Synaptic Overload

by Brandy Dewinter and Tigger

Chapter 7 - Battle Royal

     It had been no great insight to realize that Synapse was likely to 
want the Hawaiian Heritage artifacts.  It was a bit more of a leap to 
see that she was likely to take them the very night they arrived.  Yet,
as Entropy waited from a perch above the Museum she felt confident that
her prey would indeed attack that evening.  The crowds expected to see 
the exhibition, already sold out for weeks, would make a daytime robbery
difficult even if a confused mob of people did not actively try to 
interfere.  And unless Synapse and her gang waited a very long time 
until complacency set in, their best chance of success was while the 
security procedures were still being implemented.  Entropy did not think
Synapse was one who would wait a long time for anything.  

     The next step was not as easy to figure out.  Despite the high-handed 
manner Synapse had displayed, there had been no reports of the would-be 
queen or her minions actually hurting anyone.  Entropy's heat beam or 
"rust" ball were too deadly to be used to capture someone.  With a little 
time Entropy thought she might be able to manage a few special effects 
that would render opponents harmlessly unconscious, but unless they 
attacked her with deadly force, she couldn't use her most potent powers.  
Her skill in a variety of martial arts gave her the confidence to think 
she could control most ordinary people one-on-one, but Synapse and her 
gang were unlikely to take turns if Entropy attacked them.  And Synapse 
herself was far from ordinary.  So the costumed crime-fighter watched from 
a perch high above the museum, not sure what she would do if the object of 
her vigil arrived.

     The first part of her plan did work, though.  A van running without
lights pulled up behind the museum.  Three figures got out, and since the
van continued to run Entropy figured at least one gang member stayed 
inside.  Unlike the reported incident at the banquet for "Women of Power,"
this time the sleek curves of Synapse trailed her two companions.  The 
leader, at least in line of march, was thick-bodied though it was too 
dark to see if it were fat or muscle.  The second in line moved with a
fluid grace that bespoke a dancer.  She took up a position near the exit,
facing outward, obviously on guard.  

     The thick figure did something at the door, then stood well back.  
There was a flash and a sharp report, then that person, who was moving
with a solid strength that identified him as a man, hurried into the
museum even as an alarm began to wail.  Synapse followed with casual
confidence, disappearing into the building.  In a matter of seconds
they had returned.  It wasn't clear what they had obtained, but the man
was carrying a fairly bulky object, and Synapse had some sort of rod that
gleamed in the faint light of the moon.  In seconds, they were all back 
in the van and moving again down the dark alley.

     *Well,* Entropy thought to herself, *I guess I can at least follow
them for a while.*  

     She lifted herself into the air and paced the van as it twisted 
through a few side streets before turning on lights and merging with
ordinary traffic.  Entropy followed easily, high enough to stay in the
dark above the streetlights once the van reached a thoroughfare.  She
had expected them to drive to some hideout, though the sites attacked
by Synapse had not indicated any particular location for a home base.
However, Entropy was surprised when the van turned in to a small airport
and stopped near an old Beechcraft Queen Air.  The twin was in good shape, 
though Entropy knew it had not been in production for several years and
the neat appearance was a sign of good maintenance, not young age.  
Regardless, the gang, four in number once the driver exited the van, 
quickly climbed into the plane and they started up.  

     No clearance was required at the small airport and they took off
only minutes after arriving at the field.  Their course was almost due
south and Entropy had to add power to the magnetic coils embedded in her
corset to keep up as their speed increased from the 60 mph of the van to
the 200 mph of the twin-engined airplane.  She managed to stay up with 
them, despite a trip that became hours long.  

     From inside the plane, the trip seemed to pass quickly for Hawaii
and Maui, who fell asleep almost instantly.  General Oahu was flying, so
that option was not available to him.  Only Synapse stayed awake by 
choice.  She spent the trip studying the object she had stolen with an
intensity of concentration that even Entropy would have respected.  It was
a jeweled scepter, gold for the most part, but dominated by a large purple
stone curiously similar to the one already suspended below her waist.  As
a result of her concentration, she was as surprised as the trailing 
superhero when the Queen Air finally began to descend.

     "Are we there already, General?" she asked as she roused from her
study.

     "Nearly, my Queen," he answered.  "I thought we would ease the 
engines gradually and so have started down about a half hour before 
our actual landing."

     "Ah, yes, well, that is good planning," Synapse said pontifically.

     Oahu said nothing.  His own motivation for following Synapse was
equal parts gratitude and greed.  Gratitude for his restored virility,
dormant for some time before Synapse had restored it.  Greed for his 
share of the wealth she seemed capable of acquiring.  For those benefits,
he would put up with her silly self importance.  Posturing as a queen
was not important.  Power was important.  Wealth was important.  

     Their few words had caused the other passengers to rouse as well.
Popping their ears a bit as the plane descended, they stretched and
looked out the window.

     "It's dawn," Maui observed.

     "Happens every day at about this time," Hawaii said.  At first,
Maui thought he was making a comment on the obviousness of her 
observation.  But the simple look on his face showed that he felt
he had made a reasonable contribution to the conversation.  She nodded
in gentle agreement and turned to look back outside.

     What she saw was water.  They were descending over an expanse of
green sea, clear enough to show the rough coral bottom.  She heard 
the miscellaneous rumbles and whines of airplane things, audio proof of
preparations for landing.  

     Then, with instant transition they were over a sandy beach.  In 
another heartbeat the wheels bumped, then rumbled as they rolled out
on the narrow strip that served their island hideout.  Unknown to Synapse
and her cohorts, Entropy was still following.  The caped crimefighter 
positioned herself so that she was hidden behind the fronds of some tall
palms, and watched her oblivious adversaries walk to the verandahed house.
   
     *The first thing to do,* Entropy decided, *is to disable that plane.*

     Once the others were inside the house, Entropy drifted silently down 
behind the plane and considered the best way to disable it, without being
so obvious that a glance out a window might give her presence on the 
island away.  A ground power receptacle caught her attention, and she 
decided to discharge the battery.  Unfortunately, her hydrolysis apparatus
was not compatible with battery power, so she couldn't recharge her own
depleted fuel supply at the same time.  Still, in a few minutes the 
battery was flat.  Recharging it would take long enough that Entropy
didn't need to worry about a rapid escape by part of the gang.  

     *Now, what?* she wondered.  

     The choice was taken from her as an armored car roared into life,
then headed straight toward the plane, and toward Entropy.  It wasn't
immediately obvious they saw her, but the difference was immaterial.  
They may have been heading out on patrol, or going to use the truck to
tow the plane.  Whatever the motivation, in moments they would see her,
and flying up and away would reveal her just as surely.  

     On the other hand, Entropy didn't have any problem with the idea of
attacking an armored car.  The choice on what to do might have been forced
upon her, but she took on the challenge instantly, rising rapidly above 
the plane with a rust ball already forming in her hand.

"I could have been solving differential equations, instead of dodging RPGs," thought Entropy.

     She was surprised, though, when the stocky man who had been flying 
the plane appeared in a round turret on the top of the armored car, with
a rocket-propelled grenade already mounted to his shoulder.  He fired and
she was forced to use a heat beam on a broad focus to detonate the warhead
before it got to her.  She managed to send the rust ball at the engine of
the truck, stopping the roaring motor in a painfully-abrupt screech of 
oxidizing iron.  By that time, another RPG was headed her way.  

     *This is taking too much power!" she realized.  Her fuel cell, 
already depleted by the long, high-speed flight, wouldn't be able
to support much more of the intense drain caused by the powerful heat
beams she had been using.  

     *So much for my first real fight,* Entropy thought, and decided that
it was time to call in the real Marines.  She was turning to fly away when
she saw Synapse arrive on the verandah of the house, a jeweled rod in her 
hand.  Entropy thought, *I hope I'm out of range!*

     Synapse pointed the wand at her and Entropy felt an overwhelming
surge of strange sensation flood through her.  It wasn't painful.  
Definitely not painful.  But it wasn't pleasure, either, at least, not
the sort of pleasure Entropy had ever experienced before.  It was all-
encompassing, touching every cell in her body, every corner of her soul.  
Only sexual climax reached this level of intensity, but this was not
localized, like that particular experience had been before.  This was
everywhere, surrounding and consuming her.  Her last thought as she lost
any hope of concentrating enough to use her powers, was that she had 
failed - but that she didn't care as long as that glorious pleasure
continued.  

     Without her concentration to guide it, the magnetic fields she used
for levitation dissipated, and Entropy fell into the shallow waters just
off the beach.

     "Don't let her drown, you fools!" ordered Synapse.  

     Her three minions started toward the water, but it was Maui who 
reached it first, arrowing into the water in a racing dive.  Before the 
billowing cape worn by the flying woman had surrendered its trapped air 
and begun to sink, Maui had pulled the woman's head from the water.  She 
swam strongly toward the beach, the thick cape changing from buoyant life-
preserver to water-logged anchor even as Hawaii joined her in water that 
was only shoulder deep to him.  

     When they reached the beach, Maui quickly checked for signs of life
and started pulmonary resuscitation.  A few quick assisted breaths, and 
the masked blonde jerked to the side, coughing up sea water and gasping
for her own air supply.  

     General Oahu reached for the woman's mask, but Synapse's voice 
stopped him.  "No, General.  Leave her her anonymity.  For now."

     From her position lying on the sand, Entropy looked up at the
other masked woman, wary for some further attack.

     Synapse smiled with that silky smile that so often foreshadowed the
use of her power, but said, "Don't worry, my mysterious visitor.  We will 
get to know each other.  Much, much better.  But there is plenty of time 
for that."

     She resumed her regal manner and said, "We assume you know that we 
are Synapse, Queen and Monarch of Hawaii.  In return for honoring your 
privacy, we require that you tell us the name you use in your disguised
persona."

     "Entropy," the blonde said quietly.

     "Very well," Synapse said.  "Maui, take the Lady Entropy to the 
house and help her get cleaned up.  It would be unseemly to have a
state dinner with a guest whose hair is - well - just take care of it."

     "Yes, Majesty," Maui said, helping Entropy to her feet.  As they 
walked to the house, Entropy looked back to see that silky smile on 
Synapse's face.  She wasn't watching her captive though.  She was looking 
at her wand with renewed concentration, and satisfaction.  

**********************

     "Why did you let her keep her mask, Majesty?" Oahu asked after the
intruder was out of earshot.

     "She has great power, though of course it is inferior to ours.  If
we can convince her to become our vassal, she will strengthen us 
considerably."

     "And if you cannot?" Oahu asked the slim brunette.

     For just an instant, a flicker of irritation showed in her luminous
dark eyes, but it was replaced by easy humor.  "Have you ever known us to
fail?" she asked in her turn.

     He bowed in acknowledgment of her point.

**********************

     Maui said to Entropy, "If you would disrobe, Milady, I will see that 
the salt water is washed from your garments."

     "I'm not a Lady," Entropy replied.  *Not by a long shot!*

     "Milady, if it pleases Her Majesty to elevate, you, then I will not 
be the one to disagree with her.  Now, your clothes?"

     "I, uh, well, I want my privacy when I am undressed," Entropy said.  
"And there are some, um, items that I don't want out of my control."

     "Very well, Milady.  If you would like to step in here," Maui said, 
indicating a bathroom.  "You can shower and do whatever you wish.  
Anything you pass out to me, I will clean.  If you leave your hair wet, 
I will help you set it for the dinner."

     "Dinner?" Entropy asked.

     "Didn't you hear Her Majesty say that there would be a state dinner 
this evening?  It will be my responsibility to make you presentable."

     As Entropy was about to close the door behind her, she paused, then
said, "Well, if you're really willing to help, I could use a hand getting
these boots off."

     "Gladly, Milady," Maui said.  She tugged at the spike-heeled boots,
working the tight leather past Entropy's wet feet.  By the time they were
done, both were out of breath, though Maui had been doing most of the 
work.

     "Why does Synapse wear a mask, too?" Entropy asked as they worked.

     "Her Majesty has not always been known as Queen Synapse," Maui 
explained.  "She told us that no one is to know her previous identity 
until her reign is established.  She knows her lineage includes the
royalty of Hawaii, and doesn't intend to spend the time to defend it
from those who would invent flaws in the line of descent."

     "I see," mused Entropy.  "And her costume?  Why not wear, well, 
royal robes or something?"

     "Why don't you wear a normal skirt and blouse?" Maui asked in 
return.  

     *Lots of reasons,* Entropy thought, but she said, "I have my 
reasons.  But I don't understand hers."

     "In all honesty, Milady, I don't either.  I have never seen her
without her costume.  She, like you, retains her privacy.  I have 
helped her to clean her garments, but she just passes them to me while
she is bathing, and dons them again before emerging."

     Entropy saw an opening and asked, more sharply than she intended, 
"She gives you everything to clean?"

     "All except her jewelry," Maui said.  "She cleans that herself."

     "What jewelry does she wear?" Entropy continued the interrogation.

     "Well," Maui tried to remember.  "I have seen her wear rings on 
occasion, and earrings.  At on time she wore a necklace, similar to 
yours, but lately she has worn her royal stone on her belt."

     The young woman looked up sharply, perhaps just realizing she might 
have been talking on matters Synapse didn't want to be common knowledge.  
She stayed quiet after that, gently shaking her head when Entropy pressed 
for more information.  

     When Entropy was alone in the bathroom, she stripped off the rest of
her clothes, all except the wig which was practically welded on her head
by some magic of Angie's.  The costume itself was passed out to Maui, but
Entropy kept her belt and jewelry.  With them, her first order of business
was to recharge her fuel cell.  The necessary equipment was in her belt, 
and with an abundant water supply she was soon fusing loose hydrogen for 
power to split even more hydrogen away from oxygen in the water molecules.

     She took advantage of the time needed to recharge her fuel "tanks" by
washing herself, treating her wig as though it were real hair.  It was the
first time she had ever washed the thing, and she couldn't believe how 
much shampoo it took to get all the salt out of it.  And how impossible 
it was to get even partially dry.  Somehow, with the wig in place she 
never felt like Thorson even when she removed her corset and gaff.  She 
rinsed out all the underclothes and while they were drying she found a 
towel to try and control the incredible weight of her hair, then started 
in again on her makeup.  By the time she had that done her mask was dry, 
and her underclothes.  Her hair hadn't dried a bit, as far as she could 
tell, when she poked her head out the door to see Maui waiting patiently.  

     Entropy decided to just ask for the help she needed, despite what she
felt was a manageable risk of giving away a secret.  "Could you help me 
with my corset?"

     "Of course, Milady," Maui answered, though this time her face held
an impish grin that made Entropy suddenly lonely for Angie.

     As the slim girl tugged at the laces, she whispered conspiratorially,
"Actually, Her Majesty has a bit of, um, assistance for her figure, too."

     "She wears a corset?" Entropy asked.

     "No.  Her Majesty is very slender.  Too slender, she thinks.  At 
least in one, um, well a couple of places.  I have cleaned forms that
she wears within her own costume," Maui said with a giggle.

     "Good," Entropy whispered with a snicker of her own.  "I'd hate to
think anyone had a figure that perfect unaided."

     She decided to use their renewed camaraderie to try for some more
information.  "How did you meet Synapse?"

     Maui didn't answer for a long moment.  When she did, her voice was
even lower, barely a whisper, though it was not conspiracy that kept her
quiet.  It was as though the words were too terrible to be spoken aloud.

     "I was a runaway, from a mother on drugs and no father at all.  This 
was in Hawaii, Maui actually, though I am not of Hawaiian birth.  At 
least, not that I know.  But people tell me my features are more 
Polynesian than native Hawaiian.  Anyway, it wasn't long before I was 
supporting myself the only way I could.  One night, after my pimp had 
beaten me for not earning enough money, I was crying in an alleyway.  I 
heard the sound of footsteps and usually I would have run, but I had no
money, and I was all too well aware of how little value my body had, so
I just crouched there against the wall, waiting for whatever was going
to happen to me."

     Maui's face brightened from her remembered horror as her tale 
moved to a happier topic.  "It was Her Majesty, though I didn't know
her then.  She wore more or less ordinary clothes.  She always has 
liked high heels, and she wore a simple mask, more like yours, but
other than that she wore only a blouse and a skirt.  Oh, and she had
her royal jewel, though it was in a necklace like I told you.  When
I looked at her, I felt a pleasure that had never happened with any
man, ever.  It swept me up into a place that seemed so infinitely
precious that I would have given anything to stay there.  When I could
breathe again, she was still standing there."

     "She asked me if I would swear fealty to her.  I didn't even know
what that meant, but I nodded, and stood up to go with her.  I've been
with her ever since."

     "Does she, um, have you had that, uh, pleasure sensation again?"

     Maui nodded, though there was a surprising note of sadness in her
eyes this time.  "Yes.  Many times.  Though sometimes Her Majesty uses 
it to, um, teach me my place and not just as a reward."

     "There, finished," Maui said as she knotted of the straining laces.
Then, in an obvious attempt to change the subject, she said, "Now, Milady,
if you will come over here, I will set your hair."

     Entropy allowed herself to be shepherded to a vanity laden with a 
surprising variety of hairstyling aids.  At first, she was worried about
the security of her wig, but Maui was gentle and after a few minutes 
Entropy began to relax.  

     "Your queen must be very lonely," she said.

     This brought another titter from Maui who said, "No, I don't think
so."

     Their eyes met in the mirror, with Entropy's question obvious in 
hers.

     "Just because she doesn't undress completely, except in private, 
doesn't mean she can't, well, rearrange things a bit now and then," Maui
laughed.

     The familiarity which had suddenly illuminated Maui's face made it
clear what that "rearrangement" was for, and Entropy's own face blushed
below her mask.

     "Milady," Maui chided.  "Surely you have enjoyed the company of a
woman upon occasion."

     "Upon occasion," Entropy agreed, though the blush never left her
cheeks.

     "Well," Maui continued, "I think you are in for a treat, tonight."