Roxanne and the Elder Gods
by Dreadnaught
Roxanne must fight to save her soul from ultimate destruction


With apologies to H.P. Lovecraft
 
     Roxanne breathed deeply as she walked along the country road
back to town, savoring the richly sweet, damp air. It was good to
be back home in England, for a brief time, at least. She'd never
have considered moving back here, but she did grow up in this
country, and there were a lot of things she missed.
     America had been good to her. The female fight company she was
involved in was prospering, and profits were more than she or her
partners might have imagined. Once things had been straightened out
and Suzie had gotten back up to her powerfully healthy self,
Roxanne had felt no compunction about leaving Dave Black and Nina
in charge of things for a few weeks so she could go travelling.
     Despite the smooth sailing, sometimes she did get tired of
things. Living in a big city naturally had its drawbacks. Pollution
drags at your lungs. Being surrounded by the constant construction
known as urban renewal can be horribly stifling. Crime surrounds
you, threatening to draw you down into its depths and consume you.
     Her chosen profession also had its drawbacks. Managing a group
of female fighters, not to mention doing some fighting herself when
she wanted, meant she had to deal with an almost constant stream of
arrogant, overconfident men unwilling to believe they could be
outfought barehanded by a girl. Roxanne truly enjoyed fighting
them, and humilating them totally, but it did get tiresome at
times. Sometimes it felt like for every man she would pummel with
her fists into a broken, humbled mass, there would be five more who
couldn't believe what had happened and challenge her themselves. It
sometimes amazed her how egotistical these men were, and sometimes
it got boring.
     When she had become bored recently, her mind cast itself back
to her childhood, to a summer in her early teens spent in a small
Cornish village. She remembered a brief period of peace, away from
a life she felt ill at ease with. She remembered a friend, a few
years older than she was, that she had met that summer, and
promised to stay in touch with, a promise she hadn't kept. So many
things had happened in Roxanne's life since then. She had been too
centred on escaping the life she had led to concern herself about
which pieces of her past she wanted to cling to. At the time, it
was an all-or-nothing proposition. She chose to make a new,
different life for herself, and clung to nothing.
     But that was then. Now, she had the luxury of looking back.
She remembered her friend, Vera, and managed to find her old
address. It hadn't changed, despite the intervening years, and
Roxanne was delighted to find Vera hadn't changed, either. She
still possessed an inner earthiness that Roxanne found refreshing.
Vera's concerns were small and revolved around common sense. It had
made a remarkable difference to Roxanne from the lofty ambitions
her family had had for her, and she felt certain it would
revitalize her now.
     So Roxanne had come to visit her friend. She had checked into
the small inn over the village pub. Resolving to leave her current
life behind her for the extent of her time here, she left her
subtly revealing business suits at home. She walked along in a wool
sweater and jeans, very casual, and very different, for her. She
decided she had wanted to go for a walk in the countryside,
something she had enjoyed in her earlier visit, before she went to
see Vera. 
     Walking back to the town, she found herself delighted to
relive the memories of that happy time. Very little had changed, it
seemed. The countryside was as green as she remembered it, the air
was as damp and brisk. Hillocks dotted the landscape here and
there, gently sloping to small summits. All was the same, except
for one particular spot. When she had walked about fifteen minutes
out of town, she passed a low hillock when a sudden sharp breeze
whipped her hair back and sent a chill through her exposed skin.
For a moment, she experienced a feeling she hadn't felt for years,
something no man who had raised his fists against her had ever
caused. Terror. She ran ahead, and the bizarre sensation seemed to
pass as quickly as it had come. Disorientated, she thought she
heard a vague, inhuman laughter as she hurried on. It must have
been the wind. She took a different road to get back to town.
     Once she had arrived back at the outskirts to the village, she
made her way to Vera's house. It was still the same, a picturesque,
ancient house, vines growing up its walls, untainted by the modern
world, it seemed. Roxanne smiled, and smiled even more as her
knocks were answered by her old friend.
     "Oh Roxanne, it's so good to see you!" Vera exclaimed, hugging
her tightly.
     "And you, it's been so long!" Roxanne returned the embrace
warmly.
     "Come in, come in!" 
     Vera escorted Roxanne into her living room. Very little had
changed over the years. Roxanne could still remember playing in
this room in her youth. She took a seat on a small chesterfield.
     "Would you like some tea?" her hostess asked.
     "No, thank you. I just want to relax and savour the moment.
It's so good to be back here, to see you again.."
     Vera sat next to her. "I know.. I didn't know if I'd ever see
you again."
     "I'm sorry, I know I should have kept in touch. I really wish
I had, Vera, but I'm so happy to be here now! I wish you could have
seen me when your reply to my letter came. I was so excited!"
     Vera smiled affectionately at her friend, but the smile seemed
to wilt as Roxanne watched, until finally her head went down into
her hands and she began to cry.
     "What's wrong??" Roxanne asked urgently.
     "I'm sorry, Roxanne.. I didn't mention this in my letter, but
things have been strange around here lately. I don't know what's
going on.. my sister has vanished.."
     "Nora?" Roxanne remembered Vera's young sister, a few years
younger than she was. Nora had just been a toddler when Roxanne was
last here. "When did this happen?"
     "Last week. Nora just disappeared, no trace of her. And she's
not the only one.."
     "Have you gone to the police?"
     "No."
     "What?? Why not?"
     "I couldn't. There's nothing to be done.."
     "What are you talking about? They can start a search, find her
wherever she is!"
     "No, Roxanne, you don't understand," Vera mumbled miserably.
"You never knew the past of this village, did you?"
     "No, I don't. Please tell me what you mean."
     Vera sighed and tried to compose herself. "All right. For
centuries this town has been rumored to be the center of a druidic
cult. I can't remember the whole history of it offhand. I'm not
even sure anyone really knows it for sure, or how it all started.
A lot of it is rumour and hearsay. All I know for certain is that
every fifty years, the druids come and take women from the village.
They're never seen again."
     "What, they just vanish without trace? And they're never heard
from again?"
     "No." Vera began to gently sob again, and Roxanne put her arms
around her to comfort her. "They say these druids just seem to
appear out of nowhere. They take who they want and vanish."
     "And they only take women?"
     "That's the rumour. They only take young women."
     Roxanne sighed to herself as she knew what she had to do. So
much for her peaceful vacation, she thought. "Vera, I'll tell you
what you have to do. Get cleaned up, and come meet me at the pub in
town in an hour. I'm staying there."
     Vera looked at her, puzzled. "What.. why?"
     "We're going to find out what happened to Nora."
     "H.. how?"
     "The only way I can think of. I'm going to make sure they come
for me."
     "What?! Roxanne, that's insane! You'd.."
     "Vera, please don't argue. Trust me. I'm the only chance you
have of seeing Nora again."
     "But.." Vera looked into her friend's determined face. "All
right, I'll see you in an hour."
     "Good." Roxanne stood and made her way to the door. "Oh, and
by the way.. dress casually. Loose clothing, like what I have on
now."
     "Hmm? Why?"
     "Well, we want to make sure they only take me, not you as
well." Roxanne gave her a reassuring smile, told her not to worry,
and left.
 
     An hour later Vera walked cautiously into the small pub. She
no longer felt safe walking the streets once the sun was down, and
she had just made it to the pub before sundown. 
     The pub was very tiny, very English, serene and almost stuffy.
It was also very old. Everything in it had an aura of timelessness
to it, except for one thing. Sitting at the bar, Roxanne stood out
like a lighthouse in a foggy night.
     She wore a clinging black minidress, sheer black hose and a
pair of black leather ankle boots with heels. Her hair was slicked
back to her shoulders. She sat on a bar stool, her legs crossed
sensuously. Her overwhelming sexuality guaranteed she was the focus
of the attentions of the few men in the pub, though they maintained
a respectful distance from her, as if in awe.
     Vera gaped as she came up to her friend. "Roxanne, I.."
     "Shhh. Come, let's get that table in the corner."
     Every eye in the place was on the girl in black as she led
Vera to the table. The two women sat facing the men scattered
around the pub.
     "That dress certainly gets attention," Vera commented.
     "That's the point, dear. How could our druid friends ignore
me? Now, who are those two over by the door? They've been watching
rather strangely."
     "I don't blame them, dressed the way you are. You've rather
grown a bit since I last saw you, you know.."
     "Yes, I know," Roxanne grinned. "Believe me, Vera, I've seen
enough looks of lust from men to be familiar with the look. Those
two aren't giving me that look, they're giving me something I don't
recognize."
     Vera looked subtly over at them. An older, balding man sat
whispering to his companion, a younger brown-haired individual.
They looked intently at Roxanne, as if they were analyzing her.
     "I think you may be right, but those two are harmless. The
older man runs the butcher's shop. The other is the tobacconist."
     "I don't know if anyone here is harmless.. I wonder where
they're off to?"
     Both men had suddenly stood and made a hasty exit from the
pub.
     "No idea, maybe they want to get home and watch telly."
     "We should follow them."
     "What? Wait a minute. What are you planning to do?"
     "Vera, someone in this village is kidnapping young women. I
can't stop them unless they take me, too."
     "But how can you stop them?? You're going to take on the whole
cult alone?"
     "Yes. Vera, please, just trust me. I'm very used to handling
men. But they have to notice me first, and decide to take me."
     "I doubt there would be any man who wouldn't notice you in
that dress. When did you start dressing like that?"
     "When I realized how easy it was to distract men through their
hormones. Now, we should follow those two. I didn't trust the way
they were looking at me. I think we might have our first lead. Are
you with me?"
     Vera sighed deeply and let her friend lead her outside.
 
     The two women walked slowly through the streets of the
village. Roxanne captivated every male eye that looked her way, but
none made any move towards her. Eventually they found themselves
alone on the darkened streets.
     "Roxanne, we've been walking around for an hour now. How long
do we have to wait?" Vera asked nervously.
     "Until they find us. Don't worry, it will happen."
     Vera nodded, then looked sideways at her friend. "Aren't you
cold?"
     "Freezing."
     "Stop."
     The deep, commanding voice came from behind them. The two
women turned to find two shadowy figures confronting them. The tall
forms were clad in thick, light gray robes which covered them from
the top of their heads to their feet. Their faces were hidden in
the cowls of the robes. The only thing which revealed them as human
were their exposed hands, which held large wooden cudgels.
     "I think we've been found," Roxanne murmured.
     "You have been chosen." The voice came from behind them.
Roxanne looked around to find four druids confronting them.
     "What?" she asked.
     "You have been chosen to serve our master," the first figure
intoned. "You will come with us, woman."
     "No!" Vera cried. "Help!"
     Her cries were cut off by a cudgel on the back of her neck.
She collapsed to the ground.
     Roxanne struggled against the urge to launch herself against
these men with difficulty. Four armed men.. she would have
delighted in smashing them unconscious with her fists and feet.
They might even have had a chance against her. But not now..
     "Leave her alone!" she yelled.
     The four robed men regarded her impassively. "This other is
immaterial. You are the one who has been chosen."
     "Aren't I lucky?" Roxanne snidely commented.
     "You will come with us. If you do not, we shall take you by
force."
     It would be amusing to see you try, Roxanne thought. But she
couldn't just knock them out. She would be no closer to unravelling
the mystery than before.
     "Will you leave my friend?"
     "We have no use for her," the first druid said. "You have been
chosen, no others. Come."
     "By all means then, lead on."  Vera would be all right.
     The first two druids turned and began to stride off. Roxanne
followed, with the last two druids taking positions behind her. As
they walked, a fog began to roll into the streets, rapidly
thickening. Roxanne had no trouble keeping sight of her four
escorts, but everything else around her almost seemed to blur and
become indistinct as they walked. She fought off a sense of vertigo
as they made their way through the fog.
     The next thing Roxanne knew, they were outside of the village,
at the hillock she had past earlier. Chills went through Roxanne
once more. There was something here, something so overwhelmingly
evil that it made her blood freeze in the veins. The fog began to
lift as the druids led her up the side of the hillock, and around
its peak.
     They walked until they came to an entrance into the hill
itself, a staircase descending into the darkness of its depths. The
druids lifted their cudgels and muttered words Roxanne could not
make out. The ends of their staves began to glow eerily, lighting
the surrounding landscape. "Follow," the first robed shade
commanded.
     Roxanne followed the two leading druids down a stone
staircase, seemingly carved out of the surrounding hill. The stone
was smooth, yet somehow grotesque. The stone of the stairs was dry,
but the rock surrounding them seemed to drip with a dark, greasy
ooze. Roxanne tried to stifle her growing nervousness. "Nice place
you have here, boys," she said flippantly.
     "Silence," she was commanded.
     The stairs led into an enormous, elliptical chamber, well-lit,
although the light source couldn't be seen. Roxanne had no idea how
deep they were underground, but it must have been quite a piece.
The huge, cyclopean chamber towered over their heads, its black
rock walls seething with the unearthly evil she felt was contained
within. Roxanne shivered involuntarily before she could control her
overwhelming terror.
     At one end of the chamber, a raised stone pedestal stood, with
stairs leading to its top, where a single figure in a black robe
sat on a modest throne. At the foot of his pedestal stood three
druids in dark gray robes.
     "She has come," one of Roxanne's escort announced.
     "Excellent," the black-robed druid announced. His voice seemed
to resonate around the chamber with an eerie boom. It almost didn't
sound human. "Put her in the cells with the others. Her time will
come shortly."
     Roxanne trembled at the sound of the strange voice. "Come,"
her first escort ordered. She followed him uneasily. 
     She was led down a long, darkened, twisting corridor of the
same stone as the main chamber. Eventually they came to a heavy
wooden door. The lead druid opened it and motioned her inside after
it had creaked open. He pointed her at another door, one with a
small barred opening at eye level. It was the door to a jail cell.
Looking around, Roxanne saw several similar doors in the chamber.
     The druid pulled a set of keys out of a fold in his robes.
Unlocking the door, he motioned Roxanne inside silently. She heard
the door being locked behind her as she entered. The cell had a
wooden cot in one corner, and unlike the other parts of the
underground labyrinth she had seen so far, seemed to be made of
ordinary rock.
     She turned back to look out through the small grate in the
door. "How long am I to be kept here?"
     The druids were filing out through the main door back to the
corridor. "You will soon serve our master," the last one said
emotionlessly as he closed the door behind him.
     Roxanne sighed. "Yes, I was told that," she muttered. 
     She examined the cell door for means of escape. She might be
able to twist loose one of the metal bars.. if she had a week, and
could squeeze through the tiny window. Alternatively, she might be
able to kick the door open despite the lock, if she didn't mind
breaking several bones in her leg. Sighing, she turned and prepared
for a long wait.
     "Who.. who is that?"
     The weak, trembling female voice came from the other side of
Roxanne's cell door. She was back at the door in an instant. "My
name's Roxanne." She looked through the grate and saw movement in
the grate of one of the other doors. "How long have you been here?"
     "I'm Shelley.. I don't know how long, I've lost track of the
days."
     "Where are we?"
     "Hell," Shelley moaned. "It must be."
     "It does seem like it," Roxanne conceded. "Shelley, have they
told you anything? Why you're here, or what they plan on doing with
you?"
     "Not much.. I'm here to serve their master. They haven't told
me how, but I know they want to make sure I do. They feed me well,
and they took care of me when I got sick."
     Roxanne thought for a moment. "So they have a vested interest
in keeping us alive and well.. interesting. That could come in
handy."
     "They only keep us alive until it's our time to serve,"
Shelley muttered. "None of the girls they've had in here have ever
come back when their time comes. I don't know if they're alive or
dead."
     Roxanne was about to reply when the main door creaked open and
two of the grey-robed druids entered. They slowly made their way to
another cell door and opened it. One entered and dragged out an
exhausted, dirty yet attractive woman. She writhed in his grasp
with what strength she had left.
     "No! Let me go!" she screeched. The druids ignored her pleas.
     The one druid dragged her out the main door while the other
began to close the door behind them. "Hey, how long do I have to
wait here?" Roxanne called to him.
     "Silence, woman," he replied. "Your time will come." He closed
the door and locked it.
     Roxanne turned her attention back to Shelley. "Do you know
where they take the girls?"
     "To the main chamber, I think. I really don't know much about
them, and they don't answer many questions. I know their cult has
existed for centuries, or so they say. They don't talk much about
their master. All they say is that he is destined to rule the world
someday."
     "Huh, typical," Roxanne snorted. "Have you met someone down
here named Nora?"
     "Yes, she was down here. I think she got sick.. I don't know
where they took her."
     "Well, that's something.." Roxanne thought a bit. "Well, we
can't sit around here waiting for them to take us. Shelley, would
you like to get out of here?"
     "I can't see how."
     "You mentioned they want to make sure we're in good health.
Assuming this is their highest priority, here's what we can do.."
 
     Two druids in light gray robes stood outside the main door
into the cell block impassively, silently.
     "Guard!"
     The druids ignored the female voice from within.
     "Guard, quick! Help! Please, I'm sick! Help!"
     The druids slowly turned. One unlocked the great door and
opened it. Both entered in silence.
     "Hurry!" Shelley implored them. "Something's in here with us!
Roxanne's collapsed, and something's bitten me!"
     One druid looked in through Roxanne's cell grate. The
attractive prisoner was lying on her back in the middle of her
cell, barely breathing. He proceeded to unlock the cell door while
his companion moved towards Shelley's door.
     The druid entered Roxanne's cell and moved next to her,
kneeling down, supporting himself on his cudgel. With his other
hand, he reached out to touch her face..
     Roxanne grinned and grabbed his staff. "Surprise!" Her long,
black-nyloned leg slammed into his side.
     The druid let go of his cudgel as the kick rolled him over
onto his back. Roxanne quickly stood, tossed the cudgel into the
corner of the cell, reached down and pulled the man to his feet by
his robe.
     She aimed a punch at his stomach. Unfortunately, that wasn't
where it landed. Her fist slammed into the middle of his robe a bit
too low. Despite not being able to see most of his face beneath its
cowl, she knew it held a look of intense pain as his high-pitched
scream came forth and he grabbed himself and fell onto his side.
     "Sorry about that," Roxanne said quickly. "I usually don't aim
there. Too unsporting." At least she knew for certain these were
mere mortal men now, she thought.
     She had no time to think of much else as the second druid
rounded the corner and charged into her cell, his cudgel raised
overhead. Roxanne reacted instinctively, leaning away from the
oncoming man and raising a sexy leg. She kicked out, the sole of
her boot smashing into his face like a missile. "Unnngh!" He
dropped like a rock, flat onto his back, his cudgel flying from his
grasp. 
     Not only mere mortals, but totally untrained fighters, Roxanne
thought. Good. She grabbed the robe of the second druid and pulled
him up to face her. This time she'd aim at what she could see, his
uncovered chin underneath the cowl.
     Keeping hold of his robe with one hand, she punched the druid
hard with the other. His head bobbed wildly as he sagged within his
robe. The amazon shifted her grip, grabbing him under the arm,
turned and flipped him over her hip. The druid crashed to the stone
floor and lay stunned.
     The first druid had managed to climb to his knees despite the
enormous pain in his groin. Roxanne stood over him, bent a leg at
the knee, and kicked. The top of her boot slapped across the side
of his face. He collapsed back to the floor, groaning in pain.
     "Let's go, boys, I've been sitting around long enough," the
girl goaded her opponents. Both men rolled around, trying to get
up.
     The second druid managed to stand, and looked around,
evidently trying to either regain his bearings or find a weapon of
some sort to use on this powerful woman. All he found was Roxanne's
boot, kicking him hard in his ribcage. "Ummph!"
     She then threw a solid left. Her fist impacted on his chin
with a crack, knocking him back down hard on her cot. It splintered
loudly under him as he crashed to the floor.
     Turning, she helped the first druid to his feet by pulling on
his robe. The man grunted loudly as the girl lifted her knee hard
into his midsection, careful to try to aim a bit higher this time.
He bent in two around her leg.
     She pulled him back upright and slapped him hard across the
chin with the back of her right hand. He reeled back a few steps.
Roxanne turned her side to him, her leg lashing out, her boot
stomping into the middle of his chest. The kick launched him back
hard into the cell wall, which he crashed against and bounced back
to the floor at her feet.
     "I'd love to stay, gentlemen, but I'm afraid I really don't
have time." As he got back to his feet, Roxanne kicked the second
druid hard in the stomach. "Ooooo!" he cried and bent around the
toe of her boot. As he straightened, Roxanne switched legs,
bringing her foot up and around in a great arc, kicking his face.
Her kick spun him around, face-first into the wall, and he slumped
down into the remnants of the cot, unconscious.
     Roxanne wasted no time putting her fists to work on the first
druid once she had yanked him to his feet. She shot her left to his
gut, right to the gut, left to the jaw. "Unnh! Ooof! UNGGH!" The
three hard punches blasted the druid back against the wall and down
to the floor in a heap. He too was knocked cold.
     The victorious amazon couldn't contain her curiosity. She
knelt down next to the man her fists had beaten and uncovered his
face. Then she went and rolled the man she had kicked unconscious
over and revealed his face as well. Roxanne was unsurprised. They
were the two men who had been in the pub, examining her, though
slightly more bloodied and bruised than when she last saw them.
     Shelley stood horrified, listening to the thumps, smacks,
crashes, grunts and groans coming from Roxanne's cell. She was even
more stunned as she saw Roxanne emerge, dust herself off casually,
and close and lock the cell door behind her.
     "Wh.. what happened?"
     Roxanne smiled as she ran over to Shelley's door and unlocked
it. "Oh.. I knocked them out. Terrible, terrible fighters. If all
these men are that pathetic, this should be a cinch."
     Shelley looked utterly perplexed as Roxanne swung her cell
door open. "Not now, Shelley, we don't have time for questions.
Let's just say our two friends decided, with a bit of incentive
from me, to take a little nap. They won't be bothering us for a
while."
     Shelley tried to accept this concept. "Um.. okay. Now what?"
     "Now we get out of here. You don't know how many druids are
down here, do you?"
     "No."
     "Hmmm.. well, we'll have to try and get to the main chamber as
quickly and quietly as possible." By this time Roxanne had unlocked
all the cell doors. Three more women, tired and dirty on the
surface, stood with them.
     After Roxanne had calmed them as much as she could, she
insisted on silence as she went and opened the main door. It swung
open gently, creaking lightly in the still air. There was nothing
beyond but a long corridor of alien, black rock.
     "So far so good," Roxanne whispered. "Follow me. Keep to the
edges of the hall, and try to stay in the shadows."
     The five girls slunk down the corridor, their task of staying
in the shadows made that much more difficult by the eerie way the
unseen light source seemed to flicker in the bizarre pathway. There
seemed to be no human presence until they came to an intersection
in the corridor. There, one druid stood, facing down another hall,
his cudgel in his hand.
     "Wait here," Roxanne instructed quietly. Then without another
word she vanished into the shadows.
     The other women saw no sign of her until she was directly
behind the druid. One arm slipped under his cowl and covered his
mouth while the other snaked around his throat. The man dropped his
staff, tried to cry out, only to find the sound muffled by
Roxanne's powerful grasp as she pulled him down to the ground on
top of her. Her well-muscled legs wrapped themselves around his
midsection and crushed. The man briefly struggled uselessly to free
the strong female arm from his neck, then vainly tried to pry open
the pantyhosed prison Roxanne had thrown around him. His efforts
soon weakened, until his arms went limp and he passed out in
Roxanne's grasp. She quietly rolled him off of her and stood.
     "Okay, come on," she murmured to the others. She began to pull
the thick robe off the unconscious man. "Here, put this on and pick
up the staff," she instructed Shelley.
     Shelley stood in awe of the dozing man at Roxanne's feet. "I
have to learn how to do this someday."
     "Someday." Roxanne lifted the unrobed druid by his shoulders
and dragged him easily to the side of the hallway to sleep in
peace. Shelley had the robe most of the way on by the time Roxanne
got back. "Not a perfect fit, but I guess it'll have to do. Think
you can impersonate one of the druids?"
     "I'll have to try, won't I?"
     "That's the spirit," Roxanne smiled sarcastically. "Everyone
just keep quiet, and remember, Shelley.. this druid is taking us to
serve her.. uh, his master."
     The procession went down the hallway in silence, until it came
to a turn in the corridor. Two druids stood passively, almost
seeming not to notice the group of women coming towards them.
     "Okay," Roxanne whispered to the others. "I doubt they're
going to be fooled for long. Wait until we're up close, then let me
handle them, all right?"
     "Whatever you say," Shelley said.
     The two druids parted to either side of the corridor to let
the group pass. All went quietly, until one of the men noticed
Shelley's grime-encrusted hand gripping the staff.. and looked
closely at a pair of very full, feminine lips under the cowl. He
started in alarm.
     By this time Roxanne had turned, grabbed the second druid by
the shoulder, spun him to face her, and sent her left fist plowing
into his gut, once, twice. The druid gasped and bent around her
punches, and the amazon sent a third short punch to his chin,
whack. He shouted in agony, his cudgel went flying, and he dropped
to the floor.
     Shelley tried to take advantage of the first druid's surprise
as the three other terrified women ran out of the way. She aimed a
very amateur blow with her cudgel at his head. He blocked it with
his own, then pushed hard on it, sending her stumbling back. He
prepared to follow up, to crush the imposter's skull, when he was
prevented by a boot ramming into his side.
     "Ufff!" The first druid grunted as Roxanne kicked him hard in
the ribs from his side. Her shapely leg flashed out again, and the
staff went flying from his grasp. He turned to face his unexpected
attacker and Roxanne's boot met him a third time as she kicked him
in the face. The man's feet left the floor as he cried in pain and
crashed to the ground.
     The other four women looked on in awe as the two men angrily
picked themselves up and came at the powerful girl. Roxanne
pivoted, lashing her foot out to the side, right into the charging
form of the second druid. "Ooooof!" he cried, bending around her
boot as she stomped him in the stomach. She spun to find the first
preparing to throw a punch, and stopped him easily with a swift
backhand slap to the side of his face. The man staggered back.
     Returning to the second, Roxanne landed a hard kick to his
kidneys. The man groaned loudly and tried to curl up around his
battered middle. The girl was preparing to follow up when a hand
grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.
     The first druid aimed a punch at Roxanne's face, only to find
her strong arm block it easily. Her other hand came up in a fist
and connected with a solid jab to his chin. Blood trickled from his
lip as he bobbed drunkenly with the punch. Taking his hand, Roxanne
yanked and whipped him past her, headlong into the second druid.
Both men shouted in pain and crashed to the floor in a tangled
heap.
     "At least you chaps are putting up a better fight than your
friends," Roxanne commented to the druids, fumbling lamely on the
floor, trying to regain their feet with considerable difficulty.
"Pity I can't stay and enjoy it." She disentangled the first druid
from his companion and pulled him to his feet. A sharp, chopping
punch to his jaw hit with a crack and knocked him back against the
wall. The man moaned as he sagged down to the floor.
     Roxanne expertly raised her fists to meet the second druid as
he struggled to stand. From her boxing stance, she shot out her
left once, twice, in brutal, short jabs to his chin. "Uhhh, uugh!"
The sexy girl's fist staggered the druid, and he stood helplessly
as she gracefully pirouetted before him, her long leg clad in sheer
black nylon rising smoothly. There was a loud whack as Roxanne's
heeled boot slammed across his face, sending him flying around away
from her, down to the floor with a scream of pain, rolling over
onto his back, to lay still.
     "Pretty unimpressive for a man who's destined to rule the
world to let a woman knock him senseless," Roxanne taunted the
first druid as he dazedly tried to regain his feet. With his back
to the wall, he had no hope of escape from the amazon. Uncertainly,
he took a step towards his female opponent. Unimpressed, she
countered with a solid left to the jaw. With a heavy grunt the
druid fell back against the wall again. His legs buckled like straw
and he slumped down and onto his side. "Still, it's not like you
had much choice," Roxanne smiled as she stood over him and watched
him fall into unconsciousness.
     The four women from the jail stood staring in awe at the
female fighter and her two beaten male opponents. Shelley was the
first to find her voice. "How..?"
     "Simple. I'm just a very good fighter. They aren't." Roxanne
smiled sweetly at the others. "And yes, a woman does have the
strength and ability to outfight a man, she just needs to find it
within herself." She paused thoughtfully at her own words.
     "Should we take the robes from these two as well? You could
use the disguise to get in among them." Shelley asked. 
     "Good idea. But I won't need the disguise. It'll just be three
druids escorting a prisoner. Once we get to the main chamber, you
three will make a break for it."
     "But.."
     "No buts! I'm not going to risk all of you. There's something
strange down here, and I have to face it. The rest of you have
friends and family waiting for you at home."
     "Well, if you're sure.."
     "I've never doubted my strength before. Now's not the time to
start."
     The women took the robes off the unconscious druids without
another word.
 
     Roxanne led the group of three women in their stolen druid's
robes towards the entrance to the immense main chamber. The last
woman snuck behind in the shadows as best she could.
     "Steady on," Roxanne assured them as they prepared to enter.
Despite her self-assurances, Roxanne still found herself nervous
and even frightened. None of them knew what to expect.
     They paused in the entrance to the chamber. What they saw
shocked them. The three druids in dark gray robes stood at the base
of the raised pedestal, their hands raised in worship to the black-
robed figure at the top. A woman knelt at his feet, a woman who
looked like a younger version of Vera. Nora. She didn't move or
utter a sound as the cult leader slowly stood in front of her.
     The man raised his hands over her head. The hands were
grotesquely inhuman, gnarled and strangely marbled, as if part of
the flesh were dead and part living. Looking down at the girl, his
hands began to glow softly with an unearthly electric blue. Nora
began to glow too, as if a shining blue mist had encompassed her
body. The mist began to lift itself, to flow into the evil black
figure standing over it..
     "No!!" Roxanne yelled. The glow faded in an instant. Nora
collapsed onto her side.
     Everything happened very fast after that. "Run!" Roxanne
ordered the women. They charged madly for the exit from the
underground horrors as the three druids spun to face her. Roxanne
charged, they charged with cudgels at the ready, the women made it
to the vast staircase to the world above, Roxanne kicked the staff
from one druid's hands, dodged the attack of another, responded
with a crisp punch to his jaw.
     The figure in black stood looking down on the vicious fight
without emotion, without movement. Sounds echoed around the
chamber, reaching him in an overwhelming echo. Wooden cudgels
skittered across the rock floor. His druids grunted lightly with
the effort of putting all their strength into punches aimed at the
female fighter. The hearty thuds of her boots slamming kicks to
their stomachs and sides, coupled with louder grunts, grunts of
pain. The sharp cracks of female fists battering male faces. Louder
still, agonized cries and sounds of robed bodies dropping to the
floor. The sound of a leather boot smashing into flesh as the girl
sent kicks to his druids' faces. Cries, shouts, howls of pain and
frustration. All these noises reached the hidden black-robed figure
and left him unaffected.
     Roxanne took a quick look up at the cult leader and saw him
stare into space, unmoving, uncaring. She had no time to let her
gaze linger. Ducking under the swing of one druid, she came back up
with a backhanded punch to his chin. She pivoted quickly on one
foot and kicked to her side with the other, sending a kick into his
chest, knocking him falling back into one of his companions. Both
men toppled to the floor. Roxanne spun around in an instant and
shot a hard punch into the middle of the chest of the druid coming
at her from behind. He gasped loudly as the punch paralyzed him.
Gracefully Roxanne lifted an attractive leg and snapped a
lightning-quick kick to his face. The man reeled back with a howl
and collapsed to the ground. Roxanne shot another quick glance at
the cult leader, saw him slowly sit and aim his gaze at her,
seemingly right into her. She supressed a shudder as she began to
prepare for another attack from the druids.
     The leader sat and watched the brawl impassively. More
specifically he watched the amazing, beautiful woman, as if his
druids were immaterial. Indeed, it was obvious they were hopelessly
outclassed in the hand-to-hand combat. The girl sent one druid
stumbling away with a punch to the face. Another she kicked in the
stomach, then floored him with a punch. The other she met with a
backhand slap, then flipped him over her hip. 
     She was audacious. At one point she came a few steps up the
staircase towards him, only to turn and kick straight up, her boot
smashing powerfully through the face of one of his druids. The
leader thought he saw teeth fly from underneath his cowl as the
girl's kick launched him off his feet. Turning again, she returned
to their midst with a flying tackle onto another druid.
     Roxanne felt the leader's cold, unswerving gaze fixed on her
as she pulled up the man she had just tackled to the floor. Holding
him with one hand, the other sent a jab to his chin. His head
bobbed with the punch, and a second, stronger punch spun him away
and down to the ground. Her nerves crawled with the fear his gaze
brought, but she refused to let it distract her from the task at
hand. She turned and kicked another druid solidly in the kidney.
"OooOO!" Grabbing his robe, she fell back and lifted him up on her
leg, then launched him over her. He crashed to the ground behind
her.
     The girl seemed to be a blur of devastating motion as the cult
leader watched her silently. Her fists were powerful bludgeons,
smashing her male opponents without mercy. She punched one druid in
the stomach, almost lifting him off his feet with the force of the
blow. A straight punch poleaxed another druid and sent him down
hard. Every punch she threw seemed to hit its target; every fist
she blasted a man with seemed to draw forth a cry of terrible pain.
The leader sat unmoving and watched.
     The amazon's kicks were just as excrutiating to her targets.
Her boots snapped bursts of sudden, terrible agony to the stomachs,
ribs and faces of the druids. Her kicks were sometimes immediate,
sometimes deliberate, always graceful, and undeniably powerful. The
leader watched the girl kick high, bringing her foot up in a curve
and connecting with a druid's face with a dull smack. "Unnnph!" The
kick knocked the man half around and sprawled him on his stomach to
the ground. It was never a matter of whether or not the girl could
beat the three men she was fighting, it was a matter of how easily
she could do it.
     Roxanne cast another quick glance at the cult leader. How
could he just sit there? Turning her attention back downwards, she
took the robe of one druid and lifted him to his feet. He was so
groggy and punch-drunk he could barely stand, so Roxanne propped
him up against the rock staircase. He'd had it. His female
adversary smiled slightly, then expertly raised her fists. The one-
two punch she threw into his chin connected with two quick, solid
smacks, knocking his head back and sending him crumpling down into
a beaten, unconscious heap.
     The leader watched the girl without blinking as she finished
off one of the druids with a rapid combination of punches. He noted
the look of satisfaction on her face as she watched the man
collapse at her feet. He also noted the brief expression of fear as
she glanced up at him before facing her remaining adversaries.
     The two druids desperately charged Roxanne in the faint hope
of overwhelming her. They didn't have a chance. A backhand slap
sent one stumbling away from her. The other swung ineptly at her
head. She dodged back, then snapped a kick to his face. He went
down with a howl of pain. She turned to the first druid, punched
him hard in the stomach, sent a second punch to his jaw. He spun to
the floor like a top. Both lay stunned, groggy, groaning from her
amazon skills.
     One managed to struggle unsteadily to his feet after a few
moments. Roxanne tagged his chin with a jab. He wobbled shakily.
She bent her leg at the knee and lifted it, sending her boot into
his face. Her kick seemed to change his legs to rubber, and he fell
onto his back, out cold. 
     Roxanne returned to the last druid, who hadn't managed to stir
off the floor. Pulling him up by his robe, she held onto it while
he tried to force pleas past his torn, bloodied lips, pleas to
leave him be, pleas to stop the one-sided fight. She ignored him.
Keeping hold of his robe in one hand, she shot short, chopping
punches repeatedly to his jaw. Thwack, thwack, thwack. Each jab of
her fist sent his head bobbing crazily, then she would wait for it
to come back before punching him again. The fifth punch knocked him
cold. The unconscious man sagged limply in his robe. Roxanne let
him drop quietly to the ground.
     She returned her gaze to the leader and swallowed the fear.
Nora was up there. Roxanne didn't know exactly what she was facing,
but she knew she had to face him, to fight whatever was waiting for
her. She stepped over the bodies of the men she had knocked out,
towards the stairs and upwards. "Your turn now," she vowed.
     The black-robed form sat and watched, unmoving and silent,
until Roxanne had almost climbed up to his pedestal. 
     "Stop," his voice boomed. The sound reverberated around the
chamber, its low tones too deep for a human voice. Roxanne found
herself obeying its order.
     "Why?" she forced out a reply. "Are you afraid to fight me?"
     "You have been chosen." The leader ignored her assertion of
power.
     "What.. what are you?"
     The leader raised his hands slowly, pulling back the cowl of
his jet-black robe, to reveal an equally black mask. It was a
gruesome parody of a human face, distorted with rage, pain, every
black emotion imaginable. Roxanne found herself stifling a shiver
as the voice from underneath the mask answered her. "I have been
known by many names," it began. "The earth will know me for who I
truly am now. I am Nyarlahotep, Lord of the Ancient Ones."
     Roxanne stood transfixed, unable to speak as the dark figure
of evil continued.
     "My race has existed since the dawn of time itself, seeking a
way to invade this dimension. Once we succeeded; once we were
masters of this universe. But time and reality defeated us; some of
us were forced back to our reality. Some of us lie on this planet
still, dormant, dreaming, awaiting revival. Soon they will awaken."
     "But.. why..?"
     "Eight centuries ago I discovered a method of placing myself
in this dimension. I required a corporeal, human body. I took this
form, but the bonding was incomplete. I have form, I have life..
but the bonding is unstable.."
     Roxanne's hands trembled as she stepped forward, reaching
towards the hideous mask. She took it and pulled, gasping at what
she had revealed.
     Nyarlahotep's face was a bizarre, foul mixture of humanity and
horror. His face seemed almost more twisted than the mask, which
Roxanne let drop to the ground. One eye seemed human, as did the
flesh surrounding it. The other was a glutinous orb, shrouded with
festering pieces of brown, leathery skin. His entire face was like
that, human flesh intermingled with inhuman, occasionally
gelatinous matter. Both eyes seemed to leer at her evilly.
     "My existence in this form must be kept stable. The chamber
you stand in focusses my eternal existence and maintains my
connection to my power in my dimension. The human aspect can only
be maintained by the absorption of human life force."
     "That's why you need the sacrifices.. all those women.."
     "Yes. The strength of their essences feeds my bond, allows it
to become stronger and more stable. You are the final sacrifice. I
had foreseen those many centuries ago, that one of great beauty and
extraordinary strength would give her existence to complete the
bonding. That time has come. You are the chosen one." Nyarlahotep
began slowly to stand.
     "I will fight you," Roxanne said.
     "I see in your mind.. images of countless struggles. Men
defeated at your feet. The glory of conquest. The defeat of
numerous men by a supposedly weaker female." The evil being's face
almost seemed to twist into a perverse grin. "That time has past.
It is your destiny to complete my existence at the cost of your
own. You cannot defeat me."
     Roxanne's reaction was instantaneous. She punched him hard
across the jaw.
     The dark god's head turned with the punch, but he did not move
otherwise. Roxanne gaped in shock.
     "Your strength will not help you against me, woman."
     She cut him off with another sharp punch to his face. Her fist
landed with a crack, and again his head turned, but there was no
other effect. Roxanne was used to watching men sprawl away from her
punches, not stand there and take them as if they were nothing.
     She took a step back and kicked up a shapely leg. Her boot
slammed into the side of his face with a nauseating smack, as if
the leather had hit something wet. Her kick spun his head and
shoulders away for a moment, but he quickly came back to glower at
her. How could she fight something that could take a kick like
that?
     Nyarlahotep seemed to totally absorb the force Roxanne put
into another sharp kick to his face. His features twisted into a
loathsome, glaring grin. He leapt forward, seizing the sexy fighter
with a gnarled hand around her throat. Roxanne gasped and tried to
pry his cold, inhuman hand from her windpipe with no success. She
twitched and struggled as the dark god lifted her off the floor,
her feet kicking in midair.
     "Your life is mine, woman," Nyarlahotep hissed.
     "Unnh.. never.." Roxanne spat in reply. Gasping in a quick
breath before his fingers contricted her throat, she conjured up a
massive effort, fighting off the pain and terror. She summoned all
the strength her muscles could provide and aimed a punch at his
malevolent face.
     The punch rocked his head, but brought forth neither a
loosening of his wiry fingers nor any expression of pain. She
brought her fist back and slammed it into his face again, and
again. The smacks of her powerful punches echoed around the
unnatural confines of the cyclopean chamber. The black-robed
monstrosity began to lift his other hand up to her throat just as
Roxanne shot her fist to his face once more.
     "Unnh." Both combatants seemed shocked at this sudden grunt of
pain the amazon's punch brought forth. His fingers stayed around
her throat, but suddenly Roxanne found her feet back on the floor. 
     "What is this.. ungh!" Nyarlahotep was shocked as his grip
weakened, and the girl he was overpowering pried at his
stranglehold with one hand while she punched him in the jaw with
the other. Her punch actually seemed to sting him and almost
stagger him, but he maintained his grip on her throat. As Roxanne
drew her fist back to strike yet again, the dark god snarled and
turned, tossing her with amazing strength into his throne.
     She grunted as she thudded into the seat, but quickly turned
and stood, ready to resume the struggle, now that he began to
weaken. She ran up to Nyarlahotep as he puzzled over what was
happening to himself and leapt, feet first. Her boots slammed with
deadly force into his chest, and he toppled back, falling headlong
down the stairway. He came to a halt at the bottom, lay still for
a few seconds, then began to stir. Roxanne quickly stood and chased
down the stairs after him.
     He climbed to his feet with effort. "No.. this cannot be
happening.. Uummph!" He turned to face the girl just as she sent
her foot up into the side of his face. The strong kick staggered
him back a couple of steps. Still not the ultimate reaction Roxanne
had been hoping for, but it was a start.
     "Losing it, are you?" she asked as she punched him across the
jaw. Again he reeled back away from her. "Maybe you've become more
human than you thought." She kicked him hard in his stomach and was
satisfied to watch him bend around her boot with a grunt. "I'll
beat you like I have every other man I've ever fought." Paf-paf.
Roxanne sent a one-two combination to the evil god's jaw, the
astonishingly strong female fists sending him stumbling back.
     Nyarlahotep's hideous features were tormented by shock and
rage. "No! I will not let this happen!" Before he could utter
another word, the shapely amazon lithely turned on her toes before
him and kicked. Her foot slammed into his face, the spinning kick
knocking him around. He sunk to one knee as he reeled.
     She came up and grabbed his robe, trying to yank him to his
feet, but was alarmed by how quickly he'd recovered from her kick.
Nyarlahotep grabbed her and threw her as if she were a doll. She
flew over near the wall of the chamber and cried in pain as she
landed on her side. Stunned, Roxanne tried to gather her senses as
the alien opponent stalked over to her.
     "I will not allow a mortal female to defeat me!" he raged as
he grabbed her and lifted. She writhed violently as Nyarlahotep
lifted her over his head, and was unable to maintain his grasp. She
came down on her feet in front of him, swiftly put her shoulder
down, and charged into him.
     The two crashed hard into the wall, the jarring impact seeming
to stun the god. Roxanne backed off a step and raised her fists.
Her left crashed into his chin, followed swiftly by a devastating
right. The punches blasted his head from side to side, and he began
to slump back against the wall..
     .. But only for a moment. Then anger twisted his terrible
face, and he stood straight again, his eyes boring into and through
her. Roxanne was dismayed as a third punch barely seemed to faze
him.
     His own blow seemed to come out of nowhere. The back of his
hand slammed across her face, practically launching the girl
through the air. She cried in pain as she spun to the floor and lay
face-down. She shook her head violently and looked back at the god.
     "I will not be denied, woman," the unholy voice sneered. He
walked towards her, his withered hands outstretched for her. 
     Roxanne stood as quickly as she could, evading his horrid
grasp, and sending a kick to his stomach. He grunted slightly, but
wasn't deterred. Roxanne scrambled back to avoid him.
     He came at her again, and Roxanne lifted herself on the toes
of one foot while raising a sexy leg. The vicious kick she snapped
to his face almost spun him around. Nyarlahotep stumbled away from
her, grunting in pain, his hands covering his battered face. "No!"
he shouted.
     "Your bond is weakening!" Roxanne dabbed at the blood seeping
from the corner of her mouth as she moved towards him. "Give it up,
Nyarlahotep!"
     She grabbed his robe and spun him to face her, then sent a
short, chopping punch to his jaw. "Uhhh!" He staggered unsteadily.
Roxanne kicked him in the face, and this time her kick spun him
around, and he went down hard, face-first.
     The shapely amazon allowed herself a smile of satisfaction as
her opponent writhed on the floor. "How does it feel, to be hurt
after so many centuries? To be beaten by a woman? I've never
knocked out a god before.. it feels good.." She strode confidently
towards him.
     Nyarlahotep's body seemed to surge on the floor. A cry of
frustration and fury burst forth.
     Roxanne couldn't tell what happened next. She reached down
towards him, intent on letting her fists defeat him, end his reign
of terror. Then a sudden flash of blue light blinded her for a
second. The next thing she knew she was flat on her back on the
floor, staring up at the dark, looming figure of the evil deity
standing over her.
     He brought his wizened hands over her and spoke. "Enough
games, woman. You are strong, but you cannot hope to defeat me!
Your soul is mine!" His hands began to glow an eerie blue.
     Roxanne thrashed violently as terror flooded her mind, but
found she couldn't move. It was as though some immense, unseen
weight kept her pinned to the ground. She opened her mouth to
scream as her body began to glow the same blue as Nyarlahotep's
hands, but no sound emerged from her gaping mouth. The blue aura
around her body began to intensify, began to lift away from her
towards the monster's outstretched hands. That was the last thing
she saw.
 
     The powerful life essence wafted up into Nyarlahotep's body,
leaving the corpse of the amazon woman behind. Her tormented,
contorted body reflected the horror of her fate.
     The dark god absorbed every last wisp of glowing blue into
him, beginning to breathe deeply and rapidly with the process.
"Yes, my brothers, soon we shall all be free! This world shall be
ours.."
     His breathing continued to seethe forth, his form quaking all
over. "The bonding.. will be complete! The woman.. had.. much
power.."
     Nyarlahotep's voice became a screech, his body shaking
furiously with overwhelming power. He looked down at his hands,
watched the skin seem to flow, human flesh struggling against
rotting brown skin. Then they began to glow. "NOOOO!!" he screamed.
     The burst of blue light was brighter than the sun. Nyarlahotep
felt himself falling, sinking to his knees, strength flowing out of
him, the whole of reality changing around him..
     His eyes cleared. He looked around. The black rock of the
chamber was no longer there. It was the same chamber, still
containing the three unconscious druids and the dead woman. But the
rock was normal. It held no power.
     He looked down at his hands. They were human. Still wiry, but
very human. He felt his face, and winced violently. He felt pain,
vivid pain, where the woman had struck him repeatedly.
     "This is impossible!" he cried. "The bonding was not supposed
to be like this!" His eyes filled with panic. "Cthulhu, my brother!
Why has my power left me?!"
     A hand clamped onto his shoulder with amazing strength,
pulling him up and turning him around. He gaped into the beautiful
face of the woman he had just killed. Then all he saw was her fist.
He screamed as he felt cartilage crack and the floor smashing into
him.
 
     Roxanne came to on the floor of the chamber. She had a vague
impression that she shouldn't be there, an odd sensation.. then she
remembered. Her last memory.. then the perception of onrushing
oblivion, the loss of her final fight, the only one that really
mattered.
     And yet here she was. For a moment she didn't even think it
was the same chamber. The rock was just that, rock. No slimy black
stone containing unknown horror.
     But it had to be the same chamber. She propped herself up on
her elbows and looked around. Nora was still unconscious at the top
of the pedestal, the three druids she had knocked out lay scattered
around. And a few feet away from her, with his back to her, was the
god.
     God? He was no longer a god, she could sense that. His
presence was gone. Her fear was gone. Something had gone wrong in
his plan.
     Now was the time to end this, Roxanne knew, before the
terrible strength and power he commanded could return. She stood
quickly, slightly awestruck at the feeling. Her muscles felt
invigorated, stronger than she had ever remembered them being.
     She came up behind Nyarlahotep, grabbed him and spun him
around. A very human, frightened face gaped back at her. Without a
second thought, she punched that face hard. "AAAAAGH!" the man
screeched, and dropped like he'd been shot.
     "Your power is gone," she said. Nyarlahotep couldn't reply,
Roxanne's punch had stunned him so badly. She pulled him up to his
feet again. "Now you get to feel MY power."
     "No... uunngh!" Nyarlahotep practically collapsed as Roxanne
fired a fist into his gut. He stumbled and bent around the shooting
pain. Without giving him a chance to recover, the girl launched a
high kick. Her foot slammed into the side of his face with a
thwack. Nyarlahotep's feet left the ground as the kick spun him
around and sent him crashing to the floor.
     Roxanne knelt next to the barely moving man and turned him
over onto his back. Blood dripped from his nose and mouth, and his
eyelids fluttered as he began to lose consciousness. She laughed
gently as she slapped his face lightly, interrupting his stupor.
"Don't go to sleep on me now, 'god'.. I'm not done with you. You're
going to know what it feels like to be beaten by a woman. I'm going
to repay every horror you've inflicted over the centuries.. in
pain."
     The former god stirred groggily. Blood and saliva bubbled on
his torn lips as he tried to speak. "Never.. you can never defeat
the Elder Gods, woman.. I will.. find a way back.. I will regain my
powers.."
     "I can't allow that, now can I?" Roxanne told him, shifting
herself over him, straddling him on her knees. "You're a man now.
I can defeat you like any other man." 
     She lifted a fist and punched him in the face. Blood burst
forth as his head bounced off the ground. He cried in agony. His
eyes glazed as she punched him again. "I'm going to make sure you
never get the chance to regain your powers, Nyarlahotep." A third
punch left him barely conscious as Roxanne rolled off of him.
     She lay next to him and stretched her long legs. Pulling him
so his neck lay across one luscious thigh, she lifted the other leg
on top, locked her ankles together and began to squeeze.
     Nyarlahotep twitched back to sudden consciousness as Roxanne
powered her scissors around his neck. His hands feebly began to
beat at the sexy prison of sheer black nylon as he gasped for air.
Roxanne answered by blackening his eye with a solid punch. His
hands flopped uselessly.
     "Your time has come," Roxanne vowed. "Even gods have to die
sometime." The muscles of her shapely legs sprung into vivid
definition as she crushed the man's throat. He struggled weakly,
occasionally having his efforts interrupted by jabs from Roxanne's
fists. His eyes began to swell shut as his pawings at her legs
became feeble. Eventually his hands came to rest on her legs, then
dropped off. 
     Roxanne knew he was unconscious, knew she had cut off his
breathing, but didn't stop. She brought her hands back and lifted
herself on them, putting as much power into her spectacular legs as
she possibly could. The muscles stood out even more with the
enhancement of the sheer black pantyhose, tremendous mounds of
destruction. She was sweating with the titanic effort, crushing,
powering the lethal scissors, until it ended with a sickening
pop and crack.
     Roxanne gasped as she relaxed, dropping down to the floor and
unwrapping her legs from around the dead god's broken neck. She lay
flat on her back for a moment, regaining her breath and her
strength. She looked over at his face. It was finished. She slowly
climbed to her feet.
     A shaky form came towards her. "What..? Where am I?"
     Roxanne managed a weak smile. "Nora, it's time we got you
home."