White Owl: Hazy Shade of DeWinter




http://ethereas.deviantart.com/art/White-Owl-Hazy-Shade-of-DeWinter-400863813

White Owl grunted meekly as the woman knelt beside her. Athena could make out
the blurry face of Viktoria DeWinter, and she unsuccessfully tried to pull
away as the woman lifted her head and placed it in her lap. A mumbled "Weh
mngh gooo!" was all she could manage in protest.

White Owl was just waking up from a forced chloroform nap and felt numb and
disoriented, which was good only in that it reduced the aching from the
considerable punishment she'd taken earlier. She tried to remember what
happened, and it all started to come back to her. Athena had given far better
than she'd received, but there were four of them--five if you counted Madame
DeWinter, herself--and just one of her. Three of them had been dressed as
French maids and the fourth women as a chauffeur, and the kicker was that they
were all metahumans. None of them could match White Owl for strength or speed,
but they attacked her in various ways using a wide array of powers that kept
her off balance and gradually wore her down.

ONE HOUR AGO:

Fighting four metahumans hadn't been part of the plan, but Athena's plan had
gone seriously awry. She knew Viktoria DeWinter was somehow involved in the
disappearances of several prominent society women over the last couple of
years. She didn't know exactly how or why, but she intended to find out. Her
problem was that the woman was untouchable. Ms. DeWinter had great wealth,
impeccable political connections, and even an enormously popular public image
thanks to her generous charitable donations to the arts, to anti-poverty
programs in the city, to fight AIDS in Africa; if one named a charity, odds
are it had received money from one of DeWinter's foundations. There were
clues, hints, and rumors swirling around that linked Ms. DeWinter to the
disappearances, but nothing solid or substantial, and without a large-caliber
smoking gun covered in Madame DeWinter's fingerprints and a serial number
registered to her, the police weren't going to do a thing. White Owl knew her
idea was rash, but she just had a gut feeling that Madame DeWinter was guilty
as hell, and she knew if she didn't do *something* that Ms. DeWinter would
keep getting away with it for as long as she wanted to. So Athena thought
she'd bust in, take a look around, and give DeWinter the third degree. She
didn't figure DeWinter for the principal in these abductions, and the
billionaire didn't have the look of a hardened criminal. Surely, shocked by
the sudden appearance of one of Queen City's greatest heroines, Viktoria
DeWinter would quickly give up the goods and roll over on her partners in
crime. And if any of the household staff showed up, they'd be too intimidated
to interfere, right? Not that there was much that they could do to stop White
Owl, in any event. In short, she'd dig around a bit and unearth the truth.

Ms. DeWinter was shocked alright, and she retreated to one corner of her
massive study as White Owl sauntered over to her, but the surprised look on
her face seemed infused with delight, not fear. And the help was far from
intimidated, and as it turned out, there was quite a bit that they could do to
stop White Owl. Athena had expected to burst in and force a quick, easy
confession, and now she was fighting for her life against the cast of Devious
Maids who used teamwork in an attempt to overwhelm the way more powerfull
vigilante. But she was White Owl, and if they wanted a fight, they were going
to get one! In the vicious brawl one of the French maids and the driver had
been put down for the count and the two remaining maids were clearly
suffering, but Athena had been punched, kicked, and otherwise battered by
powerful superhuman blows, slammed by sonic blasts, partially frozen in blocks
of ice, and was now in very poor shape, herself. It was taking all of her
pride and willpower just to stand, dazed and hurt White Owl needed all her
focus to outlast her final two opponents, one of whom was a power-punching
tank who was very close to being in White Owl's league, and the other the
sonic blast girl. The screamer--who Athena swore looked just like this minor
heroine she'd met one time but who's name she couldn't place--packed a
devastating punch, but Athena had almost taken her out of the fight earlier
with a single well-placed kick. All she had to do was hold out a little bit
longer and she could wrap this up. However the two maids kept the pressure on
her. White Owl was able to dodge an attack of the power-puncher, ducking
underneath a swing seemingly meant to knock her head clean off. However before
she could counter the screamer attacked her from behind and kicked her hard
against the back of her knee. White Owl managed to keep standing but the
powerpunching maid used the moment to send a devastating punch which caught
her straight in the jaw. White Owl grunted as the impact snapped her head
backwards and brought her to her knees. A normal person would have been killed
or at least put in a coma by this blow however White Owl managed to take the
punch.

Blinking her eyes she saw the maid cock her arm back for a massive punch aimed
at her face, if this punch would connect White Owl would surely get separated
from her consciousness. Leaning towards her left White Owl felt the punch fly
past her face and then leaped up and connected a spinning kick which knocked
the maid several feet backwards.

White Owl groaned as the screecher hit her with another blast, spinning her
around and slamming her into a massive bookcase with a heavy thud. The heroine
thought for a moment that she was done, but she gritted her teeth and managed
to stay upright. Now was the time! It took sound girl a minute or so to get
her voice back after each blast. All White Owl had to do was get in close and
deliver a solid blow to each of these pretenders and it was the fall of France
all over again. Then she could deal with Viktoria DeWinter.

Athena pushed herself off the bookcase and started towards the two meta-maids,
who were apparently thinking the same thing she was and were cautiously
backing away, when she was grabbed from behind and a wet rag placed over her
nose and mouth. She immediately recognized the smell of chloroform and tried
to hold her breath. She had been looking forward to dealing with Ms. DeWinter,
but she'd lost track of her during the melee, and now it appeared that
Viktoria had decided to step in and deal with her first! The chloroform hit
White Owl like a sledgehammer, and it didn't help that she was already nearly
out on her feet. She tried to break DeWinter's grip and nearly succeeded. Even
in her weak and wounded state, surely she was more than a match for a
socialite. All she had to do was keep struggling and she'd shrug Viktoria
aside, then she could finish up with Fifi and Brigitte and finally get this
ordeal over with. But she had a new problem: the maids immediately rushed
forward when they saw their mistress ambush White Owl, and now tank girl's
arms were enveloping White Owl's legs and the screamer had one of the
heroine's arms. On top of that, Viktoria seemed disturbingly strong. The three
of them picked the bucking, writhing heroine up off the ground and managed to
keep her from wiggling free while the chloroform did its work, and soon the
Queen City champion's frantic twisting slowed and her gagged screams faded to
soft mewls. Finally, White Owl went slack in the arms of her assailants and
was lowered unconscious to the floor, the maids quickly scurrying away and
then returning with things to bind and gag her with.

THE PRESENT:

Athena took a deep breath and sighed. Viktoria's face was gradually becoming
more clear, but White Owl's eyelids still felt incredibly heavy. She tried to
speak again and realized she was gagged, her mouth forced open wide and
stuffed with a thickly-knotted silk scarf which had been tied tightly behind
her head. Ms. DeWinter turned White Owl's head gently and brushed a few stray
hairs aside that had become tangled in the heroine's mask. Athena looked down
and saw her wrists were bound and tugged at the ropes, but they didn't budge.
She knew that for the moment standing up was out of the question and
struggling was pointless, so she raised her glassy eyes back up to look at
Madame DeWinter.

The villainess looked down, a soft smile on her face. "I'm sure you must be
terribly nonplussed by this turn of events, White Owl. If it's any
consolation, your visit came as quite the surprise to me, as well," she said,
causing White Owl to groan again and try to turn her head away. "I had planned
to add you to my collection eventually, of course, but you're a powerful and
prominent heroine. Not an easy target. I never imagined you'd drop right into
my lap. So, yes, a surprise, but a rather pleasant one," she laughed.

White Owl didn't like the sound of the word "collection" one bit, and
instinctively began to struggle. Whatever was binding her wrists was ungodly
strong, but they hadn't taken the opportunity to bind her legs before she'd
awakened, and she began to scissor them slowly, looking for purchase so that
she could turn herself over, perhaps thrust herself away. DeWinter grinned as
White Owl started to writhe. Her left hand slid down the side of the heroine's
face and her fingers curled under her jaw as the left hand pressed a cloth
soaked in chloroform over White Owl's face.

"There, there, White Owl, no sense fighting it. You tried to best me, and you
failed," Viktoria said soothingly as Athena's eyes bulged momentarily and her
struggling intensified. "You're not going anywhere. The bindings on your
wrists are made of a special alloy that even you can't break. I know exactly
how to keep you docile and under control. You see, all of my staff are former
heroines, like yourself. I enjoy the unique and unattainable, and what's more
unattainable than a superheroine? I've amassed quite a collection, White Owl,
and you will be the crown jewel."

Athena knew DeWinter was right, there was no sense fighting it. She was
already weak and bound and battered and bruised and in a drug-induced haze.
She couldn't hold her breath forever. But she was the White Owl, and she was
never just going to give in. There was no way she was going to be
"re-purposed" to serve the whims of this sick woman. And so she struggled.
Weakly. Briefly. The anesthetic sapped her resistance with each forced breath,
and Viktoria DeWinter smiled down at her as she kept Athena's head pinned in
her lap and forced her to breath in the soporific fumes. A tall, attractive
redhead strode up and stood behind Ms. DeWinter. She was wearing a charcoal
pin-striped suit with a rather short skirt and a pair of black patent stiletto
heels. White Owl knew the face but couldn't place the name. Her eyes closed,
but she managed to open them again, the world slowly turning int a giant,
vivid blur whose edges were becoming increasingly dark.

"Ms. O'Shea, I would like you to rearrange my schedule for the next month.
Eliminate all non-essential meetings and engagements. Taming White Owl and
training her for service will be my top priority," Madame DeWinter said
without bothering to look up.

"Yes, Madame," the woman said as she began to make some entries on a tablet.

"You probably recognize Annette O'Shea. Not too long ago she was a rather
well-known stage actress. She was also a superheroine known as 'Showgirl'
until she, like you, made the terrible mistake of crossing swords with me,"
Ms. DeWinter grinned. White Owl blinked hard, trying to keep her eyes open,
trying not to give in. There was no way she was going to let herself be
'tamed' or 'trained'. If she just tried a little harder she could get up, fly
away. If....if.....

Ms. DeWinter licked her lips as White Owl's eyelids fluttered closed for the
last time and her moaning ceased. "And Annette, have the girls come in and
finish binding my new toy. Tell them to prepare her for transport and arrange
to have her moved to the training facility."

"Of course, Ms. DeWinter," the former heroine known as Showgirl said with a
curt nod as she pivoted on a heel and strode out to carry out her mistress's
instructions. Deep in her subconscious something screamed "No! Don't obey! You
can fight her! You can save White Owl and the others!" but Annette seemed not
to hear it as she lifted her cell phone to her ear. "Yes, hello, Karl? It's
Ms. O'Shea. I have a package for delivery to the cottage. Yes, have a van here
tonight," she smiled as she walked from the room.