Washington D.C. 1985...

For Deirdre Mainwaring, newly admitted to the bar, it was the saddest legal duty she would ever be called upon to perform in her distinguished legal career.  She had been named executrix of the estate of her late Cousin, Cynthia Lane Bryant.  Aunt Cynthia, as Deirdre always called her, had raised her, since she was orphaned as a six year old, and she thought of the distinguished Washington hostess as her second mother.

Aunt Cyn's death had come as an unexpected shock.  Though, she was well into her sixties, Cynthia could well pass for an active, athletic woman in her thirties.  She had always been in perfect health, and her sudden death was a surprise to everyone, but particularly, to Deirdre her closest relative.

Going through the attic, of the old house that had been the home of Aunt Cynthia's father, Senator Lane, Deirdre discovered an old steel safe. There was no key, and she had to have the lock drilled.  When the workmen left, she eagerly opened it.  Inside was an old diary, and some scientific papers.

Deirdre began idly thumbing through the diary, becoming ever more excited as she realized its import.  It was in  Aunt Cynthia's handwriting, and covered the years 1938 through 1956. Suddenly, Deirdre sat bolt upright,

"Holy cow!  According to this, Aunt Cyn was Power Miss! I can't believe it!" Astounding as it seemed, Deirdre knew her aunt too well, to think she'd make something like this up. Deirdre was always fascinated by superheroines, particularly the crimefighters of  the Golden Age, and Power Miss was her favorite.  As a child she used to swing from  trees in the backyard, pretending she could fly like Power Miss.

"To think she never told me?"  Deirdre sat enthralled for hours reading of Power Miss's exciting adventures, fighting crime and then during the war years, axis agents.  In disappointment, she noted the pages for most of the years 1947 and 1948 were missing. (See Latin Holiday and Fraulein Power By GW)

"Gee!  That was the time so many of the golden Age superheroines disappeared, without a trace!  I wonder why Aunt Cyn destroyed those entries!  Maybe they would have shed some light on that mystery?  Well I expect she had good reason!"

Deirdre noticed that when the entries resumed, they had a darker more somber tone, as though Aunt Cyn was harboring some dark secret.  It was late that night that she finished the diary.  She set it down, still excited by the thrilling  discovery of her Aunt's true identity.

"Wonder what's in these papers?"  Deirdre wondered and began to examine them in detail.  That's when she made the second most exciting discovery of her life.

"Why these are the formulas for the serum that gave Aunt Cyn super strength and the Power Mesh material that allowed her to fly, and made her invulnerable to bullets. Gee whiz!  With these formulas, I could be a Superheroine too, if I wanted to...Well why not?  I'm a big strong girl..."

And  and so was born Justice Lady, new champion of law and order.  As her crime fighting career progressed, in tandem with her gratifying advancement in the  legal profession, Justice Lady was joined, for a time, in the crusade against crime, by a young partner called Equity Lass.
 

Empire City, the present...

A little wearily, Appellate Court Judge Deirdre Mainwaring sat down at her desk in chambers. It had been a long, grueling day in Court, and now she'd be spending the rest of the evening at her avocation, fighting crime on a more personal basis, as the indomitable Justice Lady.   In her secret guise, Deirdre, following in the footsteps of her guardian, Power Miss, was ever vigilant against any crime in her home of Empire City.  She couldn't guess how close to home, crime was about to strike!

Deirdre glanced  at the invitation to the Governor's Costume Ball, in her in-basket.  The Ball was to be that evening.

"Oh Gee! I'd love to go!"  Deirdre  thought, wistfully. "No time for that, though!  With Silver Valkyrie missing, and without Equity Lass to help, I'm fighting crime all alone these days, and there never seems to be time for anything!"   Until recently, Justice Lady had been assisted by her faithful and devoted, young ally Equity Lass. The pain of that loss was still with Deirdre.

This evening, Justice Lady planned to continue her search for her missing friend, and crime fighting colleague, Silver Valkyrie.  The Maid of the North Wind, as the media called her, had disappeared several weeks before, at the same time as the crusading District Attorney of Empire City, Ulrica Wodden. (See Silver Valkyrie's Duel of Dominance By GW)  Police believed the two disappearances might be connected.  Only Justice Lady knew how close the connection really was, for Ulrica Wodden was, indeed, Silver Valkyrie.  The two superheroines had shared the secrets of their alternate identities, as a security measure.

If she had any spare time left over, Justice Lady hoped to get a line on the City's newest arch criminal, a woman calling herself Shyster Dame. This new criminal evidently possessed super strength, and made sport of police efforts to apprehend her.  Deirdre had an apprehensive premonition about the woman's identity, that so horrified her, she was reluctant to even consider it.

While hastily eating the sandwich her secretary had left for her, Deirdre idly glanced at the evening paper.  She took immediate interest, when the headline story announced that a security camera had gotten a picture of Shyster Dame. Then, with gasp of horror, Deirdre recognized the front page picture. It was a confirmation of her awful premonition.

"Dear God!  No!  It is Equity Lass!"  Despite the mask, and black uniform, there was no way Deirdre could ever mistake the young woman who had until recently been her closest friend.

Geri Phillips was a first year law student, when Deirdre, then a law professor, first met her.  The young student had been drawn to the brilliant Constitutional lawyer, and Deirdre had been impressed by the girl's sharp incisive mind, and dedication to the law.  One evening over coffee, Geri  confided in the much admired professor, her lifelong ambition to be a crimefighter like Justice Lady, or the legendary, masked crusader of long ago, Power Miss.  She whispered to Deirdre, that sometimes, she went looking for criminals at night, dressed as Equity Lass, in a costume she made herself.

Deirdre was aghast, at discovering the girl was taking on hardened criminals with no super powers, and no training in crime fighting techniques.  The youngster's only assets were her unquestioned courage, and her long training in martial arts.  Over the next few weeks, Deirdre did her best to talk Geri out of her dangerous hobby, but to no avail.  One early morning, the headstrong, young, would-be crimefighter was nearly captured by a gang of bank robbers.  Only the timely arrival of Justice Lady saved her from death or worse.

Deirdre realized she had no choice!  The next day she revealed her secret identity to Geri, and offered to take the girl under her superheroinely wing and train her.  The dedicated, young apprentice learned quickly, and Deirdre finally decided to share the secrets of her Great Aunt's super strength and Power Mesh formulas with her.

The combination of Justice Lady and Equity Lass became an unstoppable crime fighting combination for several years.  Like Deirdre, Geri had lost her family early in life, and idolizing the older woman as both a brilliant lawyer and heroic superheroine had grown ever closer to her mentor.  Deirdre came to think of Geri or Equity Lass, as a beloved younger sister.

A year and half a earlier, Deirdre's devoted husband Jack, was killed in a auto accident.  Deirdre had been nearly inconsolable, and it had only been Geri's support that got her through the long period of grief.  Although she felt a little guilty that she might be showing favoritism, Deirdre had chosen Geri, newly graduated from Law School, as her law clerk last year, when she was appointed to the bench.

That was when the trouble started.  Working closely, every day in the office, with the older woman she admired so extravagantly, as well as sharing danger and adventure with her every night, Geri's devotion had burgeoned into an unwholesome, romantic crush on her idol.  One evening, unable to restrain her feelings any longer, Geri made physical advances to her mentor.

Sitting at her desk, Deirdre was absorbed in reading a brief, when suddenly Geri was kneeling on the side of her chair, reaching inside her blouse and fondling her breast, as her hot breath whispered insinuatingly in her ear.

Geri's feverish passion for her, came as a terrible shock to Deirdre, who never suspected the girl's true feelings.  As kindly as she could, Deirdre explained that she was undeniably heterosexual in her sexual feelings, and that though she loved Geri with maternal devotion, there could never be anything like that between them.  Despite her solicitude in trying to make Geri understand, the incident imposed an ever growing strain on their relationship.

A few weeks later, Justice Lady found herself attacked by a half dozen thugs, which even for the mighty superheroine could be a threatening situation.  Arriving on the scene, Equity Lass made little effort to intervene, watching the fight as though she were a spectator. Justice Lady had eventually prevailed, but she was disappointed and concerned by her protégé's attitude "It's as if she wanted me to get hurt!" She thought "Can she be that bitter?"

When she asked the girl about the incident later, Geri laughed and said, cattily.  "Oh well, Dee, I though you always like to be the star of the show!  You get all the headlines!"

Worse was to come.  Several days after that incident, one of Judge Mainwaring's upcoming judicial decisions was leaked to a shady character named Morganna Morgul.  Using the information, the woman had made a small fortune.  Deirdre had asked her friend, District Attorney Ulrica Wodden to discreetly investigate.

A few days later, Ulrica came to her chambers, and when they were alone told her, sadly.  "Dee, I feel terrible having to tell you this, but I've uncovered indisputable proof that that information could only have come from Geri!"  Deirdre felt like someone had stabbed her heart with a knife.

Nearly heartbroken by Geri's betrayal of trust, Deirdre confronted the young law clerk.  The girl was defiant, and unrepentant, not even taking the trouble to deny it.  She laughed scornfully, and sneered. "You and that other sanctimonious cow, Ulrica 'Silver Valkyrie' Wodden will both get what's coming to you!"

For a moment, Geri's threats and contemptuous defiance struck Judge Mainwaring nearly speechless.  Finally, she took a deep breath and said.

"Geri I'm not going to prosecute you, but I must ask for your immediate resignation from my staff! I can't take back your super strength, but you must give me back the Power Mesh suit, that I had made for you!  It's too dangerous to be in the possession of anyone in your reckless state of mind!
Moreover, even though you just passed the State Bar Examination, both Ulrica and I are ethically bound to notify the Admissions Committee regarding your transgression.  You will not be admitted to practice law!  There are too many unethical shysters out there, already!"

"I'm happy to resign, Bitch! See how far you get fighting crime without me!  I've been carrying you for months!  You're nothing but a has-been!  And as far as being a shyster lawyer like you, screw that too!"  Geri screamed, vindictively.  A moment later she flung her Equity Lass costume in Deirdre's face, and stormed out of the office. Deirdre hadn't seen her since that day.

Shortly after that, Silver Valkyrie had mysteriously disappeared. Heartsick, Deirdre wondered if there could be a connection with Geri's threat?

Now, there was this terrible, incriminating picture!

"I guess, my top priority must be to find Geri, and stop her!  It's my fault she has super strength!  I'm afraid, I'm the only one who can stop her, now that Silver Valkyrie is missing!"  Justice Lady told herself.

Once she made her decision, Justice Lady didn't let her sorrow interfere with her determination. Her sharp analytical mind was instantly at work.  "Shyster Dame, as she now calls herself, seems to concentrate on art treasures! There's that large group of paintings by the Old Masters, that were on loan to the Empire City Museum.  They're all at the Museum warehouse on Centre Street, awaiting shipment back to the European Museums that loaned them! Tonight is the last night they'll be there, too!  I better check the warehouse out first!"

Then, without further delay, not even finishing the meager sandwich that was her evening meal, Justice Lady sprang into action.  Bursting from her judicial robe with the irresistible force of an intercontinental missile, Justice Lady leaped from the window of her office, and flew high into the evening sky.

Moments later, Justice Lady flew slowly around the the Empire City Museum warehouse.  Finding an upstairs window open, she slipped inside.  She cautiously inspected the premises.  Engrossed in ascertaining that the art shipment was still intact, she didn't notice a shadowy figure stalking her.  It was only when a kick smashed into her back, that she realized she wasn't alone.

"I guess, I must be slipping, to let someone slip up behind me like that!"  The veteran crimefighter thought in chagrin.

Justice Lady spun around.  She only had time to catch a glimpse of her assailant, before another kick landed painfully on the underside of her substantial, left breast. The single glimpse was enough to recognize her longtime apprentice, now dressed in the black costume of Shyster Dame

"Oh Dear God! I never thought she'd physically attack me!"  Justice Lady agonized.  "How she must hate me!  I can't believe her mind has become so warped!  Maybe I can still reason with her?"  Was the heroic crimefighter's only thought, as she dropped breathlessly to her knees.  It took her a moment to recover from the effects of the kick to her exquisite bosom.

Yet, even as Justice Lady tried to reason with her errant protégé, the young woman, now called Shyster Dame, laughed and sneeringly replied with  an insult.

Instead of listening to her teacher and friend, the young renegade grabbed Justice Lady's arm, and swung the bigger crimefighter to her feet, with considerable skill, and all her illicit, super strength.  Still unwilling to believe the younger woman actually intended her serious harm, Justice Lady was reluctant to fight back.  Even as Shyster Dame painfully twisted her arm, she continued talking to the headstrong young woman.

The Superheroine's forbearance was all the opportunity Shyster Dame needed.  Without pausing, she jerked Justice Lady to her feet and swung her in an irish whip.  Shyster Dame quickly built up momentum, and as Justice Lady careened toward the wall, the girl stuck out her foot, and tripped the bigger woman.  Justice Lady smashed, bosom first, into the hard concrete.   The tremendous impact nearly flattened her huge breasts, no mean feat.

Stunned by the painful injury to her magnificent bust, Justice Lady slid down the wall to the floor.  Even now, the emotional wound of knowing the girl would attack her so viciously, vastly outweighed her physical pain.  She looked up at her erstwhile friend in despairing remonstrance. Shyster Dame only laughed at her older friend's pain.

Justice Lady cradled her imposing and captivating bosom in agony.  She looked up unbelievingly, at the girl she'd befriended and brought into the sisterhood of crime fighting crusaders, hoping for some sign of contrition for her betrayal.

There with no signs of remorse at all, though.  Instead, Shyster Dame laughed at her agony, and kicked her in the jaw.  The brutal kick, delivered with super strength, nearly knocked the crimefighter out.  It was only by exerting every ounce of her powerful self-control that Justice Lady held on to consciousness.

As Justice Lady dizzily tried to get her bearings, her erstwhile young friend  paused to taunt her.  "I always knew you couldn't fight worth shit, you big overgrown, top heavy cow.  Against a real woman who's got the same super strength as you,  you're just a stooge and stumblebum.  Like I told you, I've been carrying you!"

The cruel words finally angered the red, white, and blue crusader, and she sprang to her feet with a righteous snarl.  "I'll show you who's a stooge, you Little Snot! I hated to believe it, but you really have turned nasty and evil.  Well, okay, now, it's pay back time for you!"

Furious as she was, Justice Lady was still a little wobbly, from that super-powered kick to her jaw.  Before she had her legs solidly under her, Shyster Dame threw a looping left, that struck her sore jaw squarely on the button.  The punch's terrific force bounced Justice Lady's massive breasts high up on her broad chest.

Before Justice Lady knew what hit her, Shyster Dame followed up with a straight right to the other side of her jaw.  The second punch snapped the dark-haired crimefighter's head to the side, and almost knocked her off her feet.

Justice Lady stumbled uncertainly.  As she tried to protect herself, Shyster Dame ducked low and bored in so close, that for an instant her head was engulfed by Justice Lady's magisterial bosom.  Once inside the heroine's defenses, Shyster Dame drove her fist straight into the bigger woman's crotch.

As Justice Lady doubled over in distress, Shyster Dame leaped straight up into the air, smashing the top of her hard head directly into the big superheroine's chin.

Her head swimming, Justice Lady stumbled sideways, exerting all her indomitable will to stay on her feet, at all.

Before Justice Lady tottered two steps, the ferocious young renegade grabbed her, by her long, dark brown hair, and dragged her backward.

As Justice Lady struggled and wriggled, frantically, to tear loose from the painful grip on her hair, Shyster Dame kicked her in the kidneys.

Justice Lady's body stiffened in pain, and Shyster Dame jerked even harder on her hair, and pulled the formidable crimefighter right off her feet.  Without pausing, the incredibly strong, young villainess swung Justice Lady through the air by the hair.  As Shyster Dame spun in a circle with super speed, Justice Lady's mighty body traveled helplessly through the air at incredible speed.  When Shyster Dame let go, Justice Lady flew a dozen feet, and landed with a dreadful impact on her wide, solid rump.  She was already so dizzy, that she didn't even think of using the flying abilities of her Power Mesh Uniform, to ease her painful landing.

Her head, and delightfully rounded derriere both smarting in pain, Justice Lady couldn't get up immediately.  Before she could move, Shyster Dame leaped into the air and flew at her feet first. "I can fly without Power Mesh!" The evil girl chortled.

Shyster Dame's foot struck Justice Lady on the side of the face, with such super force, that it almost snapped her neck.

Justice Lady fell backward, almost unconscious. Shyster Dame was already airborne, aiming another deadly kick at the fallen crimefighter's powerfully muscled lower body.

This time, Shyster Dame came straight down with incredible force, her pointed, high heel driving into Justice Lady's crotch with devastating effect. The horrifying impact brought Justice Lady fully to her senses, her body jerking spasmodically in agony.

Though fully awake, the courageous Superheroine was paralyzed by pain.  As she curled up, painfully nursing her injury, she looked up, in bitter disbelief.  How could her dearest friend do something so foul to her? She was so angry at the betrayal, by now, she would have torn the young upstart apart, if she only still had the strength.  As it was, she could barely speak.

Unmoved by Justice Lady's suffering, or her righteous anger, Shyster Dame callously kicked her in the head.

Before Justice Lady could recover from the head kick, Shyster Dame leaned down and picked the huge crimefighter up by the waist, and holding her upside down, smashed her head against the floor.

Justice Lady's neck was already badly injured by Shyster Dame's deadly kicks, and now as her head crashed against the floor, it bent so far forward, that her face was engulfed by her own monumentally gorgeous bosom.

Lying at Shyster Dame's feet, Justice Lady strained her magnificent muscles.  She must get up!  To her dismay, Justice Lady discovered the vicious girl's swift, merciless, punishing attack had drained away her super strength.  In fact, she was weak as any kitten.  Her body just couldn't respond to her indomitable will, and her head dropped weakly back to the floor.  Shyster Dame triumphantly planted her booted foot on the betrayed superheroine's throat, ending the last of Justice Lady's pitifully weak struggles.

"Wiggle and squirm, all you want, Bitch!  It won't do you any good!  You're MINE, now. MY BITCH!"

Fearing she was, indeed, beaten, for the first time in her life, Justice Lady looked up at  the masked girl, nervously. Could this heartless, ruthless sadist, more vicious than any villain she'd ever faced, be the girl she'd  befriended, trained and come to love as a younger sister?