Spider-Woman and
The Books of Doom
Spider-Woman and The Books of Doom
By Jeb and Jenn
Chapter Five
There was only one approach to the studio door, Sophea had been relieved to see. On the one hand, of course, it made it easier for potential kidnappers to know where to find Kate--but it also made it easier for her to cover any angles of approach. And, she reasoned, if she had fought off an attempt coming out of the blue, how much more easily could she deal with trouble if she could see it coming.
The building housing the studio was on Geary, not far off Union Square . One of San Francisco 's holdovers from the post-quake rebuild, it was a quiet brownstone, not looking out of place among the tiny art galleries and tourist shops. Her vantage point, across the street, was a similarly low-roofed affair, but surrounded on both sides, and behind, by taller buildings, offering her a perfectly secluded vantage. She was a little sorry that she couldn't be there to watch Kate's interview, but drawing attention to herself was practically advertising Kate's location for another kidnap attempt.
And there would be another one, she was sure of that. What little information she had been able to find on the woman who attacked her suggested powers that were fiendish and unholy, which certainly fit in with Kate's research. She had even seen reference to a powerful witch named Mab, who seemed to fit the description of the woman who had attacked her.
The question she found herself asking more and more, though, was: would that woman be involved again?
Distraction was not the best way for any superhero or heroine to approach their job, but Sophea was now finding herself doubly preoccupied: there was no question that her strong attraction to Kate was the real article, and something she resolved to pursue once things were quieter… but there was no possible way to deny the mesmerizing appeal of the long-haired witch she had encountered. There was a chilling sense of madness behind the woman's eyes--but isn't sex always a mixture of power and madness? Dionysian abandon mixed with the straining of muscle and tendon? Kate was a woman she could love… but Mab was something else--Mab was a woman she could fear. A woman that allowed her to savor that pit-of-the-stomach queasiness of being overpowered by sexual need--except that, in Mab's case, of course, they were enemies. For anything intimate to take place, one of them would have to actually, physically overpower the other, bind her, capture her. Overpower… bind… capture… just rolling the words around in her mind was setting off tingles that she knew she had no right to enjoy.
Focus! Focus! Kate's still in danger. Keep your eyes open for any signs of--
As if on cue, a large black luxury sedan rolled up to within a few feet of the studio door.
The same car! Spider-Woman couldn't believe they'd be that obvious. And yet, as she knew, there was no other way to get near Kate, so what point would there be in deception or diversion? This was intended as a simple brute-force kidnapping.
And in a masterpiece of bad timing, the door to the studio opened, and streetlights haloed Kate's shining red hair as she stepped out of the building. The back door of the car flew open, and a tall figure extended black-clad arms toward the oblivious Kate.
Spider-Woman opened her mouth to shout a warning--"Ka-uughhhmmmmpphhhh!"
Spider-Woman's attempt to warn Kate disappeared into the long dark tresses that whipped around her head and covered her mouth; the familiar fragrance of Mab's perfumed hair had reached her senses just a fraction of second too late to warn her. She started to reach her hands to the hair that was gagging her, but her arms were quickly pinned to her sides by more of the supple locks, cocooning her upper body; the writhing tresses were nestling themselves up under her breasts, and Spider-Woman felt a chill of anticipation, mingled with her fear, as the captivating tresses held her in a grasp both restraining and chillingly intimate.
Mab turned her captive around now, savoring the defiant, but ineffectual squirming that Spider-Woman was doing; the physical sensations of her prisoner's helplessness seemed to radiate from Mab's hair to her scalp right down to her loins, a shiver of arousal that broke her concentration for a moment… just long enough for Spider-Woman to wiggle one hand in Mab's direction to aim a blast of Spider-Venom straight at her captor. Remembering their last encounter, she held nothing back, and was rewarded by a shriek of pain from the woman, and a relaxation of her bonds.
The blast sent Mab skittering back, head over heels, long hair now streaming loosely, its hold on Spider-Woman broken.
Spider-Woman bounded to the side of the building to her left, her fingers and toes holding her in place through her gloves and boots, trying to see if the car that had abducted Kate was still in sight. From that angle, she couldn't get a good enough view, and she made ready to jump back down, prepared to flatten Mab again if she stood in her way.
Don't think about her! She told herself. She's bad, she's evil, she's… not alone?
She was surprised to see that the long-haired witch was, indeed, not alone now, as she slowly got to her feet. Next to her, and walking toward Spider-Woman, was an elegant, pale-skinned woman with red-gold hair, dressed in figure-hugging white leather, a scarf of shimmering pearl-white silk at her throat.
"I told her." Sophea placed the woman's faint accent as Russian, filing that information away for future use. "I said that wouldn't work any better today than it had the first time." The woman was smiling far too confidently for Sophea's taste--after all, she'd just seen what a Spider-Venom blast could do, and didn't appear to be worried in the least. But Sophea had no real choice--if she was to get clear and go after Kate and her kidnappers, she would have to dispatch this woman as quickly as possible.
"If you're a friend of hers, then you're as much my enemy as she is. Get out of the way, or I'll put you down, too."
"Charming." The woman in white leather posed, hands on hips, legs apart, regarding Spider-Woman with an indulgent smile. "I am called The Countess, and you are that delightful Spider-Woman I have heard so much about. I am so looking forward to getting to know you more… intimately."
"Stuff it, sister," Spider-Woman snarled. "I've got a job to do, and you're not standing in my way."
"Oh no?" Spider-Woman saw what appeared to be the tiniest twitch go across the woman's features; her smile widened slightly… and suddenly, Spider-Woman found herself slipping rapidly down from the wall, her fingers and toes no longer sticking to the bricks, to land on her butt with an unceremonious thud.
"What the…?" Spider-Woman was glad she was wearing her mask--the expression on her face right how must have been comically stupid.
"Having a problem, heroine?" The woman smirked. "Powers acting up a bit?"
Spend enough time around arrogant super-villainesses and you quickly learn that they can't keep anything to themselves, Spider-Woman thought. So, she's disrupting my climbing ability. Fine--I've got plenty more tricks up my sleeve. Literally, as it happened, as she bounded to her feet, leveled her arm, and willed a devastating blast of Spider-venom toward the woman.
The Countess raised an eyebrow as her foe stood, arm outstretched. Spider-Woman stared incredulously at her hand--what the hell was going on? She could feel the power of the venom coursing through her body… somehow, though, her muscles and nerves refused to deliver it.
"Wha----?" Her shout of surprise was cut off as she felt Mab's hair wrap around her right ankle, and in the next moment, Spider-Woman was suspended in the air, upside down. She flailed uselessly, trying to right herself, but Mab used her mystical grip to swing her around and dash her against the side of the wall.
Spider-Woman bounced back up, doing her best to ignore the pain shooting up her leg, and flipped over Mab's reaching hair to deliver a solid kick to her foe's chin. As she completed her jump, she grabbed hold of Mab's shoulder, closed her eyes, and with every ounce of strength she possessed, delivered a blast of Spider-venom.
That The Countess was still somehow disrupting her powers was clear from the tepid result--the blast had a fraction of strength that she had wanted to deliver, and if she had actually had to aim, would likely have had little to no effect at all.
Still, combined with the kick to the head, it sent Mab reeling to the ground. Spider-Woman landed, executed a perfect roll, and threw herself at The Countess. The woman in white tried to side-step, but Spider-Woman was able to grab an ankle and throw her back toward the edge of the roof. She nearly laughed at the panicked expression on the woman's face as she barely avoided going over the edge; there wasn't time to enjoy it, though, as she felt Mab's hair grab both her legs this time, and she was dragged backwards, her back and butt bouncing painfully on the rooftop. Once more, the witch lifted her prey high into the air, then threw her down hard.
Can't take much more of this, Sophea thought to herself. Her foes might have found her to be tougher prey than they had expected, but every minute she tussled with them, Kate was getting farther and farther away. And with The Countess' ability to dampen her powers, she wasn't even sure she could take the two of them on her own. She started to get to her feet, to see her two opponents, looking somewhat worse for wear, but still highly formidable, advancing towards her, as if to deliver the coup de grace.
If she wasn't going to overpower them, then maybe a bit of deception was in order. Spider-Woman sagged, as though she couldn't get up from her knees, waiting to see who'd make the first move. Mab snaked a long tress of dark hair towards her, and Sophea let it get almost close enough to wrap itself around her wrist… then lunged forward, seized the hair in both hands, and with all the strength she could muster, used it to fling the startled Mab towards The Countess.
"Oooof!" The woman in white went down like a bowling pin, Mab tumbling with her in a tangle of arms and legs, and Sophea felt as though a clamp had been removed from her brain: her mind was clearer, and she could feel tingles all along her nerve endings as her brain and her powers began to re-engage. There wasn't time to wait for them to be fully restored--she had only seconds to get onto Kate's trail. Before her stunned foes could react, she flexed her arms, and took flight, somewhat shakily, over the top of the building.
She scanned the intersections below, but even a quiet evening in downtown San Francisco was a maze of headlights, and large dark luxury cars were practically a dime a dozen. She started to launch herself towards the locus of Union Square … and suddenly came to a screeching halt in mid-air!
"Ahhh!" Pain shot through her scalp as her progress was brutally arrested, and her limbs flopped like a landed fish.
Someone grabbed my hair? Up here? That was as far as her thought process managed to get, as she suddenly found herself spun round and round by her hair, whipped through the air like a toy pinwheel. Dizzy and disoriented, it was actually a relief when she was let go and flung back down towards the rooftop again. Tumbling head over heels, she had a glimpse of a shapely, scantily-clad figure hovering above her, silky blond hair floating on the night breeze, arms folded as though satisfied with a job well done…
and then Sophea landed back on the roof with a crash. She groaned as pain ran up through her back and shoulders, but desperation drove her upright.
Kate! I'm running out of time.
She had no idea how The Countess' powers worked, but she was fairly sure they required some form of concentration; it was vital to keep her off balance. She threw off two quick Spider-venom blasts, knocking both her antagonists back again. Still a long way from 100%! she thought grimly, but it had been enough to get her clear. A quick glance upwards confirmed that the woman who had interrupted her flight was still hovering, no doubt preparing to repeat the process.
Can't go up--that just leaves down. She turned, to scramble down the side of the building before her climbing abilities could be disrupted again, when there was a stirring in the inky shadows, and she felt her breath knocked nearly out of her lungs from behind.
"Uhhhh!" The weight that collided with her back wasn't great--barely a hundred pounds, she'd have thought--but it landed with a force that seemed to be having a wildly disproportionate impact: she felt as though one of the buildings had collapsed on her.
Slender arms and legs encircled her body, and she was held fast in a tight embrace; female clearly--and, if she was any judge, superhuman as well. The fact that bony fingers were exploring the swell of her bosom beneath the skin-tight costume was the least of her worries: far more worrisome was the wave of weakness and nausea that hit her like the worst case of flu imaginable, amplified by a factor of ten.
"Mmmmm…. Oh yeah." A voice hissed in Sophea's ear, and she could feel a thin, hard body snugging itself up behind her. "Oh, baby, your powers feel soooooo good…" The young woman called Leech continued to fondle her, and every obscene touch of those hands left her even dizzier and weaker. She flailed weakly to pull the girl off her, but couldn't reach far enough.
She felt the young woman lick her ear, and a shudder ran through their conjoined bodies.
"Oh, what's this?" the voice murmured into her ear, and Sophea had the sinking feeling that she knew just what the girl had discovered. In the next instant, she was proved right, as her body was racked with the pain of a blast of Spider-venom.
God, that HURTS! Never having been on the receiving end of one of the blasts, Sophea was unprepared for just how devastating a weapon it was. Nerve endings were going numb now, her eyes clouding.
"Oh, that was FUN!" The girl giggled as Sophea's body shuddered from the blast. "Let's try it again!"
Sophea collapsed to her knees, but her foe simply shifted her grip to accommodate the new position, and let go with another blast.
"Hguuhhhhh!" Sophea tried to suppress the moan, but the pain was too great. The second blast had been stronger than the first, which meant that her new foe was able to not only absorb her powers, but to quickly develop her skill at using them. If this kept up, Sophea knew, she'd soon be dead… or their prisoner, which might well prove worse.
"Well done, Leech," came The Countess' voice. "I think that should be sufficient."
Sophea felt blessed relief as the wiry arms and legs relinquished their grip on her, and she sank forward on all fours. The pain was beginning to recede from unbearable to simply agonizing, but the weakness remained, and she had no reason to think that she could call on her powers at all right now-- whatever this Leech had done to her, the effects were clearly going to linger for a while.
Sophea shook her head to try to clear the pain and haze from it. From her current position, on hands and knees, she had a good view of the rooftop, and a pair of long legs encased in white leather, and not much else. She was shivering from the effects of the Spider-venom blast, wildly disoriented from the fragmentation of her powers, and generally aching all over.
The Countess' face swam before her blurry vision, and standing next to her was a young girl in black leather, who seemed to be caught up in a dreamy haze, hugging herself. Must be the one who stole my powers; Sophea congratulated herself on at least still having her powers of deduction intact. Still getting used to them.
She urged herself to forget pain and focus. Kate. Got… to get… to…
Try as she could, though, Sophea was unable to get to her feet, or even keep her head from sagging, her face lost in the dark curtain of her hair.
"Agggh!" despite herself, Sophea let out a moan as slender fingers tangled in her long tresses and yanked her head up and back. Now, she was gazing blearily into Mab's eyes, which blazed with vengeful lust.
"Now, my pretty Spider…" the woman's beautiful face was alive with power as she gloated over her helpless foe. "I have such lovely plans for you…" Sophea could feel the woman's eyes stripping her of her costume already, and at this point, she wouldn't have been surprised if that had literally happened. She felt herself sagging, held up only by the woman's painful grip in her hair.
Surrender, a voice was whispering in her mind. Give up. She's won. She's conquered you. You are hers, now.
NO!!! Sophea's head sagged as Mab released her to fall face-down at her feet. NO, I will fight that voice! she screamed to herself, realizing that she couldn't even be sure whether it came from Mab… or from a part of herself that was just too weary to fight anymore. Kate--I won't let you down!
Sophea closed her eyes, thought of Kate, and with every last ounce of strength she had left, thrust herself up to her feet, seizing Mab around the waist, and used her momentum to propel the two of them forward, flinging the astonished Mab into the arms of the unprepared Leech.
"Aaahhhhh!" The air was rent with the sound of the two women screaming as Leech's body absorbed the full measure of Mab's powers… and her madness. Both women shuddered as though wedged into an electrical socket, Mab's demonic nature far too much for a mortal to absorb.
The Countess stared, in shock, as her two compatriots fell into a quivering heap. She didn't need any great affection for Mab to be horrified at the shrieking insanity that seemed to have gripped both women. So distracted was she by the sight that she didn't notice the slow, staggering approach of Spider-Woman until the valiant heroine was nearly upon her.
"Your turn, bitch." Sophea's voice was weary, but determined. She winced as The Countess desperately tried to disrupt Spider-Woman's powers.
"Forget it, honey," Sophea smiled weakly. "You can't disrupt my fist." And the delicious sensation of her gloved knuckles colliding with the woman's jaw was almost enough to make her forget all the other aches and pains. The Countess fell sprawling on her back.
For a moment, Spider-Woman paused, to savor the scene: three of the most vicious foes she had ever faced lay sprawled on the ground, out of commission. No time to gloat, she wearily told herself.
She turned, to see if her remaining strength would at least allow her to climb down the fire escape… and found herself gazing at the half-naked flying woman who had pulled her out of the air, standing now in front of her. The smile on the blonde's face was almost apologetic.
Spider-Woman shook her head in resignation as the blonde drew back a fist, and Sophea found her arms too weary even to lift them in her own defense.
"Oh, sh…" She never quite finished the curse as the fist collided with her jaw, and Spider-Woman went down for the count.
***
Had she been conscious to realize it, Sophea would have been even more miserable than she already was: in fact, her attempts to pursue Kate's kidnapper was futile: after seizing the reporter, Kane had simply created a mystical enclosure that prevented the car from being seen by mortal eyes, and parked across the street, to await the inevitable outcome of Spider-Woman's battle with Mab and her minions.
While Spider-Woman had been distracted by Mab's sudden hair assault, Kate had found herself in the situation she'd least wanted to face. As soon as she stepped out of the studio, confident it had been a good interview after the one with Harmony a couple days ago, Kate found herself seeing a familiar sight: a menacing black limousine outside, and an equally menacing man stepping out of it. He wasted no time in showing that he was after her, and the reporter had precious little time to react.
Kate intended to run, and tried to set off quickly to evade her captor. Unfortunately, two factors played roles in ensuring she didn't have a chance. For one, her heels weren't exactly built for sprinting. Secondly, Kane was able to seize her without much trouble, one strong arm thrown around her waist, the other's hand clamping down over her mouth. As Kate kicked, struggled, and shouted into the hand gag, Kane confidently pulled her into the limo.
"You're not escaping this time, Ms. Cutler," he informed her with a wicked smile, to which she reacted by struggling even more and grunting angrily.
"We've gone to a lot of trouble to make you our guest, so it's best that you're secured for the journey," Kane added, while Kate's mind filled to the brim with questions.
As Kane kept one hand over her mouth, he used the other to get some strong rope to begin securing his captive. The first was looped around Kate's hands, which he forcefully drew back behind her, crossed at the wrists. Enchanting the rope to do the binding itself had been simple enough, and was thoroughly useful when you wanted to hold the subject of binding in place simultaneously.
As she felt the rope tied off around her wrists, and more beginning to snake around her torso, Kate's thoughts became a jumble. Who was this man that was tying her up? He was connected to the witch that had tried to grab her last time, she was sure. More importantly, where was that witch? The ropes tightened themselves snuggly above and below her breasts, drawing more unwanted attention to them. Still more ropes wound their way around her ankles and above her knees, while another question came up. Where was Spider-Woman, her sworn protector?
Kane answered this question as the ropes finished securing Kate's writhing but helpless form, "Don't worry about your costumed bodyguard. My sister and her friends will be taking care of her right about now."
"Nrrmmm!" Kate shook her head, mouth still silenced by Kane's hand.
"I'm afraid she's not going to be of much use to you once the girls are through with her," Kane continued, then produced a white silk scarf similar to the one the Countess was wearing, "Now, it's time to make sure you stay quiet for the ride."
After laying the scarf out on the seat next to him, Kane produced a red gem from his pocket and ran it over the exposed side of the scarf. Then he turned the scarf over and did the same thing with the opposite side as well. When he finished, he slipped the gem back into his pocket and took the scarf up in his hand. Kate had a queasy feeling in her stomach as she knew exactly where that scarf was going.
"Now, open up please," her captor more ordered than requested, and when she clamped her mouth shut, he grabbed her hair. Savoring its fragrance, he tugged on it, grinning maliciously. "I'm really going to enjoy playing with you once I get you to your new... permanent home."
"No, l-ggmmmrmmmph!!" Kate tried to protest. Her attempt was cut short as Kane forced the scarf between her teeth and pulled it back into her mouth; his grip on her hair was too strong to allow her to avoid it. After pulling it as tight as he could, he tied the ends off securely at the nape of Kate's neck, taking care to do so under her luxuriant red hair.
With the reporter secured, Kane scooped her wriggling form up in his arms and stepped out to stow her away for the trip. Her struggles proved ineffectual as he popped the trunk open and set her down inside. For a few moments, he watched with enjoyment as Kate fought her bonds. It was quite invigorating to watch the display, which ended too soon for his liking. Figuring that she should save her strength for later, Kate stopped struggling and merely glared up defiantly at her captor. Now that the show was over, Kane had no reason to keep watching the bound and gagged reporter. There would be time for that later.
Kane closed the trunk of the car on Kate's helpless form, and nodded to the driver. At the wheel of the car was the same blonde as last time--she was, in fact, one of his Mindless Ones: once human, beautiful of face and figure, whose mind and personality had been stripped away via unholy ritual, leaving her a living, breathing automaton, serving only her master. Kane had nearly perfected the process: the women and men who were subjected to this treatment were perfectly obedient, but did lack for anything in the way of initiative. They made good drivers, and could handle simple tasks, but little more than that.
Next to the car, also invisible to human prying, was one of the black vans that Kane kept housed in the penthouse building; this one driven by a hulking male Mindless One, and ready to transport Spider-Woman to her own captivity.
The fight on the rooftop hadn't taken long, though there had been more screaming than he'd expected to hear. Still, it must have ended as expected, as he saw Malibu 's lithe form take off from the top of the roof, and float gently down towards him.
He watched as the blonde landed gently on the street beside the car, and he took a moment to fully savor the sight of the supple form, clad in tight-fitting scarlet and yellow, that hung unconscious over Malibu 's shoulder. Spider-Woman's long legs were draped across Malibu 's chest, and her perfectly-shaped ass was thrust up in the air atop the blonde's shoulder; Malibu rested a palm lovingly on it in a gesture that Kane found wonderfully arousing. Limp arms dangled down behind Malibu's back, and Sophea's river of shimmering black hair swayed between them like a silken waterfall.
Kane found himself licking his lips. Seems a shame to let Mab have all the fun with this one…
His attention was harshly arrested by the sight of the rest of the team returning. From an alley beside the two buildings, at the foot of a fire escape, The Countess was leading Mab and Leech, and Kane felt sick at his stomach to see the way his sister staggered, her eyes blank, her face expressionless.
"What happened?" he snarled at The Countess, who covered a black eye with one hand, and pointed with the other hand to the limp figure of the unconscious superheroine.
"She did," The Countess snarled back. "The damn bitch nearly ruined my face."
"Never mind your face, what about my sister?"
The Countess slumped down on the empty front seat of the car. "Leech. Spider-Woman managed to get her to absorb Mab's powers. Your sister will recover, but God knows if Leech ever will."
Kane's first flash of anger subsided as he tried to establish a mental link with his sister. Though faint, her personality, her self, were still there and intact. The Countess was right, she'd recover, though it might be days. He'd worry about Leech later.
As Kane did his best to provide psychic reassurance to Mab, The Countess stepped over to the van and glared at Spider-Woman's unmoving form. She reached down and lifted her unresisting head by a fistful of her hair.
"Let's see just who this little slut is!" she muttered, reaching for Spider-Woman's mask.
"No!" Kane snapped.
The Countess turned in astonishment.
"That privilege is reserved for Mab, once she's recovered."
The Russian glared at Kane, but knew better than to defy him. She shrugged, and let Spider-Woman's head fall back to the carpeted floor of the van.
"Stash her in an empty room at the Club," he told The Countess, nodding toward the helpless heroine. "I'll take care of the reporter, and get Mab nursed back to health. Don't worry--I'm sure Mab will share her new toy with you once she's up and about. Spider-Woman will keep till then."
"Why don't I just fly her there?" Malibu asked. "Wouldn't take but a minute."
"Flying half-naked blondes aren't exactly a common sight in the air over San Francisco ," Kane smiled. "And while our home is mystically shrouded from mortal view, the Club isn't. I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to it. But, if you don't mind, I'd like you to ride along with our new guest. Not that I expect any difficulties from her, but your presence should help deter any trouble."
Malibu nodded, but The Countess spoke up.
"Oh, she won't be trying anything--trust me, I'm going to tie that slut up so tight…"
"Then you'll be wanting to use this." Kane took from his pocket a coil of what looked like pure gold, braided into a fine cord. "Woven from the hair of the superheroine Rapunzel, before we sold her into slavery, and since enhanced with blood rituals. Can't be broken, at least not by strength alone--not even superhuman strength. Can't be cut, except by a blade that has been similarly enhanced… and best of all, only the person who ties it into a knot can untie it."
The Countess smiled, her pain forgotten, at the prospect of reducing Spider-Woman to complete helplessness. She took the cord and started in.
She began by rolling Sophea over onto her stomach, and drawing the heroine's yellow-gloved hands together, and crossing her wrists. She began to wind the cord Kane had given her around the gauntleted wrists, and was delighted to see that its powers weren't confined to unbreakability: it seemed to have a mind of its own, snugging itself tightly, leaving no slack, and providing the optimal binding wherever it was tied. The Countess nodded to Malibu, who lifted the unconscious heroine's body off the van floor to allow The Countess to wrap the cord around Sophea's waist, pulling it taut, and securing her bound wrists right up against the small of her back; again, the cord responded to her touch by ensuring that no slack existed for their captive to exploit when she regained consciousness.
That Spider-Woman was unconscious, largely depowered, and under Malibu 's watchful eye, meant that there was very little chance of her escaping. Nevertheless, The Countess continued undeterred, drawing the cord up to Spider-Woman's shoulders. With Malbu's help again, she yoked the bonds around and across Spider-Woman's chest, then behind again, cinching the cord around her upper arms. She paused for a moment, to savor the way the bondage forced her prisoner's breasts forward, nearly bursting from the skin-tight costume. While there was no way she was prepared to defy Kane, her loins were practically aching from the desire to force herself upon the beautiful, helpless, heroine.
She bit her lip… bide your time, she told herself…you'll find an opportunity… and finished securing Spider-Woman by knotting more cord around her ankles, leaving no chance for her captured foe to rise, or even crawl, once she awakened. And if the cord was all that Kane said, Spider-Woman was now more helpless than she could have ever dreamed of being.
Kane smiled, having enjoyed watching The Countess at work, binding their helpless prey; if he noticed the arousal growing in her, he made no mention of it. Instead, he reached into his pocket and produced a small, red gem, and turned to The Countess.
"Give me your scarf." She slipped the pearly silk scarf from around her throat, and handed it to him. He passed the gem over it, once on each side, then handed it back to her.
"Gag her with this. The gem's enchantment will make it as effective as if you'd sewn her mouth up, but a good deal less messy."
The Countess took a fistful of Sophea's hair and raised her head again; the soft red lips were slack, and her jaw sagged. The Countess stuffed the silk scarf deeply into the gaping mouth, then dropped Sophea's head back to the floor of the van. She exposed the nape of Sophea's neck by using her fingers to comb the long dark hair forward, an action that sent tingles right down the pit of her stomach. She knotted the scarf in place there, twice, ensuring that her captive would remain just as effectively gagged as she was tied.
Malibu took a seat in the back of the van, the bound and gagged Spider-Woman lying helpless at her feet. The Countess thought about taking a seat next to her, but realized that the danger of succumbing to temptation was too great: Kane wanted Spider-Woman saved for his sister's amusement and pleasure, and The Countess feared that if she didn't put a bit of distance between herself and the bound captive, that she'd be unable to resist slaking her lust on the beautiful prisoner.
Instead, she got in beside the driver, and they set off to install Spider-Woman as an unwilling guest of Mab and Kane's very special Club.