her feet. The Ebon Wind scanned the courtyard, no sign of her. The ninja teleported up to the parapet catwalk. Nothing, the three other girls were there, along with the archer, but other than them, nothing. He scanned the palace roof, nothing. The ninja teleported to the roof and scanned along the catwalk, nothing. That left only one place, the tower roof.
The Ebon Wind teleported to the roof of the high tower. Again there was nothing. Wait, there was something. Faintly scratched into the lacquer of the roof was a slight curved line. Why would someone draw a line like this on the roof. The ninja carefully followed the line inward until he came to the exact center of the roof. Now he was confused, why would someone draw a spiral on top of the tower roof. Upon reflection though, it looked sort of like an archer's targe- Josie's elbow smashed into the Ebon Wind's back, and caused the roof to cave in from her momentum. The two of them fell into the floor beneath them, and through the ceiling beneath, and through the next floor and the next...
The trio ducked as Josie kicked up a cloud of dust and broken lacquer. Tam and Jinn coughed as the sawdust and ash from the disintegrating ghost filled their lungs. "Hey," said Lydia "You beat him."
"He wasn't as smart as he thought he was," said Josie. "You just gotta be sneaky with teleporters." Jinn giggled. Josie looked behind the morphing mistress, at the transformed twins. "Who are these two?" asked Josie. "And where is Tam?"
"Present," said Tam. "and presenting Jinn, long, leggy, limber, and luscious." Jinn whacked her brother on the arm teasingly. "Wow," said Josie. "She could pass for that oriental girl with the big tits. Umm what's her name..."
"Minka?" said Lydia.
"Yeah, Minka," said Josie. "But Jinn's easily got twice the load Minka does." Jinn flushed hotly at the comment. "Where are the rest of the girls?" asked Tam.
The walls shook as the giant wrestler came flying through what was left of the palace front door. He slid on the lacquered floor and didn't stop until he crashed into the far wall with a meaty thud. "Playing with the wrestler," said Josie, answering Tam's question.
"Ahh."
Didi, Cat and Jazz ran into the great hall, followed by the Black Arrow. "Hey Josie, hey Lydia," shouted Didi. "Get over here we wanna try something." The girls huddled for a moment before they set up their opponent. Josie and Jazz stood back to back, as Lydia and Didi linked hands to for a sort of cradle between them. Cat quickly ran up to Josie and caught her foot in Josie's cupped hands. Josie launched Cat over she and Jazz's heads, causing Cat to land, belly first, in the cradle formed by Didi and Lydia's arms. The two then heaved Cat into the air and then jazz screamed. The force of Jazz's sonic blast caught the enormous girl, and launched her toward the wrestler. Cat slammed her elbow into the small of the wrestler's back and winced when she heard what sounded like his spine breaking. The wrestler then simply faded out like he wasn't there in the first place.
The girls met Tam and Jinn at the entrance to the great dragon-shaped arch. "The wrestler is gone that leaves only Ming," said Tam. Didi nodded. "Then lets get this over with quick," she said. Didi kicked in the throne room doors. Sitting on her great jade throne was Ming Sin Fou, slumped over, her bones hanging out from the sleeves of the silk kimono she wore. Tam shrugged his shoulders. "What happened," he asked. "She should look somewhat human, and be trying to keep us from leaving." The Black Arrow entered the room, and examined the bones.
"We took to long," the archer said finally. "She ran out of energy before we could get to her. Remember, the energies that one like her can draw from the dark demesnes is limited, and she must have used up her supply. She'll have to wait until she can be summoned again before she can draw a fresh supply."
"So then it's over?" asked Cat. The archer nodded.
Cat leaned back and stretched her arms behind her head. Her muscles were sore and the wrestler had been heavy. Cat rubbed her one of her shoulders because it was stiff, and yawned when one of her sensitive ears picked up something slight. It was a very light sound. She turned around and examined the throne room again as the rest of the group were leaving. The bones were still where the were. So what made that sound? As Cat turned to leave, she head the sound again. It was slight and subtle, like the walking of a wasp on a window, only longer this time. It was the sound of silk being dragged over jade.
"Uh guys," said Cat. "Where did the bones go?"
"Aiiiiihhhhhh," screamed Jinn. Cat turned to see the Ming's bones hanging in mid-air like some grotesque marionette. "Get away from her!" shouted Jazz. The blast threw Ming back across the great hall. The bones rose into the air again and dove after the girls. Lydia shaped one of her hands into a long flat paddle, and slapped Ming into the wall. Tam let fly with a double handful of his white "marbles", sending the skeleton skittering across the lacquered floor. Ming almost made it to the door when Jazz cut her off with another of her sonic blasts. The skeleton raised up and hissed, and then unleashed a fury of cyan energy at Jazz and Tam.
Josie bamphed in behind Ming and latched onto the skeleton's leg. Ming turned around and fired an energy bolt straight into Josie's cleavage, knocking her to the ground. "Ouch," Josie muttered. Ming stood up, cyan energy trailing from her hands, and readied another blast. "DYING SUN ARROW!!" The blast from the Black Arrow's bolt threw Ming back into the middle of the great hall before she could blast Josie.
Jinn had had enough of sitting on the sidelines. She concentrated her ebon energy into her hand and shaped it into a thin disk. Jinn then drew her arm back and threw the energy for all that she was worth. The energy disk sailed towards Ming so quickly, the skeleton couldn't avoid it. Ming screamed as the disk shattered her bones causing them to crumble into a pile.
"Nice work little sister," complemented Tam.
There came a rattle from the bones, Didi turned to see Ming's skull rise up from the pile of bones. "Do you think that is all it takes to defeat me?" shrieked the skull. "If you think that, then you have another thing coming. Feel the fury of my Red Fire Dragon." Cyan energy erupted from the skull's empty eye sockets, and shot straight into the eyes of the great red dragon carved into the arch leading into Ming's throne room.
"I think we better leave," said Lydia.
"I agree," said Tam. "We've seen enough of this sort of thing for one day." The Bra Busters charged towards the egress of Ming's palace as the great wooden dragon began to creak and groan as it came to life. Tam unleashed a furious blast of energy at the dragon's head, followed by one of the Black Arrow's Rune Flare Arrows.
As the girls made a run for the courtyard gates, Jinn stopped. "Has anyone seen my brother?" she cried. An explosion of white energy came from the palace. "Never mind," said Jinn.
Tam bolted from the palace doors with The Black Arrow hot on his heels. As they caught up to the girls Didi asked, "Well, did you beat her?" The great palace collapsed in on itself, as the head of the great red dragon erupted through the roof, belching forth a raging inferno. The heat from the blast was so great that is scorched Didi's hair.
"No," said Tam nonchalantly, and shaking his head.
The dragon launched itself into the air, as the palace tower collapsed to the ground. The ground shook as the red beast landed on its hind feet. The dragon swung its head around to orient on the girls, it's eyes flashing like the rising sun. It opened its maw sending a fiery orb hurtling towards the girls.
With lightning speed Jazz concentrated her sonic scream into a tight burst and disrupted the fireball, causing flames to shower down onto the courtyard. The dragon slung its head forward and directed a wide stream of flame towards the Bra Busters. This time Tam and Jinn came to the rescue. With a wide sweeping motion, the mystical twins created a pearl gray colored shield that channeled the fire away from them.
Now it was Josie's turn to go into action. The black bra'ed beauty appeared at the left side of the dragon's head, and slammed her elbow into the beast's lower jaw. Josie then vanished and reappeared on top of the dragon's head, and brought down her joined fists onto the dragons thick skull, forcing the beast to lower its muzzle. Josie then reappeared just below the dragon's chin and launched a kick that caused the dragon's head to snap back violently, and crash into the burning remains of the palace.
The dragon roared, as it thrashed in the incinerating debris. It rolled itself to its feet and aimed its next attack at Josie. As the dragon launched another blast of fire at the teleporter, Josie strobe-ported away, and headed around the corner of the collapsed palace. The dragon followed Josie at a swift gallop, and chased her around the corner. As the dragon followed Josie around the next corner, instead of Josie, it found Jazz waiting for the beast to appear. Jazz let loose with a devastating barrage of sonic blasts, that struck the dragon about the head, chest, and shoulders. The great red beast raised up on its hindquarters and shielded its face with its forepaws. It wasn't ready to have one of its hind feet knocked out from under it by Cat. After toppling over onto its side, the dragon rolled over onto its four feet and lashed out at Cat with it's tail. Cat jumped out of the way as the dragon's tail fin sliced cleanly through the stone and mortar of the parapet wall, that fin was lethally sharp. Cat quickly got to her feet, and pulled one of the stones loosened by the dragon's tail out of the wall. Cat raised it in front of her just in time to block another stream of flame away from herself.
"This stone is getting hot," she thought to herself, as sweat dripped down her temple. "I can't hold onto it much longer." The dragon continued its blast of flame at the stone Cat was shielding herself with.
"C'mon you stupid lizard," shouted Cat. "You have to breathe some time." Then as if on cue, the dragon ceased its deluge of flame and inhaled sharply. Quickly, before the dragon could fire again, Cat chucked the rock shot-put style straight into the dragon's mouth. The stone, softened by the heat of the dragon's flame, and lodged in the beast's maw, and refused to come loose. The dragon lumbered over to the parapet wall and swung its head into the wall, trying to dislodge the rock. The beast succeeded on its third try; shattering the stone, part of the wall, and several of the dragons own teeth. As the dragon moaned in pain, Lydia swung two thousand pounds of reptilian tail into the dragon's abdomen, causing the red beast to exhale sharply and double over. As the dragon tried to recover from this latest attack, Lydia snaked the tail of her new Plateosaur form out from under the dragon, and brought it crashing down upon the beast's back. As Lydia readied her tail for another strike, the dragon suddenly clamped its jaws around her foot, causing her to trip. Lydia let out a saurian groan as the pain in her leg assaulted her brain, informing her of a now sprained, if not broken, ankle. As the dragon tried to paw its way up to attack Lydia's vitals, several bursts of ebon energy struck the great red beast in the face, driving it back into a corner of the parapet wall. The dragon let fly with another blast of flame. "This is not working," groaned Lydia, as she resumed her human form. Tam wrapped his hands around Lydia's ankle and sent waves of soothing energy to heal the damage that had been done. "We don't have enough power to beat that beast." she finished.
"Then maybe we need something else to beat it," said Didi. "Something it's not expecting. Hey archer..." The Black Arrow turned to face her. "...Got another one of those tornado arrows?" The Black Arrow nodded and drew the arrow and nocked it to his bow. "Nono no no, no , just wait until I explain what I have in mind, and then use it. Let's go over there, where the dragon can't see us. Tam, Jinn, that includes you two." As the mystic twins ducked around the corner of the demolished palace, Didi stopped for a moment to watch the other girls launch into a four person version of the maneuver they had used on the giant wrestler. "Ouch," said Didi
"You are fucking nuts, lady," said Tam, trying to be as calm as he possibly could. "What makes you think we could survive such an act of stupidity?"
"Look," said Didi. "It's the best plan that I could come up with on such short notice, if you think you can do better, then give it a shot. You have until the dragon finds us over here."
"All right," said Tam. "But what makes you think that this is going to work?"
"What have we got to lose?" said Didi. Jinn nodded in agreement, and Tam relented. The twins touched palms again and tapped into The Spirit Well. Didi watched the blinding corridor of energy blaze up into the sky. When the twins were ready for the next part of Didi's plan, they would nod their heads.
Both Tam and Jinn nodded their heads at almost exactly the same time. "Now," said Didi, tapping the Black Arrow on the shoulder. The archer nocked his arrow and let it fly at the twins. The shaft erupted into azure brilliance as it began to circle the column of energy. The supernatural bolt lapped the column faster and faster, as the vortex of a tornado climbed the blazing column of light
"It's working," said Didi. "It's working!"
Cat, Josie, Lydia, and Jazz knealed in front of the blazing pile of debris that once was Ming's palace. "I don't know about you guys," said Josie. "But this dragon has got me draggin'." The rest of the girls moaned at the pun, as Cat pushed Josie over with a gentle swat.
"We're not gonna make it this time, are we?" asked Lydia.
"Maybe, we've been through worse," said Cat
"Since when?" piped Jazz. Cat refrained from answering, as they had to dodge one of the dragon's fireballs. It was Cat that heard the rumble first, like thunder rolling through a storm. Didi appeared around the corner. "Get ready for some fireworks," she said. "You're gonna love this." Cat had to cover her sensative eyes as a briliant geyser of light and energy spiraled up into the sky. The girls watched as the vortes twisted around and traveled downwards, scooping up the dragon and spiraling into the sky once more. Didi ran around the corner once more and shouted at the base of the vortex.
"Get clear," she hollered. Tam and Jinn release their hands and ran as fast as they could from the vortex's base. A crash of lightning bolts traveled up the length of the vortex, and slammed into the dragon with a force that made the heavens blaze with glory.
"ALL RIGHT," cheered Jazz. Her cheers accedentally brought down a section of the parapet wall. "Oops," she said blushing. Cat wrapped her arms around Jazz and hugged her tightly. They had won.
A week went by before Tam and Jinn paid a call on Didi and the girls. The twins found them in Lydia's back yard garage having a balloon party, that is to say Lydia was having the party, as the rest of the girls were the balloons. All the girls, except for Lydia, were at their transformed proportions, but their densities were reduced to the point that they simply floated in mid-air
"Hi," said Didi, floating around the rafters. "What have you two been up to?" The twins were in their normal state. "Well, ask them," said Tam. "After all it was your idea." Cat and Jazz drifted down to the floor and landed on their feet. "Ask us what?" asked Cat.
"Umm, after we got back from the palace," Jinn started. "I realized that my brother and I really hadn't been using our powers for much of anything. They were sort of a family secret that didn't really get talked about much and used less, except at family gatherings."
"But at the palace," she continued. "My brother and I used our powers in such ways, that I realized our potental. Tam told me that you five use your powers to fight crime and the like, and I thought...well..."
"She wants to know if you would allow us to join you," finished Tam, for his sister. Jinn's face reddened slightly.
"You wanna be a Bra Buster?" said Cat, slightly, but not totally surprised.
"Yes," said Jinn. "With all my honor."
"I see," said Didi. "Girls, conference time." Lydia and the rest of the girls floated up into the rafters and huddled up. "I told you so she'd wanna join," said Jazz, with a smug grin on her face. "And I think that we should let her."
"Yeah," said Cat. "She and her brother helped us out when we thought we didn't even have a chance."
"Her brother," said Lydia. "That may be a problem, should we let a boy join the Bra Busters just like that?"
"He proved himself just as well as she did," said Josie. "Besides, we're sorta like the Sailor Scouts aren't we?"
"Yeah," said Lydia. "But what does that have to do with it."
"Well," said Josie. "I have been wondering when we were going to get our own version of Tuxedo Mask."
Lydia hung in midair for a moment and then started to giggle. "Ok," she said. "you've convinced me. They can both join."
"Then it's settled?" said Didi. "They both join?"
"Yes!" said the rest of the girls loudly.
Didi decended to the floor and walked over to the twins. "You're in," she said. "Both of you." Jinn clapped her hands and cheered. "You see brother," she said. "I told you they would let you join. I told you."
"They're gonna need costumes," said Jazz.
"We've got that covered," said Tam. "It took us a couple of hours to come up with them. Something we could both agree with, without being too macho or too feminine." The twins touched their palms to one another, and a breeze started to stir in the garage as the twins tapped into the well. In a flash of brilliance, they were transformed and clad in the most beautiful costumes the other girls had ever seen. Tam was dressed in a white silk gi with a white mask covering his nose and mouth. Jinn's costume was some thing else entirely, she was clad in a tight, black silk jumpsuit with a plunging neckline. Jinn wore a domino style mask, and a short cape draped over her shoulders.
"Great," said Josie. "She looks more like Tuxedo Mask than Tam does." The girls giggled as Lydia adjusted the twins' density so they could join the party.
Somewhere in the darkness, a ghost meditates in peace. He too waits for the call. For he can ignore no evil, and, thanks to the Bra Busters, no evil can ignore him.
Let the darkness fear... The Black Arrow