The castle in the black and white photograph was a true castle. Every line, every turret spoke of the need for defense. To keep what was inside safe. Built centuries earlier it had resisted many enemies. But of the three people sitting at the briefing table, one was a new type of enemy. Tall, voluptuous really, with blue eyes and black hair that framed a deceptively soft face, the Amazon known as Wonder Woman was still new to the world. Less than a year had passed since she had appeared. Gifted with five times the strength of a normal man, with bracelets on her wrist that could deflect bullets, she was a force that had yet to fail.
She had come close though. Recently Wonder Woman had been captured, stripped of her power by Nazi agents. Taken to a castle for torture she had escaped, more by luck than anything else. But the experience had shown the Amazon that she was not invulnerable. It had also made her leery of castles. She could see evil in the dark shadows of the aerial photo. Evil that made her shudder slightly.
Standing beside her Major Steve Trevor could sense evil as well, but he was confident. He had faith in himself, his country and her. Almost as tall as Wonder Woman, Steve was broader, with solid, almost chiseled features. He had spent most of his life defending himself and others from evil. This, he was sure, would be no different.
Colonel John Forester was the most nervous person in the room. Taller than both of them, but thinner than both as well. He wore the white pallor of men who spent months in small rooms with no sunlight. Pouring over photo's and reports, searching for the seeds of truth in a mountain of lies. He stuttered through some of the words, trying not to stare at the Amazon. Wonder Woman wore her usual costume. A tight red bustier with a gold eagle on the chest, along with a pair of blue shorts sprinkled with with white stars. The costume exposed more female flesh than the Colonel was used to seeing.
"This is "L'Castle De Savoire" or "Castle of the Savior", he said. Built around 960 by the Knights Templar and passing through various hands to a French family"... he paused looking at his notes; "Conestorea's. They vanished when the Nazi's invaded."
"Work camp?" Steve asked, he had heard rumors about death camps, but so far only rumors.
"Not that we know of, in fact some of the locals think the family, or a member of the family," he took another photo out of the folder and placed it on the table, "may be collaborating." The photo showed a heavyset man with thinning hair, owl-like eyes and a cruel sneer on his face. "This is the Count Conestorea. We don't know much about him, but he survived the last war with a lot of wealth, though no one is sure how he got it. There have also been reports of strange lights, yells... One of our sources called him: "Better suited to play Dracula than Lugosli."
"Who?" Wonder Woman asked.
"You don't know who Bele Lugosli is?" the colonel asked.
"Wonder Woman hasn't been with us that long Colonel."
"Oh."
"Bela Lugosli is an actor," Steve explained, "he's gotten famous for playing a vampire on stage."
"Could the count be a vampire?" Wonder Woman asked.
"There's no such thing as vampires." Steve laughed.
"Your wrong Steve."
"You've seen a vampire?" Colonel Forester asked, his face going a little pallor.
"No, my mother did."
"Really." Steve said, turning back to study the photo. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime."
"Be that as it may," the colonel said, trying to get them back on track, "whatever the Nazi's have got in that castle is playing hell with the North Africa campaign." He produced another photo, this one close range showing a Nazi staff car. The man in the car was familiar to all of them, even Wonder Woman. Short, with a Charlie Chaplan mustache and a dead expression on his face. It was Hitler. "Hitler himself visits the castle once a month, along with a little girl. The next morning he leaves, no one ever sees the girls again. The next day orders are dispatched and our troops are sitting ducks."
"Children." Wonder Woman gasped.
"We don't know where he's getting them, but we have our suspicions. At any rate, what ever is in that castle has got to be neutralized. We've sent in two men," he paused; "and never heard from them again."
"Well don't worry." Steve said, picking up the picture of Hitler. "We won't fail."
"No." Wonder Woman said, picking up the castle picture. "We won't."
Even as she said the words, a part of the Amazons soul trembled.
L'Castle De Savoire was planted at the mouth of a small valley. It stood on a rise, dominating the landscape. Wonder Woman and Steve had parachuted miles away and made their way through the dark valley to the walls. Early spring mist helped to obscure them, but the effect of moving through it was surreal. Only the sounds of insects and night creatures gave a sense of reality to their surroundings. They came to the wall, crouching in a deep shadow. Thirty feet high it had been built from blocks of stone the size of a man. Taking Steve in her arms Wonder Woman leapt, up and over the spiked merlons.
They landed on the battlements, both alert for sentries. But there were none. Nor were their any lights. Pale moonlight ghosted the castle with illumination, but no real light. Silently she took him in her arms again and leapt to the courtyard below. Again they were ready for anything, but again nothing appeared. Quickly they searched the stables, barracks and gatehouse. Still nothing.
"It doesn't look like anybodys been here for years." Steve whispered.
"The main complex could be underground." Wonder Woman suggested.
"Maybe. Come on."
Making their way across the courtyard they entered the main hall. Built as a combined feasting hall, church and hospital it now stood empty. A vast echoing chamber with a vaulted roof and stain glass windows. Torn, rotting tapestries hung like spider webs along the walls. Steve and Wonder Woman paused at the shattered remains of the main doors.
"Look." Wonder Woman said, stopping him and pointing to the remains. "This door was burst outward."
"Your right." he picked up one of the splinters. "But there's no trace of burning or gunpowder."
"A jeep or a tank?"
"Let's hope so. This looks like something you could do." he looked up at her. "And I'd hate to think the Nazi's have their own Wonder Woman."
Tossing the splinter of wood away Steve entered the hall with Wonder Woman following.
A strange laugh greeted them as they entered. At once Steve had his gun ready, while Wonder Woman tensed. As the figure moved into the torchlight a feeling of revulsion overwhelmed the Major and the Super heroine. His face still wore the sneer, still wore the owl like gaze. But that was all that resembled the photograph they had seen. Books, large and heavy hung from his body, swinging on golden chains. The chains seemed not only to adhere to the skin, but to go through it as well Under the books his naked body was covered with sores and scars. He laughed again, the laugh of a being in utter agony, and enjoying it.
"Illustrious company." the count said, his voice calm and cultured, as if they had been invited.
"What happened to you?" Wonder Woman asked.
For a moment he didn't seem to understand. Then the count looked down at himself.
"Ah, the books. An unfortunate side effect in my search for knowledge. An...." he paused, opening one of the books, then went on when he found the word he was looking for, "inconvenience." He laughed again. "I am Count Nicholas Conestorea, master of Le Castle D'Savoire"
"Major Steve Trevor, US army." Steve said. "And this is Wonder Woman. Who did this to you count?"
"Hell." the count said simply. Lifting one of the books from his body he read aloud.
"Bravely breaching the walls of the castle, the hero and heroine now search for knowledge." Letting the book drop he motioned them to follow. "Come, I will show you hell." Steve and Wonder Woman looked at each other, then followed him. Slowly, each keeping a careful watch toward the shadows. At the end of the hall a doorway led to a spiral staircase. The count climbed the stairs, laughing with each step as the books against his body.
Wonder Woman did not let herself feel the fear. She could sense it, in the back of her mind. A tide that would overwhelm her if she let it. An impulse to pick Steve up and flee from the castle. This was different from fighting Nazi agents, wild guerrillas or tanks or guns. The evil in this place wanted her soul.
Steve felt fear as well, but denied it. Trapped it in a corner of his mind. Prayers went through his head as they climbed the stairs, boyhood prayers that could never be forgotten. Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Wonder Woman. Her face was set into a hard mask, her body tensed for action. What sort of prayers had she learned as a girl? He wondered if she had learned any at all. He put the question in the back of his mind as well. Yet even now, in the midst of danger it was difficult to do. She was so much a mystery, not like any woman he had ever met. A part of Steve wanted to know her completely, but another part was scared of her.
They came to a door, shattered as the door to the main hall had been. The count went through without hesitation. Steve and Wonder Woman paused at the entrance.
It was a tower room, round with no windows and a ceiling that vanished into the dark. A single torch lit it, revealing a small box on the floor. Steve looked at the box closely. It was a puzzle box of some sort. Metal, brass maybe, intricately marked.
"There is the knowledge you seek, if seek it you dare." Count Conestorea said. When neither of them moved he walked over and picked it up. "Or perhaps I should show you how."
His fingers started to caress the pattern, tracing it like a man would stroke the skin of his lover. Some instinct warned Steve and before Wonder Woman could move he charged the count. As soon as Steve grabbed the box he vanished.
"Steve!" Wonder Woman called, rushing to the center of the room. "Where is he?" she demanded.
"In hell."
With a smooth movement Wonder Woman uncoiled her golden lasso and wrapped it around the count.
"You must tell me the truth. Where is he?"
Unlike the others who had been trapped in her lasso of compulsions power the count did not struggle. He did not stutter or hesitate.
"Your lover is in the dungeon of this castle. He is in hell."
"He is not my lover." Wonder Woman said. "Now take me too him."
Steve Trevor's world reformed itself quickly, nauseatingly. He was in a another room, again with no windows. But this room was not empty. Ever where he turned the major saw pain. In front of him a girl, he would swear no more than 15, was held to a table with chains. Chains similar to the counts. They went though her naked body, almost growing out of her legs and arms. A small demon lounged casually against her breast. From his mouth dangled a piece of flesh, the other end of which was still attached to the girl.
All around Steve other girls were going through the same torture. Stunned he stood unmoving for a few moments, battling his own revulsion and amazement. The pain in the room was almost a physical presence. Then he realized it was a physical presence.
"Welcome." the man said. His voice was like gravel, but it was his looks that froze Steve's mind. He was of medium height, slim, wearing a black costume that was half hidden in the shadows. Around his waist Steve could see dull knives, all of them covered with either rust or dried blood. They glinted in the dim torchlight. Along his stomach and chest hooks pierced the skin. But it was his head that was the true horror. Nails covered it. Spaced evenly on a bald, dusty gray skull were hundreds of nails. They hung on his face like a beard.
"What are you?" Steve asked.
"I am teacher." Pin-head replied, turning to one of the girls he casually ran his fingers across the open wound in her stomach. "I teach the greatest lessons of life."
"Stop." Steve commanded, lunging forward. A chain with a hook attached flew out of the shadows and burred itself into his shoulder. More of them attacked, sinking into his arms, legs and scalp. Gasping in pain he was pulled back into a small cage, which locked.
"I teach that life is pain," Pin-head went on, "and to feel pain is the second greatest joy in life."
"What's the first joy?" Steve asked, trying to pull away despite the pain.
Pin-head merely smiled.
Wonder Woman was fully alert as the count led her down the stairs, so she spotted the woman before he did. Like the count she sensed and enormous perversion of humanity had taken place. The woman at the foot of the stairs was slim, with no hair. She wore black leather, leather that seemed to be sewn onto dull gray skin. But her most striking feature was her throat. A gaping wound was held open by wires. But she did not seem bothered by the wound, or even notice it. She spoke, and her voice was almost soft.
"Who is she?"
Instantly the count grabbed one of his books and started to read.
"Diana, princess of paradise island, now known as Wonder Woman, sworn enemy of evil."
"Quiet." Diana ordered.
"She is not like the other souls you've brought us." the woman advanced to the edge of the stairs. "I sense defiance, hope...Resolve" The words coming out of her mouth sounded like dying things, as if the ideals they represented were to be pitied, not admired. "This will be fun."
With a swift movement the woman plucked a knife from her belt and slashed at the counts leg. Screaming he fell to the floor and scrambled away. Wonder Woman held onto the lasso for a moment, but dropped it as the woman leapt at her. They struggled for a few minutes, but though the her knife struck at the Amazons skin many times, it did not produce a scratch. With a wrenching twist Wonder Woman threw the knife away and pinned the woman to the wall.
"Such power." the woman purred, leaning her head forward she kissed the stunned Amazon. "But so innocent." she reached onto her belt and grabbed another knife, cutting through Wonder Woman's costume. One breast popped free, and the woman looked gazed at it smiling.
Ignoring the amazement that her invincible costume could be torn, Diana drew her arm back for a punch when something grabbed it. With a tug that she felt through her whole body the Amazon was pulled of the stairs and into the air. Chains appeared around her, and suddenly a leather mask formed itself around her face.
"Playing alone?" asked Pin-head.
"She is strong, and good, and noble."
"Ah." Pin-head nodded. "So is the one in the cage. Play with him, I shall play with her."
Wonder Woman watched the cenobite climb up the stairs. For a moment she was stunned, despite what she had seen so far. If these creatures worshiped pain, as she was sure by now they did, this was truly their high-priest.
Well they were going to learn she was not a sacrifice. with a tremendous twist Wonder Woman pulled out of the chains. Dropping to the floor she tore of the mask.
"Thrilling." Pin-head said.
More chains came, dozens of them and a new mask covered her face. Diana faced them with first with determination, then furry. Their hooks scrapped across her skin, seeking a weak point. Her invincible costume was soon in tatters and the some of the chains changed. Small jaws formed on them and they bit down on her nipples. Diana tore them off, but it was like the tales she had heard of the hydra. For every chain she destroyed two took it's place.
Steve did his best to ignore the pain. He held the box in his hands and studied it, gently testing the pieces. The count had planned on doing something with it. It could be the key to everything. He felt a section of it move, ever so slightly.
"Do you like puzzles?"
Steve looked up, for a moment marveling at the woman. Then he went back to the box.
"Do you seek knowledge?" she asked, coming closer.
"Freedom." Steve said.
"Complete freedom?" she asked, opening the cage door.
"Yes." Steve said, feeling the box segment move again. He was beginning to feel his way to the solution, like glimpsing home over the next rise. "This is the key isn't it?"
"For some." The woman's knife sliced through his boot suddenly. Steve gasped and nearly dropped the box, but held on. "But there are other keys to freedom."
This was not working, Diana realized. She could break the chains, but they seemed to reform. The hooks and teeth could not break her skin, but they could throw her off balance. Her costume hung in tatters, even her boots were shredded. She had only her golden belt, and if that was torn from her the Amazon princess knew she was lost.
The gag on her mouth continually reformed as she tore it off, making it impossible to catch her breath. And above it all on the stairs, laughing, stood Pin-head.
Enough, she thought. With a twisting leap she evaded the chains, pulling the gag off at the same time. Then she gathered herself up and leapt into the shadows. To the source of the chains.
Steve Trevor had never known such pain in his life. He'd never imagined that this level of pain could even exist. The female cenobite had worked up from his foot, using her knife, her nails, her teeth... His legs were a mass of sores, cuts and weals. What she was doing now though... That was torture beyond torture. With any other woman he might have called it a blow job, but she was not just using her mouth and tongue. Teeth were involved. What made it more terrifying, more soul shattering, was that he responded. He was erect. It was as if he had crossed the pain/pleasure threshold, where one could not be separated from another. The perversity of it was shocking. That he was reacting to it was terrifying. Through it all he hung onto the box, working it's parts, searching for it's secrets. It became the only other thing that was real to him. Her voice floated in and out of his soul.
"If you want freedom then let yourself go. Feel the power I can give you, power enough to possess all."
Though he fought it an image of Wonder Woman flashed into his mind. But not as he usually knew her, this image reclined on a bed, her costume gone. Her arms and legs were tied, yet she was smiling at him.
With a shudder Steve Trevor felt another part of himself awaken.
Wonder Woman came sailing out of the shadows and hit the ancient stone wall with enough force to crack the stones. She dropped to the floor and lay there for a moment, gasping. Her body was covered with a layer of evil smelling slime, of her costume there remained no trace but her tiara, bracelets and belt.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Pin-head asked, coming down the stairs. Numb with shock Diana still forced herself to her feet to face him. The memory of where she had been was quickly fading. Her unconscious mind clouding it to preserve her sanity. Where the hell chains originated dwelt things, horrors, that were beyond human description, beyond human experience.
Wiping the slime from her eyes Wonder Woman gathered herself one last time and charged the cenobite. She went right through him and tangled herself up in another hell chain.
The Amazon had thought she had no strength left, that all her reserves were gone. She was wrong. The thought of being helpless before this creature was terrifying. As the chain wrapped itself around her Wonder Woman pulled, twisted and spun away from it. It was the wrong move. The counter clockwise spin quickly got away from her. In an instant Wonder Woman stood in the castle no longer, and Diana Prince appeared.
Diana had a split second to realize her mistake, and the trap she had fallen into. To change into Wonder Woman she spun clockwise, triggering the mystic spell. But to change back she spun counter-clockwise.
This time when the hooks and jaws reached for her body they found no barriers.
Slowly Steve was surrendering to the rhythm being forced on his body. A force he was very familiar with was building between his legs. The box was his only means of escape. He knew that, not understanding how he knew, he knew. What was left of his rapidly waning soul worked on the box, while in his minds eye Wonder Woman bent to his will. And enjoyed it. He began to see himself as she must see him, a pathetic sidekick, someone to be constantly rescued. A buffoon. This was not right, not the natural order of things. He was a man. A MAN!
The last time Diana had known this sort of fear was when the Nazis had captured her. Foolishly walking into a trap she had been dazed by chloroform and bound with her own lasso. She remembered those few moments, when, still dazed she was forced to tell the secret of her power. Then a moment of horror when that power was taken from her. After that there had been blackness. When she awoke the fear was under control. Not so now. Her uniform was shredded. Her body had been forced to lean backward. Chains held her arms back with their hooks impaled in her palms. More hooks burred themselves in her nipples, their chains keeping her from falling. Her breast were slowly being pulled away from her body. At the base of each breast two small imps worked, driving small needles in and out of her flesh. It would take long time to cut the skin away with that method, but Diana sensed they were patient beings. Something had grown between her legs. It was forcing itself inside of her body. She could feel it in her womb, squirming, scrapping, working... building... building... But worse a part of it continuously stimulated her, forcing her body to respond. Above the opening between her legs an insect happily grazed on her pussy hair. At least Diana guessed it was an insect. She could not look down because hooks had entangled her hair and held her scalp, forcing her head back and her mouth open. Diana could see the slimy gray/black arm that held her face. She could feel it's member slowly forcing it's way down her throat. Something was issuing from it, filling her body.
The whole arrangement was a symphony of rape, and Pin-head was the conductor. He had not moved from the stairs, but Wonder Woman knew that would change. When she was at her lowest point, when the pain had driven her to the breaking point, then he would come.
He was coming. Steve could sense it through the pain. Worse he could enjoy it through the pain, because of the pain. Never had anything felt so good/bad. His mind felt free off all the earthly barriers nature had constructed. It spread through the room, feeling the pain. Reveling in it. The torture of the young girls filled him with joy and his initial revulsion was fading. Soon he would be the one inflicting pain. For the first time in his life Steve Trevor let the evil in his soul free. It filled his heart, ate it away. He knew what he would do now, how he could finally posses Wonder Woman. He did know the secret of her power, how she could be made helpless. Finding a new power he let his mind drift, feeling her near. His mind moved out of the room. And he found Diana.
It is one thing to fantasize torture, it is quite another to go through with it. She hung in the room as a masterpiece, as a Van Gough might have hung in an art gallery. Pin-head stood beside her, his rusty knife inches from her scalp. But in her eyes Steve still saw a sort of dignity. A refusal to surrender.
It shamed him, and in that shame he realized how close he had come. That knowledge sickened the soldier, and that feeling of sickness gave him strength. He shattered the shell of evil that had been built around his soul. Steve opened his eyes, saw the box, knew the secret of the puzzle. And solved it.
There was a tremendous clap, the sound of a door slamming shut. Diane felt it, felt a new fear. A fear that was not her own. The chains released her, the imps vanished, with a shock the vile things in her body retreated. She looked up to see a sparkling green glow surround Pin-Head. His face contorted with rage before he vanished.
Clad in royal robes Diana watched as the box was sealed inside the stone. A full score of Amazons in full battle armor carried it onto the boat that had been specially built. It would sail into the sea, to the deepest part of the ocean. Then sink.
After the demons had gone Diana had spun into Wonder Woman again, healing her wounds. At least the physical ones. Steve and the other girls had not been as lucky. Diana cried when she found him, but one of the girls had been sane enough to tell her how he had solved the box. Summoning her invisible plane Wonder Woman had taken all of them to Paradise Island. After many weeks of rest and bathing in sacred pools Diana felt more herself again. The other girls were being given special care, in time they would heal. For the first time in ages an island of mothers had daughters. Diana doubted any of them would ever leave. Steve's physical wounds would heal as well, and she had already used the magic lasso to erase the harsher memories from his mind. He would remember a little of what they faced, enough to satisfy but not enough to jeopardize sanity.
Diana trembled a little as she thought of the castle. She remember it all, including a moment of shame, when she actually enjoyed the torture. The princess had never faced the evil in herself before, never imagined it could be there. But she could feel it still, hovering, sitting patiently. Waiting.
Hitler and the Nazi's were not content with creating new evil. They were reviving the evil's of history itself. Using it to corrupt the good in the world, to turn the minor villains like the Count into real threats. How many more Count Conestorea's were out there?
She was scared, but the Amazon realized she would always be a little scared. In that fear was wisdom. But there were more children out there, more innocents. More than ever she resolved to protect them. To defeat the Nazi's. No matter what the cost.
Epilogue
The men snapped to attention instantly as Hitler walked through the door. He took little notice of them, but returned the salute out of habit. Truthfully he was distracted. L'Castle De Savoire was empty, what was left of the count a hideous, jabbering madman. The box was gone. Yet another set back, as they were all set backs. He would overcome them, and he would find this; "Wonder Woman." Yes, he would find her.
"My Leader." the colonel in charge greeted him. He was standing next to a large coffin. Made out of stone the coffin was secured with heavy chains and a cross shaped lock. "The information was correct."
"Good." Hitler said. "Remove the chains."
Two men instantly stepped forward and began to cut away the lock.
Hitler studied the coffin as they did. The stone was carved with various images of battles. As the chains fell away the family crest was clearly seen. A large "D" in the ancient Transylvanian language. The man who had plunged the world into war smiled as the coffin began to open.
END.