Humpdays 23

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Book II: Seeing Reds, SSW vs. Walkiria

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Nikola Myshkin watched with a stony expression on his face. Technicians continued their work to get the satellite fully operational over computer monitors displaying information far above his head. Lt. General Tupolev, now finished with his phone call, walked back towards the situation. Sweat was literally pouring off the man...far more than should have been Myshkin thought to himself. The entire situation was starting to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He realized he now had a very sour taste in his mouth, like the bitter dregs at the bottom of a cup of coffee.


"Is the shield operational yet?" Tupolev asked the lead tech, leaning over him. His voice had a slight tremor in it as well. Nikola glanced downwards to his hand, still gripping his cellular phone. The flesh was bone-white and his knuckles shown through as he clenched the small electronic device tightly.


"Not yet sir," the tech responded, "Two minutes and counting."


"What did the Defense Minister say?" Nikola asked, taking out a cigarette from inside his coat pocket and lighting it up as the General answered.


"He is satisfied so far, provided the shield holds and we get no more interference from the American woman."


Nikola nodded taking a long drag off his cigarette, the embers at the end glowing with a red haze. He looked down at his watch and made a note of the time.


"General I have an important call to make. I promised my wife I would call my youngest on her birthday, which happens to be today."


The General stared at the man for a moment before looking back at the data streaming in from the satellite, shaking his head slightly. As he spoke he waved his hand towards the corner of the room. "That's fine, just please do it over there, the rest of us are trying to work towards something important here Myshkin."


"Thank you General, this will only take a moment."


Nikola moved hurriedly to the area he had been designated to and quickly dialed a number, cupping a hand over his mouth. After a few moments a woman's voice answered.


"Yes," Nikola whispered into the microphone, "get me Defense Minister Shoygu. Tell him it's urgent."


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Every moment that Olga delayed her here was a moment that satellite would be powering up, more than likely to reign death down on innocent people, Maia thought to herself. She had to get up there and knock that thing down and she had to somehow take Olga out quickly and as painlessly as possible. If she bolted towards the satellite, Olga would surely intercept her and the battle might turn downwards and rage again into another civilian populated area. The last time the big dumb Russian had made play for global power she had stopped her for a time by knocking the air out of her lungs in outer space. Olga, despite being one of the most powerful beings on the planet, still had to breathe. It was one of her most exploitable weaknesses (after gullibility), especially given that fact that Maia herself did not need to. Space wasn't an option this time however. Too much distance to cross and if that satellite was operational she sure as hell didn't want to give it any close-range targets. There had to be something else...the Channel! Maia briefly considered the much closer Thames River, but it kept them too close to the city and right now her other high priority was taking this fight away from civilians. If she could lure her out over the Channel she could take her!



Walkiria unleashed another tremendous blast of violet energies towards the Soviet Superwoman, who in turned threw up both her arms to block it. The blast impacted her hard, staggering her backwards in the air. Maia rushed in fast peppering her with a volley of shorter, smaller bursts as she closed the distance, pelting her opponent in a haze of purple explosions. She was forced to dodge to the side once as Olga's red laser beams cut outwards towards her in a wide arc. Firing blind. When she was within range she grabbed a hold of the incredibly built Russian's arm and pulled her in close, smashing her in the face with her other closed fist. Olga took a hold of her arm with the intent of pulling it free and Maia wrapped her other massive arm up and around her wife's neck, while launching herself through the sky towards the Channel.



The Soviet Superwoman's hands shot upwards to coil around the arm that was constricting her neck. Her airway was now completely closed off and Maia was dragging her through the air like a child pulling a kite along the beach. Her red-haired lover was much physically larger now, having let more and more of her energy matrix seep into her form. They were far outside of London already, passing over the British countryside at a lightning fast pace. Maia's  grip continued to build in strength. Even as Olga continued to pull with all of her own amazing force, Maia's right arm lashed out to pummel her in the face a second time. The combination of solid blows and lack of oxygen were beginning to take their toll. Olga was turning blue in the cheeks as she continued to struggle. Maia could feel her strength beginning to ebb. Deep down, part of her wanted to laugh out loud. Everyone liked to make Olga out to be the most powerful being in the world, a veritable "Superman" come to life. The truth was there were more than a few people who were more than capable of knocking her down and Maia had always known she was one of them. Dark Star had interfered last time, but that miserable blonde trollop wasn't here to help the big Russian this time.



The clear blue of the English Channel leapt into view as the two heroine streaked across the sky. Maia pulled downwards with all the force she could muster, sending them both into a tailspin that only ended when they both slammed down into the icy waters. The Soviet Superwoman seemed to have her strength re-surge as they both sank downwards and it was taking everything Maia had to hold onto her. Olga's eyes were open wide, her teeth clenched tight enough to shatter as she strained and pulled against Maia's vice-like grip. Every muscle in her body seemed to be made of coiled steel as she slowly began to pull herself free from Maia. A tiny stream of bubbles streamed out from behind her locked jaw letting Walkiria know her airway wasn't completely clamped shut. Despite all her other flaws, Olga's incredible store of resolve of stamina never failed to amaze Maia. At a point when most other opponents would have already been down for the count, she continued to fight on, giving it everything left in her reserves...if she's even reached her reserves yet. She was going to have to release more energy, make herself more powerful. The energy portal began to once again flood her physical form with more raw energy, strengthening her. It was not a limitless pool to draw from however. As she continued to pull from it, she made herself more and more unstable as well. A double-edged sword. Hopefully she would have enough to beat an already reeling Soviet Superwoman. Maia doubled down, using her free arm to tighten her hold by pulling her other arm taut across her lover's throat. Olga's sapphire eyes rolled back in her skull, her struggles suddenly becoming weaker. Good, it wouldn't be long now Maia thought to herself. Then she could deal with the...



Something incredibly large barreled past her, startling her. Maia momentarily released her grip on Olga as an Astute class nuclear submarine of the Royal Navy pushed it's way through the dark waters. The Soviet Superwoman took the spilt-second opportunity to rip Maia's arm back away from her and utilized her super-speed to rocket out from the depths and burst forth from the Channel. She sucked in a delicious mouthful of salty air, gasping as she flew upwards, her soaked cape trailing behind her. Walkiria was in close pursuit, erupting from the water with a look of incredible irritation on her face. She had hoped to take Olga out quickly and without a prolonged battle and thanks to the Royal Navy she wasn't going to get her wish. Olga wasn't going to let her try a stunt like that again without paying for it. Looking around, both women realized they were surrounded by military ships, some bearing the Union Jack, other bearing the stars and stripes.


To be continued...

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The following characters were used with permission:

owns The Soviet Superwoman, Nikola Myshkin and Lt. General Tupolev.

owns Walkiria.

This story takes place in the universe.