Chapter 5 - Hate

“Sheer butchery,” Kara thought. The ground was littered with the corpses of dead Bermaghi for miles. They were no match for trained warriors and the Attalans had slaughtered them by the hundreds. This time the beast men had made a major mistake. They had invaded Attalan territory in force, thinking sheer strength of numbers would ensure their safety. They had come looking for women as usual, but by good fortune an Attalan patrol had spotted them before they found any victims. The alert had been sounded and the area in front of their advance evacuated before they arrived.

A more intelligent species than the Bermaghi would have realized that their surprise attack had failed and retreated, but instead they had advanced even deeper into Attalan territory, giving the mohr riders the chance they needed to launch a retaliatory strike. The result had been the slaughter Kara had witnessed. Now she and Theran were in pursuit of the few remaining raiders.

They crested a rise and spotted five of them about a mile away. The beast men were headed for a hilly wooded area, but were moving far too slowly to escape. Once again Kara almost felt sorry for them. They were after all, only acting on brutal instinct.

Theran spurred his mohr a little ahead and Kara followed. As she rode she felt a prickling sensation in her mind. There was something about this area of grassland that tickled her memory. Then she saw it. Just to her right was a small cairn of stones. Without thinking she turned toward it. “There it is,” she thought. “This is where I…”

She never finished the sentence. Violent pain accompanied by absolute blackness assailed her. And then she was staring at the inside of a glass enclosure. A few feet away and looking at her through the glass was Sven Larson.

At first Kara was speechless, but she soon found her tongue. “What have you done?” she shouted. “Send me back immediately.”

Larson seemed much more interesting in studying her naked body than responding to her demands, but finally he answered. “What do you mean send you back? You are the first subject I’ve been able to retrieve. I have no intention of sending you anywhere until you have been properly studied.”

“You asshole!” exclaimed Kara using very unsuperheroine-like language. Then the implications of Larson’s words hit her. “Studied? What do you mean studied? You told me I would be freed after completing the mission.”

“So I did,” Larson said. “But the mission is not complete until I have properly analyzed your psychological and physiological response. If others are to be sent through the portal I must ensure that it is safe, otherwise future travelers may be lost like the first five I sent.”

“But…” Kara stopped. What would happen if she revealed that the five missing women had not died, but had simply chosen to stay in Zhim? Would he be able to find them and bring them back the way he had returned her? She couldn’t do that to them, especially Larson’s daughter whom she suspected had more than just one reason for not wanting to be reunited with her father. And somehow she had to find a way to get back to Zhim. Theran must be worried sick about her. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t believe that she could survive without him.

Larson was looking at her with more than usual interest. It was about that time that Kara realized she was completely nude. “I have something for you, Supergirl,” he said, opening a drawer in the console next to him. He pulled out her costume. “It’s rather brief. But you heroines seem to like wearing these skimpy outfits.” He opened the door of the cubicle and handed it to her.

Kara clutched the costume to her, almost too embarrassed to put it on. How could she have been so stupid as to stand there naked, arguing with Larson while he stared at her tits and …? It was absolutely mortifying.

“Actually,” Larson continued. “You won’t be needing that for awhile. A lot of the tests I will be doing require that you be nude.”

“Not if I have any say in the way I am treated,” Kara said angrily. Defiantly she started putting her costume on.

“You aren’t listening, Supergirl. I said I need you unclothed.”

“Then why did you give me back my costume?” she asked. “And where are my boots?”

Larson was looking at her strangely. It was a look that Kara found disturbing. “God you’re so beautiful,” he said, wiping his brow. “I can see now why villains like to…”

“So now you reveal your true nature,” Kara said hotly. “You’re really nothing but the usual filthy pervert masquerading as a scientist. You promised to release me. I demand that you keep your promise.”

“Umm, I’m afraid that I may have overstated that a bit,” Larson said.

“Overstated? What do you mean?” Kara asked. She was beginning to get a familiar feeling and it was far from pleasant.

“Well, I can’t just let you go. At least not right away. There would be nothing to stop you from coming after me. And I couldn’t have that.”

“You lied to me. You never intended to set me free at all. You were just trying to get me to cooperate.”

“What does it matter, heroine? You were in no position to refuse what I asked in any case. And now I think it is time to get on with the examination.” Larson opened the door to the chamber and handed her the collar. “Put this on again. You’ve spent enough time standing in that cubicle.”

“No,” replied Kara, refusing to take the collar. “I’m through cooperating with you. Send me back through the portal.”

“That is the second time you’ve asked me to do that,” Larson said. “What is it about the place you where sent that you found so attractive.?”

“I’ll tell you nothing. I was brought me here by force, violated by your henchman, lied to, and sent into oblivion. You’ll learn nothing from me.”

“I think we’re going to have an interesting session, Supergirl.” Larson licked his lips. “And it promises to be not altogether unpleasant. At least for me.”

Kara grimaced as Larson probed her body. She hadn’t put up much of a fight. All Larson had needed to do was intensify the kryptonite field a little to render her weak as a kitten. Now she was strapped to the top of his examination table, her feet clamped into stirrups as if she was having a gynecological examination.

Larson had returned her to the equivalent of normal human strength, but she wasn’t going anywhere. It was impossible for her to reach the straps that held her ankles and wrists and just for good measure her head was held down by a leather strap that cut into her throat. She was livid with rage, but at the same time quite apprehensive. Larson had dropped his congenial façade. There was not a part of her body that he had not measured, probed, or fondled.

“You’ve had sexual intercourse within the last three days. I find that interesting, since you were on the other side of the portal when it took place. Would you mind telling me who your lover was? Or maybe it wasn’t a lover. Maybe you got caught there too and have been entertaining the local inhabitants for that last three months.”

“Go to…” Kara bit her lip. She had been about to use another inappropriate word. “I’ll tell you nothing,” she said finally.

“I suspect from your reaction that I am on the right track,” Larson leered. “You were caught weren’t you? And then you were raped. I find the thought quite stimulating.”

Kara remained silent. Larson was very close to the truth although he had gotten it backwards. She had been captured and raped by the Bermaghi; then she had spent three months in sexual bliss with Theran. But she was determined that Larson would learn nothing of this. Under no circumstances would she give Larson any help in his perverted experiments.

She tried to ignore Larson’s hand and he ran it over the slight curve of her abdomen. She understood from his actions that he was really not much better than most of the other thugs who had captured and raped her; he was simply a little slower to act. But she could tell from the way he was perspiring and the dilation of his pupils that he was only controlling himself with difficulty.

“Small wonder that you heroines are so routinely violated,” said Larson. “Your beauty is almost unearthly.” He laughed realizing what he ha just said. “But of course. I forgot that you are indeed unearthly. A freak from outer space.”

“A freak?” Kara retorted. “At least I am a freak who does not violate those who are helpless. You are nothing but a coward preying upon helpless women.”

“Coward?” replied Larson. “We’ll see who is the coward. I’m going to enjoy studying your reaction when you are subjected to sexual stress.” He removed his lab coat and began to unbuckle his pants.

“Don’t,” protested Kara. “That’s not science; that’s rape.”

“Call it what you want,” Larson said, dropping his pants and moving between Kara’s already splayed thighs.

“Ugghh!” Kara grunted as Larson entered her. He didn’t waste any time, but just drove into her with all the refinement of a bull mounting a heifer. Kara gritted her teeth and tried not to think about what he was doing to her. Mercifully he had very little stamina and shot his load into her inside of five minutes.

“There,” Larson said breathing heavily. “That satisfy you?”

Considering the number of times she had been brutally raped, Larson’s pathetic effort was almost inconsequential, but she didn’t tell the scientist that. Instead she lay quietly, her chest heaving with the humiliation of once more being taken against her will.

Larson pulled up his pants and then securing the collar that she had refused to wear about her throat, unbuckled the straps that held her to the table. “I’ll give you half an hour to clean up,” he said. “Then I’m going to give you your wish. Only this time you’re not going to lose me. The collar contains an interdimensional homing device that will enable me to track you no matter where you go.”

Still burning with shame, Kara did not reply. Scarface led her back to her room where she quickly showered, attempting in vain to wash away the shame of the rape along with the stink of Larson’s semen. He mind raged against the man who had defiled her and who had also separated her from her beloved. No matter what happened she would make sure that she was avenged against Larson and that he was appropriately punished.

When she had cleaned herself up and dressed in the simple white shirt and slacks that Larson had provided for her Scarface collected her. Scarface seldom spoke. He didn’t need to. He simply motioned in the direction Kara was supposed to go. Still filled with anger, Kara returned to Larson’s control room and got another shock.

Standing next to the portal was the man Larson had sent to kidnap her and who had raped her as part of his payment for the deed. Dodson grinned insolently as she approached. “She looks as good as ever, Doc. I think I’m going to enjoy this mission.”

Something about the look Dodson was giving her coupled with the smug smile on Larson’s face told Kara that there was a further surprise waiting for her. “Did I forget to mention that Mr. Dodson will be going with you this time? Now that you have shown that the portal is safe he has agreed to go as well.”

“That and the million you offered me,” Dodson said. “And of course the pleasure of Supergirl’s company. I’m quite looking forward to that.” He held up a small control pad. “The doc has given me the controls to the collar. It should make you quite cooperative as we tour the portal world together.”

Kara glared at the two men. If she had a reason to hate Larson before it was now intensified. She was going to be sent through the portal with the man who had kidnapped raped her. It was obvious that both men thought this to be a great joke. Even worse was the fact that Dodson had made no effort to disguise the fact that he had every intention of taking up where he had left off with her.

“You can’t do this,” Kara protested. “You can’t send me through the portal with him. He’ll … There’s no telling what he will do.”

Larson and Dodson merely laughed. It was quite obvious that they considered her plight a huge joke. Larson no longer seemed to care about the fact that Dodson would use her as his personal sex slave. Mortified and filled with dread, she allowed Dodson to herd her into the glass chamber. “Just you and me, babe,” Dodson leered. Her gut twisting in fear, Kara watched as Larson placed his hand on the lever that would send her through the portal once again.